Although Ty Cobb was, by most accounts, a difficult man with few friends, the legendary outfielder did develop an affinity for one of his young Philadelphia Athletics teammates, the stout catcher Mickey Cochrane. The two Hall of Famers spent two seasons playing together on Connie Mack’s dynastic Philadelphia Athletics teams in 1927 and 1928. Cobb, despite being on the wrong side of 40, hit .357 and .323 in his two seasons at Shibe Park, while Cochrane, in his early 20s, won the American League MVP Award in 1928. Cochrane’s career mirrored Cobb’s, and he spent the final few seasons of his playing career in Detroit, where he won the 1934 American League MVP Award.

The friendship between Cobb and Cochrane existed throughout the rest of Cobb’s life, with Cobb frequently coming to Cochrane’s aid. In 1937, after Cochrane was seriously injured in a game, Cobb paid his medical bills and supported Cochrane financially for the rest of his life. When Cobb passed away in 1961, Cochrane, Ray Schalk, and Nap Rucker were the only former players to attend the funeral services of a man widely regarded as one of the best baseball players to ever set foot on a diamond.

Cobb’s friendly attitude towards Cochrane is evident in this postcard, which was sent from the exotic location of Victoria, British Columbia. A stamp on the postcard indicates that it was sent on October 18th, 1928. It begins warmly, with Cobb writing “Congratulations. I told you so and you deserved it.” This likely refers to Cochrane’s 1928 MVP award, a version of which Cobb himself claimed in 1911 when it was known as “The Chalmers Award” and the prize was a brand new automobile. The rest of the postcard refers to Cobb’s plans for the rest of his winter, which includes stops in China and Japan. Cobb wrote this note in black pen, signing his name in the bottom left corner of the post card. It is addressed to “Gordon” Cochrane, the Hall of Famer’s birth name, and addressed “to Shibe Park / Phila, / U.S.A. Pa.”, the home field of the A’s. The front of this postcard shows an illustration of Lake Agnes and the Devil’s Thumb in the Canadian Rockies. This item comes with a LOA from JSA (Z58664).

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