Ty Cobb was a baseball player.
The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit , Michigan . In baseball statistics , a hit ( denoted by H ) , also called a base hit , is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory , without the benefit of an error or a fielder 's choice . Tyrus Raymond Cobb ( December 18 , 1886 -- July 17 , 1961 ) , nicknamed The Georgia Peach , was an American Major League Baseball ( MLB ) outfielder . In 1936 Cobb received the most votes of any player on the inaugural Baseball Hall of Fame ballot , receiving 222 out of a possible 226 votes ( 98.2 % ) ; no other player received a higher percentage of votes until 1992 .