Known as the “Georgia Peach,” Tyrus Raymond Cobb is regarded as one of the most dominant – yet controversial – players in the history of the game and has certainly left his mark all throughout his native state, from his hometown of Royston to the river city of Augusta.

Museum & Gravesite in Royston

In the wake of the mid-90s film “Cobb” – which was deemed wholly inaccurate and poorly reflected the true nature of Ty Cobb – the citizens of Royston decided to show the world what their native son was really like, opening a museum centered around his life and legacy in 1998. The main focal point of the small office building in which it’s located, the Ty Cobb Museum is rich with artifacts and memorabilia that tell the story of not only Cobb’s amazing baseball career, but also of his personality and often philanthropic life as well. Some of his belongings, including trophies, bats and uniforms, are carefully preserved, and rare footage played on loop offers a glimpse into the life of a sometimes temperamental Cobb.

Born in nearby unincorporated Banks County in 1886, Ty Cobb spent most of his childhood in Royston, honing his skills as a ballplayer and trying out for local teams. A member of the Detroit Tigers for almost all of his professional career – save his final two seasons, which he spent with the Philadelphia Athletics – the Georgia Peach’s time in the Majors was nothing short of remarkable. He would win 11 batting titles and amassed more than 4,100 hits, winning the Triple Crown in 1909 and AL MVP in 1911. He also appeared in three consecutive World Series as a Tiger, but his team came up short in each attempt to secure a trophy.

Just a few miles from the museum is Ty Cobb’s final resting place, a modest mausoleum in nearby Rose Hill Cemetery. Cobb’s gravesite is right along Burch Street – which divides the cemetery almost in half – and with its prominent central location, it’s easy to tell that the man is Royston’s proudest by-product. Often covered in decorative wreaths and flowers laid by family members and baseball fans alike, his gravesite is a tranquil spot for folks to reflect on the life and times of one of the game’s greatest.

Home in Augusta

Ty Cobb’s Augusta roots trace back to 1904, when he arrived in town to play for the minor league Tourists. Although he would eventually make a big league team far removed from little old Augusta, Cobb still had business and familial ties to the town. In 1913, he moved to the city of Augusta with his wife Charlotte, a native of the area, and bought a house along tree-lined Williams Street. Although Cobb himself only occupied the house during the off-season, it became his beloved full-time residence following his retirement in 1928. He enjoyed reading books and inviting over some of his famous friends for a drink, and the abode served him and his family well until they packed up and moved out to California in 1932. The home, meanwhile, has only had two owners since. A marker was dedicated in front of the home in 2017.

Cobb’s legacy is not without its complexities, to be sure. He was certainly subject to spats during his playing days, and while biased biographers after his death somewhat tarnished his reputation, Cobb was a more kind-hearted man than history lets on. Rather than being thought of as a mean-spirited and intolerant individual, Cobb should instead be remembered for his favorability towards integration and for his philanthropy in Royston, which helped build what is now a leading medical center named in his honor. And today, the trails Cobb blazed across the Peach State still work to provide a more balanced and nuanced understanding of the baseball icon.

Ty Cobb Museum: 461 Cook St, Royston, GA 30662
Ty Cobb’s Augusta Home: 2425 Williams St., Augusta, GA, 30904