Ty Cobb's hometown of Royston, GA is 20 miles from Demorest, GA; the hometown of professional baseball player Johnny Mize. Mize was a first baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Giants, and New York Yankees. He played in the Major Leagues from 1936 through 1953 and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981.
Tommy Lee Jones had broken his leg prior to filming. He performed most of his role in a cast. The scene in the ballgame was shot last, when he had regained some mobility.
Cobb is seen being treated by a black nurse at Emory University Hospital shortly before his death. In 1961, Georgia hospitals and their staff were still strictly segregated.
Ty Cobb: Baseball is a red blooded sport for red blooded men. It's no pink tea, and molly-coddles had better stay out... It's a struggle for supremacy, a survival of the fittest.