{"product_id":"the-chalmers-race-ty-cobb-napoleon-lajoie-and-the-controversial-1910-batting-title-that-became-a-national-obsession","title":"The Chalmers Race: Ty Cobb  Napoleon Lajoie  and the Controversial 1910 Batting Title That Became a National Obsession","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn 1910 auto magnate Hugh Chalmers offered an automobile to the baseball player with the highest batting average that season. What followed was a batting race unlike any before or since  between the greatest but most despised hitter  Detroits Ty Cobb  and the American Leagues first superstar  Clevelands popular Napoleon Lajoie. The Chalmers Race captures the excitement of this strange contestone that has yet to be resolved.  The race came down to the last game of the season  igniting more interest among fans than the World Series and becoming a national obsession. Rick Huhn re-creates the drama that ensued when Cobb  thinking the prize safely his  skipped the last two games  and Lajoie suspiciously had eight hits in a doubleheader against the St. Louis Browns. Although initial counts favored Lajoie  American League president Ban Johnson  the sports last word  announced Cobb the winner  and amid the controversy both players received cars. The Chalmers Race details a story of dubious scorekeeping and statistical systems  of performances and personalities in conflict  of accurate results coming in seventy years too late  and of a contest settled not by play on the field but by human foibles.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44986504544309,"sku":"ByrdShop_0803271824","price":32.93,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780803271821.jpg?v=1770907820","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-chalmers-race-ty-cobb-napoleon-lajoie-and-the-controversial-1910-batting-title-that-became-a-national-obsession","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}