It’s hard to believe that a mere eyeshade-wearing accountant hunched over his books had ever been a pitcher in baseball’s major leagues, but George W. Cobb was just that kind of versatile man.

Many years after his brief moments on the baseball fields of his youth, Cobb’s best work occurred in the early 1920s. That’s when he played a vital role in the startup of one of the Inland Empire’s most successful institutions, the Los Angeles County Fair in Pomona.

As secretary and accountant in the first four years of the fair, Cobb successfully made sure the new event would be fiscally sound. As a result, the fair, which opens Friday, has become one of the nation’s largest.

“Credit for the successful development of the Los Angeles County Fair has been given to Mr. Cobb who was a prime mover,” wrote the Pomona Bulletin in his obituary on Aug. 20, 1926. “He became the first secretary and for the first two years was, in reality, manager as well.”

Starting in 1922, the city gambled tax dollars to acquire land and put up permanent buildings in the belief the fair would be a long-term success.

“In the first couple of struggling years, the officers of the organization knew only too well how jealously he guarded every avenue to see that there was no deficit,” wrote the Bulletin.

But expertly keeping the inaugural fair from losing money was certainly a different challenge for Cobb three decades earlier when he played in the early National League.

Cobb, no relation to Hall of Famer Ty Cobb, grew up in Iowa and played baseball in college. Coming west to prepare for a chance to pitch in the major leagues, he played briefly in the Pacific Coast League and spent off-seasons conditioning in Riverside. It was there he met and married Maude C. Burt, daughter of a prominent businessman, in 1890, according to the Progress.

Cobb got his big chance when he was signed in 1892 to pitch in the National League for the Baltimore Orioles. These Orioles, not a predecessor (except in name) of today’s American League team, had a completely forgettable season, losing 101 of 147 games, finishing 54½ games out of first place.

And Cobb was no more successful, winning only 10 games while leading the league with 37 losses. In those days, a starting pitcher usually finished the game even if his team fell well behind. In 1892, Cobb pitched 394 innings and completed 42 games (By contrast, in the major leagues for all of last season there were only 28 complete games).

And it was no surprise that arm troubles from all those innings prevented a return to the National League the next year. Needing new ways to support his family, he returned to Riverside and used his college interests in math and accounting to begin handling the books for the Riverside Gas Co.

In 1897, he also played for Riverside’s municipal baseball team and served as the manager. Two years later, he moved to Pomona while also becoming the playing manager for the San Bernardino team in the Southern California League. And between seasons, he was also a three-time shooting champion at the Pomona Gun Club.

Later years saw him in a variety of activities in Pomona, operating a meat market and a dairy business as well as being an accountant for several Pomona-based companies. All of that led to his appointment as secretary for the campaign to create a county fair in Pomona.

In 1923, he was elected president of the Western Fairs Association, a group that dealt with fairs throughout the region. He was also very interested in horses and invested in a number of thoroughbreds, some of which ran at the fair’s newly completed race facilities.

However, after completion of the 1925 fair, Cobb resigned his position due to declining health. He died at age 63 on Aug. 19, 1926, and is buried at Evergreen Memorial Park in Riverside.

Golden quest

A talk about his rediscovery of the Crafton Hills gold mines of pioneer William Roach will be held Thursday by author Paul Wesley La Canfora to the San Bernardino Historical and Pioneer Society.

The talk will be at 7 p.m. at the society’s headquarters, 796 N. D St, San Bernardino.

La Canfora will speak about how the mines were found, ending a long search by members of the Yucaipa Historical Society. His book about the discovery, “William Roach’s Lost Mines,” was published in 2022.

Joe Blackstock writes on Inland Empire history. He can be reached at joe.blackstock@gmail.com or Twitter @JoeBlackstock. Check out some of our columns of the past at Inland Empire Stories on Facebook at www.facebook.com/IEHistory.