It’s getting harder and harder to imagine life in Detroit 100 years ago, but yesterday it seemed clear as day. A colleague and I set out to find Ty Cobb’s home from his early playing days with the Detroit Tigers. We found it alive and well on Commonwealth Street in the Woodbridge District about a mile from Tiger Stadium.
The house (pictured nearby) is a duplex. Cobb reportedly lived in the northern unit shown on the right. We found the house and the surrounding area to be in decent shape. It wasn’t hard to imagine Mr. Cobb walking out the front door on his way to Bennett Park.
Detroit is filled with forgotten treasures like this one. For anyone on a trip through the city, I recommend taking an extra five minutes to see this little gem. The home is located at 4117 Commonwealth Street just north of Grand River Avenue and east of 12th Street. Your goosebumps will thank you.
Our thanks go to our dear friend, Bill Dow of Birmingham, who gave us a guided tour through some incredible neighborhoods via telephone. He explained to us that Mr. Cobb also lived in the original Pontchatrain Hotel (no longer standing) and later moved to the ritzy Boston-Edison area off of Woodward.
Michael Gerard
I lived in the house next door to the left of the picture for three years in the mid-80s. Yes, this is true that Cobb lived there at the pictured home. Later in life at 45 years old I joined a fast pitch baseball team in the Detroit Senior Baseball League. At 53, I still play in a wood bat fast pitch league in Ann Arbor, not that Cobb had anything to do with this. Al Kaline is my Favorite Tiger.I read Cobb’s autobiography recently and would recommend it to any baseball fan.
I also have a story about how Denny McLain still owes me $40 if any one is interested.
Blane Nye
I’m looking for an image of cleat marks on those old hardwood stairs. I’m really late to this convo.