Description: Wonderful original c1913 wool baseball uniform by the WB Jarvis Co with TY COBB BRAND Labels in both pieces. Labels read "Ty Cobb W. B. Jarvis Company Detroit & Grand Rapids." Cobb was a part owner in the Jarvis company for only about 18 months, and the company switched from sporting goods equipment to making auto parts at the same time he left the company, so there is a VERY narrow window for items produced with the TY COBB BRAND labels. All TY COBB BRAND items are highly collectable - especially ther baseball related ones - and are considered extremely rare. After extensive reseasrch, we could find no other such uniforms being offered for sale or any sales history...Two piece gray pinstriped wool uniform is in very good condition: button front jersey has 3/4 sleeves and has a small hole on the top of the left sleeve & a 6" red block "S" on the right sleeve. Per the previous owner, the "S" was for a team based in Saranac, Michigan that her great grandfather played for. The button fly pants have belt loops, a rear pocket and 3/4 length open legs. They show four well done repairs & one small hole. Both pieces exhibit some minor staining from regular use. Outstanding example of a 120 year old baseball uniform. Please see photos for more details, sizes, and to evaluate condition for yourself. This uniform will ship USPS Priority Mail or Fed Ex and will be insured for the full purchase price. Signature confirmation will be required at delivery, NO EXCEPTIONS Cobb had recently purchased a "substantial interest" in the W. B. Jarvis Company, at which time he assumed the position of vice president. The introduction also points out that Cobb "not only designed many of the articles illustrated herein, but has placed his stamp of approval on every article in the line which bears his name." Cobb's investment in the company was reported in the June 9, 1912, edition of the New York Times . In full:Ty Cobb, the Tigers' noted outfielder, today entered business on a large scale, purchasing a block of stock in the W.B. Jarvis Company, a $300,000 corporation with stores in Detroit and Grand Rapids doing a wholesale and retail sporting goods business. Cobb will be elected a director immediately and will assume an active part in the business. He will have charge of the baseball goods department. "I desire to have a good business position awaiting me when I get through with baseball,: said Ty. "I have intended for some time to make Detroit my home and have been on the lookout for a business opening. I picked this because it is right in my line and I can make good in it easier than in some other field." Cobb's house is the largest of its kind in Michigan. In the Winters he will devote his entire time to the business .That Cobb was an executive with the company is not surprising at all. Cobb was baseball’s first millionaire player. He achieved that status in large part not from his salary as a ballplayer but due to his shrewd business investments during the early 1900s. Cobb, though he was not college educated, came from a well-to-do family in Georgia. His father was a local schoolteacher and Cobb's lifestyle was one of privilege, not hardship. His natural intelligence, combined with his father's insistence on educational excellence, prepared him well for his future career. Unlike most of his teammates, Cobb didn't squander his money, but instead invested it wisely. He was an early shareholder in both Coca-Cola and General Motors, two of the most successful companies in American history, and the profits he reaped from those investments alone made him extremely wealthy. Unfortunately, Cobb's association with the W. B. Jarvis company was much shorter than he anticipated. In 1914 Cobb decided to winter in Georgia instead of Michigan, which made it difficult for him to give the company his full attention. Even more important, that was the same year in which W. B. Jarvis reorganized and began making automobile accessories instead of sporting goods. For those reasons, all "Ty Cobb Brand" W. B. Jarvis items are extremely rare. From the Oct 27th 1943 obituary of WB Jarvis: For three years from 1911 to 1914, Jarvis was in business in Detroit, operating one of the finest sporting goods stores in the country. He then got into the automobile tire business, continuing that connection for years. The Jarvis interest were formerly located on Monroe ave. and later on Bond ave. Since 1936, the company has been at this present location, 1501 Paris ave. SE., and, until was came, engaged in the manufacture of automobile and refrigerator hardware. Since Pearl Harbor, the firm has been 100 percent in war work. Jarvis had been one of the most active sportsmen in Michigan, being an expert trap shooter, winning many tournaments. He twice held the world's championship.
Price: 1899.95 USD
Location: Sparta, Michigan
End Time: 2024-01-13T05:57:19.000Z
Shipping Cost: N/A USD
Product Images
Item Specifics
All returns accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted
Sport: Baseball
Player: Ty Cobb
Officially Licensed: Yes
Year: 1913
Original/Reproduction: Original
Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
Vintage: Yes