Official Blog | Tuesday | January 6th, 2009

Nov
21

25th Anniversary of Magical 1984 Tigers Season On Deck

By Steve

Today it almost seems like a distant dream.  I was 13 years old in 1984 and manning a souvenir stand on the corner of Cochrane & Kaline Drive.  My team was inside the ballpark performing magic acts every night and the entire city, region and state stood captivated by the entire script.

I was just a kid, but I realized at the time how unique the 1984 season was as it played itself out.  A no-hitter the first week of the season; a 35-5 start; record crowds at The Corner; a wire-to-wire first place year. 

1984 even had its perfect nemesis: the pesky Toronto Blue Jays.  Because they made it close throughout much of the season, it made it even sweeter when the Tigers pounded them repeatedly and they finished in second place — 15 games behind the best team in baseball.

2009 will mark the 25th anniversary of one of the most memorable seasons in baseball history.  1984 was far from Orwellian.  It was a boyhood dream come true.

This Bless You Boys video produced in the midst of the magic by WDIV-TV, Channel 4 captures the spirit and energy of the season from the fans’ perspective.  My brother Dave and I can be seen in the clip selling our wares on the street corner if only for a brief moment.

Enjoy.

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Nov
19

Frank Navin R.I.P.

By Steve

He wasn’t an overly popular man — but he is unquestionably one of the Founding Fathers of Detroit baseball.

Frank Navin’s affiliation with the Detroit Tigers dates back to 1902.  He started out as a bookkeeper for then-owner Samuel Angus.  The very next year, Navin bought stock in the Tigers and became a minority owner.  Prior to the 1907 season, he purchased 50% of the team from the new owner, William Yawkey.

From 1902 to 1935, Navin was involved in the direct management and oversight of the team.  It was Navin who signed the still unknown Ty Cobb and Hughie Jennings and built the teams that would win three consecutive American League pennants in 1907, 1908 and 1909.

Navin became president of the Tigers in 1908 and remained in that position throughout the remainder of his life.  Gambling problems forced Navin to sell part of the team to Walter O. Briggs Sr. in the early 1930s, but he remained active in the management of the team.

Perhaps Navin’s most lasting influence came in 1911-1912 when he tore down Bennett Park and built a steel and concrete structure that would bear his name.  Navin Field opened in April of 1912 and propelled Detroit baseball into a whole new level of play.

Navin Field served as the stadium (with multiple expansions) housing the Detroit Tigers for the next 88 years.  From 1912 through 1999, the Detroit Tigers played in Frank Navin’s home away from home.

Recently, my father-in-law stumbled upon the burial site of Frank Navin at a Southfield cemetery.  Navin remains above ground in a mausoleum guarded by — what else? — giant tigers.  Holy Sepulchre Cemetery is located at 25800 W. 10 Mile Road near Beech Daly.  Below are photos of Navin’s final resting place.

It should be noted that Navin worked his entire adult life trying to bring a World Series championship to Detroit.  He did so in October of 1935 — and died just a few weeks later.

Frank Navin's mausoleum at Holy Sepulchre Cemetary in Southfield, Michigan.

Frank Navin's mausoleum at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Southfield, Michigan.

Giant tigers stand guard on either side of Frank Navin's burial site.

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Nov
11

The Detroit Lions’ Rendezvous with Destiny

By Jeff

It was appropriate that this was the game that marked the 75th anniversary of the Detroit Lions franchise.  As temperatures grow increasingly colder, Detroit’s football fans are well aware of the sharp contrast between the Lions of old and the current squad of has-beens and wannabees.

With the best Lions of all time taking the field to be recognized, it was painfully apparent that this is no longer one of the league’s elite teams.  When Eddie Murray is one of your five best players of all-time, you are not elite.

We know about the 50-plus years without an NFL title and the single Super Bowl-era playoff win.  In 2008, misery may have company as 0-16 continues to creep closer, especially with the Titans, Colts, Panthers and Bucsstill on the radar.  The Detroit Lions’ rendezvous with destiny is no longer a championship.  It’s a winless season.

Naturally, in the NFL, it is much easier to have an 0-for season.  With less games to play and the lack of possibility to have a hot shooting hand or hurler on the mound, 0-16 is much easier than 0-82 or 0-162.

Since this team is still essentially a Millen team, this is the second time during this era when the Lions have been in jeopardy of the “perfect season.”

2001 (the final year of the Lions in Pontiac) saw Detroit spring out to a 0-12 record before beating Minnesota in a nail-biter. That season also happened to end on a win, which kept the Lions from the worst record and the second pick (no. 1 went to expansion Houston). Detroit’s prize for that awful season?  Joey Harrington.

Just as the Lions found themselves searching for a QB then, the same has come true in 2008-09. Daunte Culpepper and Drew Stanton became options number 3 and 4 trotted out on the field this season, and the result has been continuously disappointing.

The plain fact is neither one of these guys is Bobby Layne — and they never will be.  And if Detroit Lions fans no longer know the difference, they were reminded of it during Sunday’s All-Time team ceremony.  If the Lions are ever going to “restore the roar” and the glory of the 1950s, they’re going to have to change the entire culture of the team.  Only then will their destiny change.  For now, their only rendezvous is with disaster.

 

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Nov
10

Comerica Park to Celebrate 10th Anniversary in 2009

By Steve

When the Detroit Tigers first left Tiger Stadium for Comerica Park in 2000, it seemed like they went on a road trip from which they never returned.  It took a very long time for countless Tigers fans to become used to the Tigers new home.  It seemed so antiseptic.  For many, it was akin to visiting a shopping mall or an amusement park.

The first five seasons at Comerica Park were not pretty.  In terms of attendance, it was the worst opening of a new ballpark in decades.  Unlike the fanfare most new stadiums receive, Comerica Park was met with anxiety and irritation caused by the abandonment of Tiger Stadium and the team’s lackluster play.

But time heals all wounds — and so does a winning ball club.  The ice began to melt in 2004 when the Tigers signed Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez.  Coming off of a 119 loss season and near financial bankruptcy, the Tigers were able to build some excitement with the addition of the full fledged all-star catcher.

2005 was a splash in large part because of the hosting of the All-Star Game.  The Tigers used the once-in-a-lifetime event to force those wanting to attend to buy regular season ticket packages.  In a single year, the team’s season ticket base more than doubled.  By that time, the Tigers were actually playing respectable baseball.  Magglio Ordonez had joined Pudge and some young talent was beginning to blossom.

By 2006, the Tigers had developed a roster with true talent and the empty seats at Comerica Park were beginning to disappear.  Jim Leyland joined the club as its manager and a new sense of purpose was instilled in the team.  Veteran pitchers Kenny Rogers and Todd Jones were brought on board to shore things up and rookie Justin Verlander wowed the baseball world with great control and dominance.

But All-Star Games and individual feats don’t mean much in a baseball town like Detroit.

If there was a turning point in Comerica Park’s young history, it was the miraculous post-season performance of the ‘06 squad and the American League Championship they won.  It was the first time in 19 years that the Tigers won the pennant — and everyone who ever called himself a Tigers fan was back on the bandwagon.

Despite its slow start and a rough transition, Comerica Park can now be proclaimed a success.  Ticket sales now exceed 3 million fans per year — at the highest prices ever charged.  A new generation of Tigers fans have embraced all the intricacies of the park that once seemed awkward.  And the place now seems seasoned and broken-in.  It has become a fun and exciting venue in which to watch a ball game.

It’s hard to believe, but in 2009, the Tigers will begin their tenth season at Comerica Park.  Here’s hoping it’s one to remember. 

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Nov
01

Ernie Harwell Rates Al Kaline The Greatest Tiger He’s Seen

By Steve

Ernie Harwell is the formost authority on baseball in Detroit — if not the world.  So when he has a strong opinon about the talents of a ball player it really means something.

In this short video clip, Ernie shares his thoughts on Al Kaline and declares him the best ball player he’s ever seen in a Tiger uniform.  Keep in mind, Ernie never saw Cobb play, so the compliment is not limitless.  But it certainly means a tremendous amount.

 

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Oct
19

1968 The Year of the Tiger Video

By Steve

It wasn’t much — but back then it seemed like everything.  It was on the turntable of every faithful Detroit Tigers fan and it somehow seemed to capture all of the excitement and hope of a truly magical season.

The Year of the Tiger album remains a favorite nostalgic item for Detroit Tigers fans.  The following video will bring back wonderful memories for those who lived through the 1968 season forty years ago.  Enjoy.

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Oct
18

Knapp Time for Tigers

By Steve

Rick Knapp, the Minnesota Twins Minor League pitching coordinator, was hired yesterday as the Detroit Tigers new pitching coach.

It’s hard to say how important a pitching coach is to a team.  But I remember vividly the impact Roger Craig had on the young pitching staff of the 1984 Tigers.  Craig was an integral part of the team’s success — and he was both instructive and motivational.

Knapp — and the Twins — have a reputation for producing strike-throwers.  That is something the Tigers need desperately.  This past season, the Tigers were the second worst team in the league when it comes to walks allowed; the Twins are consistently one of the best in this category.

A few turnarounds on the pitching staff – namely Justin Verlander and Dontrelle Willis — would instantly turn the Tigers into contenders.  Now Dave Dombrowski needs to bolster the bullpen and possibly sign another starting pitcher to give Knapp something he can mold into a serious staff.

It’s good to see the Tigers moving so quickly and in the right direction.

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Oct
16

Kirk Gibson: The Heart of a Champion

By Steve

Does anyone remember why the Detroit Tigers allowed Kirk Gibson to be lost to free agency after the magical 1987 season?

If there was any doubt that Jim Campbell and company made an awful mistake, Gibson showed everybody what a bonehead move it was less than a year later in the 1988 World Series while playing for the L.A. Dodgers.

Here is a candid interview with Gibson as he tells the story of his electrifying walk-off home run in Game One.

 

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Oct
12

Forty Years Ago In Detroit

By Steve

Forty years ago, nearly to the day, the Detroit Tigers defeated the St. Louis Cardinals for their third World Series title.  The exact date was October 10, 1968.  That’s the day Mickey Lolich jumped into the arms of Tigers catcher Bill Freehan in one of the most memorable moments in team history.

The memories of the ‘68 season seem fresh in the minds of so many Detroiters.  So does the vibrancy of the city itself.  In 1968 — even after the riots — Detroit was still a vibrant and bustling place.  The auto industry was still humming along and the city’s population, though decreasing, was still respectable.

So much has changed in the past four decades in the Motor City.  In truth, Detroit is just a shadow of its former self.  Perhaps that’s why the memories of a baseball championship mean so much to so many people.  Somehow, the pleasant, happy memories seem to provide hope — and a constant reminder that even in the worst of times good things can happen.

There will come a day in the not-so-distant future when there will be no more surviving members of the ‘68 squad.  The generation that experienced the last vestiges of Industrial Age greatness in Detroit – and the home grown leisure sports its abundant wealth provided — will be gone as well.

Personally, I believe that is why so many people in Detroit remain hopeful that some remnant of Tiger Stadium will be preserved for the ages.  For anyone who lived through Detroit’s heyday, the field and its surroundings represent much more than just baseball.  It is the very place we all shared — and lived – our hopes and dreams.  It is the home of our good old days.

There’s no telling what the future will bring.  Here’s hoping that a coming championship in Detroit will be memorable enough to provide a small fraction of the magic the 1968 one still does forty years later.

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Oct
08

Tiger Stadium’s Last Stand

By Steve

The wrecking crews have left the Tiger Stadium site — at least temporarily.  Stadium preservationists have been granted a small extension to raise enough money to send the demolition company away for the winter.  If they’re unable to provide a check in the amount of $219,000 by Friday, October 10, the stadium will be completely demolished.

It seems to me that the city of Detroit has given the preservationists just enough rope to hang themselves.  The $219,000 due Friday will buy the group until March 2009 to raise upward of $15 million to pay for their plans to preserve the sacred park.  At this point, it truly looks like a long shot.

Without the continued support of hall of fame broadcaster, Ernie Harwell, I don’t give the effort much of a chance.  I also don’t think taxpayer money in the form of earmarks or other political schemes is the right way to go — and to date, these represent the groups only true sources of revenue.

One thing the city should consider is selling the entire site — in its “as is” condition – to private developers and letting them decide what to do with the remaining portion of the stadium.  Creativity and private investment are the stadiums best hope.  If left to politics and politicians, it is only a matter of time before it falls.

Tiger Stadium as it looks today.

Tiger Stadium before the right field stands were demolished. Today, the stadium runs from dugout to dugout and only two light towers remain.

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