Al Stump Dead at 79; He Wrote Book on Cobb

Al Stump, whose book about baseball great Ty Cobb was the basis for the 1994 film “Cobb,” has died. He was 79.

Stump, who had lung and heart problems for several years, died Thursday of congestive heart failure at Hoag Memorial Hospital in Newport Beach, his wife, Jo Mosher, said Saturday.

Stump began writing sports while a student at the University of Washington.

After a stint as a combat correspondent in World War II, he returned to sports reporting, writing for magazines such as the Saturday Evening Post, True and Esquire.

He also reported for the Los Angeles Times syndicate and for the Los Angeles Herald- Examiner, where he helped cover the Charles Manson trial.

Stump’s relationship with Cobb began in 1959 when the Detroit Tiger star asked the writer to collaborate on an autobiography. It was published two years later, entitled “My Life in Baseball: The True Record.”

Stump later wrote a newspaper article about the year he spent with Cobb, whom he called the “meanest man who ever played baseball.”

His book “Cobb” was a fuller account of that year. “Cobb” was named by the New York Times as one the 10 most notable books of 1994.

The book was made into a movie last year starring Tommy Lee Jones as Cobb.