Though Ty Cobb is long gone, he's at the center of a new controversy.
The Jack Miner Migratory Bird Foundation in Kingsville, Ontario, is suing the Detroit Tigers, hoping to retrieve Cobb memorabilia it says was removed from the grounds of its Kingsville sanctuary and sold illegally to the team, Sarah Sacheli of The Windsor Star reports.
The foundation, with charitable status in Canada and the United States, has launched court actions on both sides of the border. The actions name Kirk W. Miner, Jack Miner’s grandson and former foundation president, as the defendant.
According to court filings, Kirk Miner sold the Tigers a bat and ball signed by Cobb, as well as two letters the Hall of Famer penned. The foundation learned of the sale by accident in January, when proof of a $24,000 payment to Kirk Miner was sent to the non-profit group. It’s not known how much the Tigers paid for the items, but the documents say the $24,000 wire transfer to Kirk Miner was one of two payments
he received and that additional payments remained due.
According to the foundation, those items, and others removed by Miner from the Kingsville sanctuary, belong to the charity.
