In Cobb's Shadow

Ty Cobb was considered the greatest baseball player of his time. Some still call him the greatest in history. He cast a shadow over the entire game of baseball with his violence, both on the field and off. The shadow was never darker than when it was over his teammates. Sam Crawford, Harry Heilmann and Heinie Manush were three of the greatest players in baseball history, good enough to be elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. Each played in the Detroit outfield alongside Cobb, their deeds never reaching the level of his. Little is remembered about this trio of Hall of Famers, even in Detroit, where each made their biggest mark on the game. Crawford, the all-time triples leader, Heilmann, the last right-hander to hit .400, and Manush, another batting champion, each made their own mark on the game, something that is illustrated for the first time in this triple biography.