Tiger Stadium

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A Short History of Tiger Stadium

Bennett Park. Navin Field. Briggs Stadium. The Corner. Tiger Stadium.

For over 100 years baseball was played at the corner of Michigan and Trumbull. Here are pictures and stories of the ballpark in each of it's various constructions.


On September 21, 2009 at 9:24am the last remains of Tiger Stadium were torn down. In the words of the great Ernie Harwell, "Tiger Stadium is no more."


Tiger Stadium is gone now. Efforts to save it fell short and the city of Detroit moved to demolish the entire structure. This is now a page where you can reminisce through old photos and videos of this once great Green Cathedral - Tiger Stadium.


Also in this lens: 

Memorable home runs, unique aspects of Tiger Stadium, Tiger Stadium memories, a fond farewell to the grand old ballpark by Ernie Harwell, and much more. 

Some of the last footage of Tiger Stadium's demolition 

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The Corner by Ben Hassenger 

Ben Hassenger's song "The Corner" is a great way to remember Tiger Stadium. It's a pretty neat tribute to the historic stadium.

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curated content from YouTube

Detroit Commission Has Voted to Demolish Final Tiger Stadium Section 

UPDATED 6/2/09
The Detroit city commission voted today to tear down the remaining section of historic Tiger Stadium. A vote of 7-1 by the city's Economic Development Corp. appears to be the final nail in the coffin for those with slim hopes of preserving a section of the stadium.

UPDATE 2/26/09
Michigan senator Carl Levin has added an earmark to a bill currently before Congress. The earmark of $3.8 would go towards saving the remaining portion of Tiger Stadium. I loved Tiger Stadium, but I loathe using taxpayers money to save it.

UPDATE 1/20/09
The City of Detroit has approved of The Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy's plan for preserving a portion of Tiger Stadium. The group has until March 1st to come up with a plan showing how they will accumulate the $27 million needed to complete this project. Failure to do so will result in the complete demolition of Tiger Stadium.

UPDATE 10/23/08

The Detroit City Council voted this week to postpone the demolition of Tiger Stadium in its entirety. The Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy has paid $69,000 with another $150,000 in escrow. It will need to place another $150,000 in escrow by December 11th.

$15 million needs to be raised by March 1 to keep the preservation project going forward.

UPDATE 10/16/08

The Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy raised the necessary $219,000 last Friday, October 10th, to continue working towards saving a portion of Tiger Stadium. Now the Conservancy must raise millions of dollars to convert the remaining portion of the stadium into a sports museum. A large chunk of the money the Conservancy is counting on is federal funds and they are currently tied up in budget wrangling.

UPDATE 10/7/08

The Detroit City Council voted 5-3 to reject a resolution that would have authorized the immediate demolition of the historic ballpark. The Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy has $150,000 of the necessary $219,000 to avoid complete demolition of Tiger Stadium. The Conservancy says it will have the entire $219,000 by Friday, October 10th.

Old News

The Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy is still trying to save a portion of the stadium - the home plate area encompassing the two dugouts. They have to have a financial plan by November 1, in order to proceed with fundraising for their plan.

Should a Part of Tiger Stadium Be Preserved? 

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Photos of Tiger Stadium Demolition 

Worn Out Welcome by Dave Hogg

Tiger Stadium demolition - 4 July 2008

Hole In The Wall by Dave Hogg

Tiger Stadium demolition - 4 July 2008

Field of Faded Dreams by Dave Hogg

Tiger Stadium demolition - 4 July 2008

curated content from Flickr

Videos of Tiger Stadium Demolition 

Well, the inevitable has begun. Vote on your favorite (if watching Tiger Stadium fall can be a favorite of anyone) video.

I found the Aerial View of Tiger Stadium's Demolition rather interesting myself.

Demolition of Tiger Stadium - Day 1 0 points

Tiger Stadium - Demolition of historic ballpark 0 points

Demolition of Tiger Stadium - Day 2 0 points

Demolition of Tiger Stadium - Day 4 - The Scoreboard 0 points

Tiger Stadium demolition aerial video from RC plane 0 points

Before Tiger Stadium 

Before Navin Field



Who knew that this "rural looking" intersection of the 1890s would someday become The Corner?

Bennett Park Circa 1901 

Bennett Park 1901



A sketch of Bennett Park and how it looked in 1901. This was the first ballpark at "The Corner" of Michigan and Trumbull.

The park was named for former Detroit catcher Charlie Bennett whose playing career was cut short following a train accident that took his left foot and right leg at the knee.

Charlie Bennett was one of the most popular players from those early Detroit baseball teams.

Navin Field 1931 



New owner Frank Navin tore down the 8,500 seat Bennett Park to build one of the precursors of Tiger Stadium, Navin Field. Navin Field opened on April 20, 1912 (same day as Fenway Park made its debut) just five days after the Titanic sank.

Navin Field moved home plate to where right field was in Bennett Park and seated 23,000.

Note the street (Cherry Street) just outside the left field wall. It became the left field grand stand when Navin Field was upgraded in 1938 during its Briggs Stadium days.

Navin Field 1934 World Series 


Temporary bleachers were erected over Cherry Street in left field to pack in extra fans for the World Series and would become a permanent fixture when Briggs Stadium was upgraded in 1938 and Cherry Street was moved.

The Tigers lost the 1934 Series 4 games to 3 to the St. Louis Cardinals. The boys would bounce back the next year defeating the Chicago Cubs 4 games to 2.

Briggs Stadium 1951 


Here we see Briggs Stadium all closed in with its 53,000 capacity and looking almost exactly like Tiger Stadium. About the only thing missing was of course, the name.

In 1936 the right field grandstands were double-decked which increased the seating to 36,000. Two years later, in 1938 the same was done to the left and center field grandstands to bring the seating up to 53,000.

Lights were finally added in 1948. Tiger Stadium was the second to last park to add lights. Wrigley Field was the last ballpark to add lights 40 years later in 1988.

With the addition of the lights the final construction of the Tiger Stadium that we know was complete and the stadium would be known as one of (if not THE) finest stadiums in baseball.

Briggs Stadium Memorabilia 

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Tiger Stadium in its prime 


In 1961 (nine years after Walter Briggs death) owner John Fetzer gave the permanent name of "Tiger Stadium" to the Green Cathedral on "The Corner."

This picture is how Tiger Stadium should be remembered. Not as an empty deteriorating shell of its former self, but as a vibrant, fan-filled field that carried the hopes and dreams of its inhabitants on the backs of men like Greenberg, Kaline, Cobb, Cash, Trammell, and Horton.

Tiger Stadium before demolition began 


From this satellite photo you can see that the playing field has seen better days. No longer manicured, watered, and fertilized, but abandoned, neglected, and vacant.

You can't see the trees growing in the stands or the wires hanging down from the pressbox in this photo. You probably don't want to. That is no way to remember an old friend.

Tiger Stadium Memorabilia 

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Facts and Oddities of Tiger Stadium 

Just an assortment of some of the odd or strange things about Tiger Stadium that made it so precious to us.
  1. Only stadium in baseball to have a flagpole in play in center field.
  2. The visitors' clubhouse sign read, "Visitors' Clubhouse, no Visitors' Allowed."
  3. 19 different players cleared the roof of Tiger Stadium a total of 28 times.
  4. On July 13, 1934, Babe Ruth hit his 700th home run at Tiger Stadium.
  5. Tiger Stadium was the only ballpark in the major leagues to have a double-decked bleacher section. The bleacher section at Tiger Stadium also had a separate entrance into the park.
  6. The right field overhang, or "The Porch" as it was affectionately dubbed. The upper deck actually hung over the playing field by 10 feet. Lights had to be installed under the overhang so the right fielder could see at the warning track.
  7. Home of the 1941, 1951, and 1971 All-Star Games.
  8. Reggie Jackson belted a monster home run in the 1971 All-Star Game that hit a transformer on the right field roof.
  9. The Tigers opened Navin Field (first real predecessor to Tiger Stadium) with a 6-5 win in extra innings. They closed out Tiger Stadium on September 27, 1999 with an 8-2 win over the Kansas City Royals.
  10. The last (and one of the more electric moments in sports) home run hit in Tiger Stadium was fittingly by a Tiger, Robert Fick and it was a Grand Slam at that.

Memorable Home Runs at Tiger Stadium 

Feel free to add to this list. I just got it started with a few of the more memorable ones, but when there are 11,111 home runs during the lifespan of a ballpark there has to be many memorable ones!

Kirk Gibson's 8th Inning Home Run in 1984 World Series

With the Tigers leading 5-4 and ace reliever Goose Gossage on the mound Kirk Gibson heard Tigers Manager Sparky Anderson say, "He don't want to walk you!" Gibson obliged by mashing the ball into the right field upper deck for an 8-4 lead and eventual World Series Championship.2 points

Robert Fick's Grand Slam at the final Tiger Stadium game

In the bottom of the 8th inning in the final game at Tiger Stadium Robert Fick hit a monster grand slam home run onto the right field roof for the 11,111th (and final) home run at Tiger Stadium.1 point

Reggie Jackson's 1971 All-Star Game Home Run

Reggie Jackson made his way into Tiger Stadium lore when he belted a home run into a transformer on top of the right field roof in the 1971 All Star Game.0 points

Babe Ruth's 700th Home Run

On July 13, 1934 Babe Ruth hit his 700th home run off of Tigers' pitcher Tommy Bridges (who won 22 games for the pennant winning Tigers that year) in a 4-2 Yankees victory at what was then known as Navin Field.0 points

Movies filmed (at least partially) at Tiger Stadium 

A lot of folks know that the movie 61* was filmed at Tiger Stadium after the Tigers had vacated it. Through researching the history of Tiger Stadium I stumbled across some others that I had forgotten or just plain never knew had scenes filmed there.

Here they are!

61*

Tiger Stadium was made to look like Yankee Stadium. The seats were painted green and a Bronx skyline was added digitally. Note: Roger Maris' first home run of his record breaking season was hit at Tiger Stadium.

Amazon Price: $5.98 (as of 11/22/2009) Buy Now

Hardball

Scene filmed at Tiger Stadium. I believe that Tiger Stadium was supposed to be a horrible and unbelievable stand-in for Wrigley Field as the movie was based in Chicago and the only player to make a brief cameo was former Cubbie Sammy Sosa.

Amazon Price: $9.98 (as of 11/22/2009) Buy Now

The Pride of the Yankees

On May 2, 1939 Tiger Stadium was witness to the end of Lou Gehrig's consecutive game streak. This was the site of when he voluntarily benched himself ending his streak at 2,130 consecutive games played.

Amazon Price: (as of 11/22/2009) Buy Now

Raging Bull (Special Edition)

Tiger Stadium was the site of two championship boxing matches for Jake La Motta

Amazon Price: $13.49 (as of 11/22/2009) Buy Now

Tiger Town

Cheesy 1980s Disney flick filmed at Tiger Stadium.

Amazon Price: (as of 11/22/2009) Buy Now

Tiger Stadium Memories 

I have fond memories of Tiger Stadium. We lived on the other side of the state so I didn't get to go to very many games there. The few times I did were just as magical and wonderful no matter how old I was.

Whether it was sitting in the upper deck along the first base line or the right field grandstands. I remember taking the church bus and a box lunch and saving my chocolate pudding for the long ride home after the game only to find that my older sister had snitched it and ate every last drop.

I remember going to a game against the Toronto Blue Jays and I believe Brian Moehler was pitching. This was during the lean years and I cannot remember if the Tigers won or lost. That wasn't the point.

I was watching a baseball game in one of baseball's last Green Cathedrals on a beautiful summer day. I had the obligatory hot dog (pulled from the depths of a case of hot water by the vendor) with the standard mustard and a chocolate ice cream to wash it down.

I tried to keep score but had never learned the finer points of doing so. I still have the pencil from that game even though the scorecard has long since been lost during one of the many moves that are made from childhood to college and then to adulthood.

That was also my first chance to fill out an official All-Star ballot as they were handing those out with the programs. Of course, being a lifelong Tigers fan I filled up the roster with Detroit players.

I remember parking over by Pine Street and walking across the pedestrian bridge over Fisher Hwy. There was always a guy near Cochrane Street selling brown paper bags of peanuts and claiming they were selling them for less than you could get them in the stadium. You know what? He was right.

Oh Tiger Stadium will not stand forever, but the memories, mementos, and pictures will live on forever.

I am reminded of the speech James Earl Jones' character makes in Field of Dreams. Here is an excerpt:

"The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it's a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again."

Share your Tiger Stadium memories 

Millions of folks attended games at "The Corner" over the years. That is a lot of memories. Please share your Tiger Stadium memories here.

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  • Reply
    Mac Mac Oct 26, 2009 @ 4:32 pm
    Tiger stadium will always have a special place in the hearts of Tiger fans everywhere.
  • Reply
    mike wright mike wright Sep 21, 2009 @ 11:41 am
    Many great memories of the corner.Double headers for 3 bucks!Pepsi-tigers fan club got us tickets to 6 games in left field for 10 bucks.The wave going clockwise in the upper deck and counter clockwise on bottom.The bird,tram and sweet lou,and my fav ron lefore.I was able to take my son to 1 game(a lose against clevland)My daughter ran the bases a couple years before.1 foul ball and countless autographes.I will miss it greatly
  • Reply
    AppalachianCountry AppalachianCountry Jul 1, 2009 @ 7:08 am
    Great lens. We never got to go to Tiger Stadium but wanted to go. Our Momma was a big Al Kaline fan. Thank-you for all the wonderful pics.
  • Reply
    CoolFoto CoolFoto Nov 21, 2008 @ 6:31 pm
    I never went to a baseball game when I lived in Detroit, but, you have really covered the subject well! Lensroll to my Detroit lens www.squidoo.com/detroitmich
  • Reply
    Ron K Ron K Oct 9, 2008 @ 5:38 pm
    I loved Tiger Stadium and it was a shame to see it being torn apart.They should have used all the money invested into Comerica Park and redone "The Corner".Yes,I've been to Comerica but it's not Tiger Baseball to me and nothing will ever compair to the vibe of the greatest stadium in the world,Tiger Stadium".
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Videos of the final game at Tiger Stadium and it's pre-demolition condition 

Relive the emotion and the drama of the final game played at The Corner, September 27, 1999 against the Kansas City Royals.

After enjoying the final moments of Tiger Stadium, watch the two videos showing the dilapidated state of the beloved ballpark before demolition work began.

Tour inside Tiger Stadium in 2006 0 points

Last Game at Tiger Stadium (part 1) 0 points

Last Game at Tiger Stadium (part 3) 0 points

Stranded at The Corner 0 points

Last Game at Tiger Stadium (part 2) 0 points

Books featuring Tiger Stadium 

Whether you are interested in vintage pictures of Tiger Stadium in its glory days or some good old facts, these books will be a great addition to you baseball library.

Tiger Stadium (MI) (Images of Baseball)

Amazon Price: $19.99 (as of 11/22/2009) Buy Now

Corner to Copa: The last Game at Tiger Stadium and the First at Comerica Park

Amazon Price: (as of 11/22/2009) Buy Now

Home Sweet Home: Memories of Tiger Stadium (Honoring a Detroit Legend)

Amazon Price: $19.95 (as of 11/22/2009) Buy Now

Visit these other Detroit Tigers lenses 

Here are a couple of other Detroit Tiger related lenses that might be of interest to you.

Tiger Stadium Links 

Various links to Tiger Stadium websites!
Digital Picture Gallery of Tiger Stadium
Wow! Every fan of Tiger Stadium should visit this site. While not in it's glory days you can still get a sense of the old ballpark's majesty.

A Green Cathedral indeed.
Stranded at The Corner
Stranded at the Corner is a documentary chronicling the city of Detroit's neglect of Tiger Stadium
Save Tiger Stadium
SaveTigerStadium.org has all the info on how you can help save a part of Tiger Stadium for future generations.

by AllThingsMichigan

Born and raised in Michigan - the Great Lakes State.

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