Posted on 07/19/2008 7:52:03 AM PDT by sball
Where the Fans Once Roared, Demolition Crews Now Have Their Day By NICK BUNKLEYNew York TimesJuly 19, 2008 DETROIT — The wake began as soon as bulldozers punched throughthe wall behind Section 501. All month, carfuls of mourners havebeen arriving steadily on an otherwise desolate street in theshadow of the 96-year-old ballpark. Most have digital cameras dangling from their wrists and a D, inOld English lettering, on their shirts. The more prepared pull step ladders from the backs of their vehicles; others climb ontothe roofs of their cars to peer over the eight-foot-tall fenceshrouding workers inside. Across Trumbull Avenue, Greg Person, who works mornings as ameat cutter, now spends afternoons hawking cold bottles of waterand bags of peanuts bearing the Detroit Tigers logo to those whodrive up. "It was a great park, man — won't be another one like it," said Mr. Person, 47, a lifelong resident of Detroit. "I have fun just being here, just sitting here watching, whether I sell any ornot."
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
http://www.savetigerstadium.org/
The beat goes on. My tax money at work!
I hate to see Tiger stadium come down but it sits mostly empty these days. Comerica park is really a nice place. One of the nicest in MLB so I hear.
Meanwhile the desecated train station across the street has been vacant for the last 40 years. Oh, King Kwame said that’s going to be the new police headquarters. That will happen as soon as my truck can sprout wings and fly.
An object of my misspent youth is going away. A sad reminder of just how old I really am.
What was neet about the old ballpark was the proximity of the fans to the players. You could talk to them. Comerica/Ilitch Land is just another cookie cutter ballpark.
Why stop at the stadium? From what I hear, you might as well tear down the rest of Detroit while you’ve got the bulldozers running.
Detroit’s population has shrunk and is now under 900,000. I guess actor Jeff Daniels commercials appealing for business to move to Michigan isn’t working.
saw Denny McClain pitch his 27th victory there in 1968. I think Gates Brown hit a homer in that game. Al Kaline, right field, the greatest Tiger of all.
Went with my Dad to that stadium many times, including a World Series game in 1984. Lots of good memories there, and I’m sad to see it being destroyed.
Comerica Park is GREAT! I love watching baseball games there. There are bronze statues of Hall of Fame Tigers along the mezzanine, and every seat has a great view.
Now, Ford Field next door, where the Lions play, that is a dump. From the inside it looks like someone walked into a Sam’s Club, cleared out the shelves, and put down some green carpet. It literally looks like a warehouse inside.
I nearly choked on my coffee. I grew up under the shadow of Death Valley in Baton Rouge. Thought for a minute they were tearing down my Tiger Stadium.
Only four of the game's most powerful right-handed sluggers (Harmon Killebrew, Frank Howard, Cecil Fielder and Mark McGwire) reached the left field rooftop.
Try Al Kaline on the mound.
Even Ted Nugent moved out.
Yep... somewhere back in the cobwebs is that bit... Wasn't that an extra extra inning game and all the pitchers had been used? Remember the story hitting the (Toledo) Blade (One of America's great newspapers - or so they say.. In reality, it isn't any better at fishwrap than the NYT...) but like many of me memories from the '60's, it's rusty 'cause my brain leaks...
Dad & GrandPa began taking me in 1956 to Tiger Stadium.
If he did that, he must not have made an out, because he has no stats as a pitcher:
http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=kalinal01
Had some great times at that stadium.
Perhaps I no loner remember his playing position after all these years, and all the many players. I do know that I yelled and ate myself sick as a youth at the stadium.
Don’t feel bad. I still clearly recall watching a game on TV between the Washington Senators and the Boston Red Sox that saw Washington leading 12 to 5 going into the bottom of the 9th. Boston won 13 to 12.
I was only a kid, but I was crushed.
Here’s the thing: Today, I cannot find that game recorded anywhere. I don’t remember what year it was, but I’d guess it was the late 50s or early 60s.
Wouldn’t you know it . . . I just found the game. It was June 18, 1961.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BOS/BOS196106181.shtml
The Senators scored 5 runs in the top of the 9th to go up 12 to 5. In the bottom of the 9th, with a man on 1st and two out, Boston began their rally, and won the game 13 to 12.
Al Kaline normally played first base. But your mention of him pitching did ring a bell somewhere, and of course, as things fade into the past, maybe my memory of details is off, but somewhere in the archives of my brain is a memory of some team having to put a non-pitcher on the mound due to a super long extra inning game. As a time frame, I would think it would be in the late 50’s to late ‘60s somewhere... Whether it was Detroit and Kaline or not, don’t know.. Maybe someone else who is from our generation but hasn’t developed a leaky brain can help out here ;-)
It’s terrible to develop CRS.. LOL!
I'll also remember Robert Fick's Grand Slam off the roof in Tiger Stadium's final game.
Nothing against Comerica Park, but it's no Tiger Stadium.
If you would like to be added or dropped from the Michigan ping list, please freepmail me.
I've read that in Comerica, if a taller person is sitting in front of you, their head gets in the way.
I remember when Reggie Jackson hit the light tower in that All-Star game. The announcers were in shock, it got there so fast, and had bounced back down onto the field by the time the cameras had figured out what had happened. That was one monster blast.
As for great Tigers of the past, Mark the Bird Fidrych. I loved that guy.
Greatest team ever (next to the 1984 Tigers, of course)
Ouch. My one memory of Tiger Stadium was several boring hours on the road to get there, several hours of boredom with a nearly no-hitter game, and several more hours of boredom returning home. Decades passed before I would go to my second baseball game.
My luck to have seen a lousy game, not one of the greats.
Barbara Rose Collins. One of the worst congresscritters in US History. She got primaried out to Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, the mother of hizzoner.
As far as this racial crap goes, it was the 68 Tigers who helped heal a city, black and white after the 67 riots. One of the most popular Tigers there was Willie Horton, who is from Detroit. He's not white either.
Kwame seems to be heading down the same path as Denny Mac’s.
Yeah, I remember my first trip to Tiger Stadium in ‘67...Willie Horton was stealing bases at that time. My dad said to keep an eye on him and darned if he didn’t steal 2nd right then! It was “Free Bat Day” and I got an Al Kaline and my brother got a Norm Cash. The following summer our dog, a miniature schnauzer, had a litter of pups and we named them for some of the ‘68 Tigers...Denny McLain, Al Kaline, Norm Cash, Jim Northrup, Mickey Stanley, etc...it was the coolest thing except for the part where we had to give them up because they were eventually sold and renamned by their new owners. For all I know, those puppies helped pay for a trip or two to some games that year. “Go get ‘em Tigers!”
BTW, I think peoples memories of Tiger Stadium have grown fonder as time passes. The ballpark had a ton of obstructed view seats and far to few restrooms.
“The ballpark had a ton of obstructed view seats and far too few restrooms.”
Hah! That reminds me of an extremely sexist joke about the urinals at Tiger Stadium. It’s one of those where you can substitute “Yankee Stadium” or “Fenway Park”, etc. for “Tiger Stadium”. Tsk, tsk, tsk...
Lots of memories at the old ball park, but Comerica Park rocks!
Al Kaline doesn't reach the ankles of Hank Greenberg.
And then there was Ty Cobb, meanest meat-eating Tiger of all time.
hey, you have a point . Maybe I should say of my lifetime.
A Hall of Famer is still a Hall of Famer any way you look at it. Don’t forget this fact: Kaline never played a day or an inning of minor league baseball. They signed him right out of high school and was barely 18 years old, played 22 consecutive seasons with the same team.
All too true most likely, but then I’ve noticed more and more my suffering from CRS.
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