Tyrus Raymond "Ty" Cobb (December 18, 1886 – July 17, 1961), nicknamed "The Georgia Peach," was a Hall of Fame baseball player and regarded by most knowledgable baseball fans to be the best player of the dead-ball era, although some consider Honus Wagner to be the era's greatest player. Most baseball historians and journalists consider Cobb to be one of the greatest players of all time, and Cobb received the most votes of any player on the 1936 inaugural Hall of Fame Ballot.

Cobb is widely credited with setting 90 baseball records during his career. He still holds several records as of 2007, including the highest MLB career batting average with .367 or .366 (depending on source) and most career batting titles with 12 (or 11, depending on source). He retained many other records for almost a half century or more, including most career major league hits until 1985 (4,191 or 4,189, depending on source), most career runs (2,245 or 2,246 depending on source) until 2001,most career games played (3,035) and at bats (11,429 or 11,434 depending on source) until 1974, and the modern record for most career stolen bases (892) until 1977.

Cobb's legacy as an athlete has sometimes been overshadowed by his surly temperament, allegedly severe racism, and aggressive reputation, which was described by the Detroit Free Press as "daring to the point of dementia."

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