THE GOOD LUCK CHARM

August 03, 2023

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Today’s story is about the Ty Cobb, the Detroit Tigers, and a lucky mascot.

In the summer of 1908, Ty Cobb aka "The Georgia Peach” discovered a 10-year-old orphan boy named lil’ Rastus hanging out near the ballpark.

Cobb took a liking to the kid and gave him food and water; the two became friends.

Eventually, he even took Rastus to Georgia with him.

This was a particularly strange given the fact that Ty Cobb was known to be extremely racist, and Lil’ Rastus was black.

However, as soon as he showed up, the Tigers went on the winning streak, and they gave all the cred to Rastus.

Cobb’s teammate, Bill Coughlin, was so convinced of Rastus’ powers that he would run his hand through the boy’s hair before every at bat.

They even used to let Rastus sleep in the clubhouse for shelter.

In exchange, he would bat boy and run errands for the players.

On the road, Cobb would sneak Rastus into his room and have him sleep under his bed for good luck.

This was at a time when some hotels wouldn’t allow black folks, so they had to keep him hidden.

Apparently, several teams did this type of thing with other mascots and trainers, like Doc Buckner.

Unfortunately, Rastus' luck ran out and the Tigers started losing.

Cobb himself was in a slump, so they decided to send the boy on his way.

But Rastus wasn't about to go down looking.

He offered his services to the Chicago Cubs, who were playing the Tigers in the World Series that year.

The Cubs beat Detroit 4-1.

It was Chicago's last World Series win for 108 years.

The next season, Detroit brought lil’ Rastus back onto the squad.

Despite making it to the World Series again, they lost in seven games to the Pirates.

ONE QUICK QUESTION

STRANGE NAMES

If you're just joining us, we play this game every day where we try to find the weirdest names throughout baseball history.

Why? Don't ask us, it's just something we like to do.

If you've been rocking with us for awhile now, you know what time it is.

Today's winner is:

Clarence “Choo-Choo” Coleman was never very good.

He was a 5'8", 160-pound catcher who hit under .200 in the big leagues.

Coleman got hit by a pitch in his first official plate appearance, and that pretty much set the tone for his career.

But he was a likable character, and he played with the Mets during parts of three different seasons.

In 2012, they even invited him to the franchise’s 50th anniversary celebration.

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