His dad was actually very well known in Georgia for fighting for Blacks rights.

His dad wanted him to be a lawyer or a doctor or a professor but when Ty decided to be a ball player his dad supported him 100%.
Five days before his Major League debut his mom killed his dad. Ty said later in his biography “A member of my family blew my father’s head off when I was 19. I never got over that.”

The biography he commissioned to tell his life story was passed from one writer to another to another. Unfortunately the writer that finished his biography was more concerned with sensationalism than telling the true story.

His philanthropic efforts helped thousands. He advocated for blacks in the MLB. He played the game like he was at war.