Mildred Desautels, a long-time Tigers fan, died at 109. She had many brushes with sports greatness, including this:

At 17, she was working at a bar inside the Southern Hotel in Columbus when the Tigers came to town for an exhibition game.

She served Cobb a soda and sat with him at the bar through the evening, her nephew said.

“Every time she’d tell that story, she’d cry telling that story,” Schmitt said.

Speaking in 2002 about Cobb, known as a hot-tempered racist as well as a brilliant player, she said: “He was such a nice man. I don’t believe all the bad things some people said about him later. He was a true gentleman to me.”

My thoughts go out to her family and friends.