Ty Cobb was only 18 years old, and on August 30, 1905, the inaugural Hall of Fame outfielder was on the Detroit Tigers' bench at Bennett Park in Detroit and about to play his first Major League game as the youngest player then in MLB. Only three weeks before, Cobb's mother had fatally shot Ty's father in an incident in which Ty's mother later successfully alleged in court was a fatal mistake as she thought Cobb's father was a prowler. The approx. 8x10" photo shows Cobb on the bench just before the game against the visiting New York Highlanders (later Yankees) with Jack Chesbro starting, a spitballer who won 41 games the year before. Cobb sent the photo to a fan, and on the back, all of the writing, except for "8 - 8 x 10" written in pencil from an unknown hand, is in Cobb's handwriting. Using a fountain pen and neatly writing in his famous green ink, Cobb stated, "The assuring advice on the bench just before we took the field against N.Y. Chesbro pitching, my first major league game in August 1905 - if I looked scared - really I was not." In his debut, Cobb started in center field and batted fifth. In his first at-bat he doubled to drive in a run, and he later walked. On the day, Cobb was 1-for-3, and he had two putouts in the field with no errors as the Tigers won 5-3. Cobb would go on to bat .367, the highest lifetime average in Major League history and he was a 12-time American League batting average leader. At his retirement, Cobb held the all-time Major League records for hits (4,191) and walks (892). The photo was printed in the 1950s. The inscribed photo comes with a full PSA/DNA LOA. The combination of the photo of an 18-year-old Ty Cobb just about to make his Major League debut with the Ty Cobb inscription, written after his playing career, on the back packs a great wallop. This inscribed photo is a valuable, unique offering.

Note: PSA LOA is for the handwriting only.