Tiger Stadium
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- This article is about Tiger Stadium in Detroit. For Tiger Stadium at LSU, please see Tiger Stadium (Baton Rouge).
History
Early Origins
In 1895, Detroit Tigers owner George Vanderbeck had a new ballpark built at the corner of Michigan and Trumbull avenues. That stadium was called Bennett Park and featured a wooden grandstand with a wooden peaked roof in the outfield and bleachers surrounding the infield. At the time, some places in the outfield were only marked off with rope.The 20th Century
In 1911, new Tigers owner Frank Navin ordered a new steel-and-concrete baseball park on the same site that would seat 23,000 to accommodate the growing numbers of fans and on April 20, 1912, Navin Field was opened, the same day as the Boston Red Sox's Fenway Park.Over the years, expansion continued to accommodate more people. In 1935, following the death of Frank Navin, new owner Walter Briggs oversaw the expansion of Navin Field to a capacity of 36,000 by extending the upper deck to the foul poles and across right field. By 1938, the city had agreed to move Cherry Street, allowing left field to be double-decked, and the now-renamed Briggs Stadium had a capacity of 53,000.
Also in 1938, the NFL's Detroit Lions began a relationship that allowed them to host their home games at Briggs Stadium. They would play there through the 1974 season, before moving to the Pontiac Silverdome in suburban Pontiac.
In 1961, new owner John Fetzer took control of the stadium and gave it its permanent name: Tiger Stadium. Under this name, the stadium witnessed World Series championship seasons in 1968 and 1984.
The stadium gained a reputation in the 1970s and 1980s for its aging facilities and obstructed views, but was beloved by local baseball fans for its historic feel. Box and most reserved seats were close to the action. In 1977, ownership of the park transferred from the Detroit Tigers to the City of Detroit.
In 1992, new owner Mike Ilitch began many cosmetic improvements to the ballpark, primarily with the addition of the Tiger Den and Tiger Plaza. The Tiger Den was an area in the lower deck between first and third base that had padded seats and section waiters. The Tiger Plaza was constructed in the old players parking lot and consisted of many concessionaires and a gift shop.
After the 1994 strike, plans began to construct a new park, many campaigned to save the stadium. Ground was broken for the new Comerica Park during the 1997 season.
On September 27, 1999, the final Detroit Tigers game was held at Tiger Stadium. Following the game, an emotional ceremony with past and present Tigers greats was held to mark the occasion. The Detroit Tigers moved to the newly constructed Comerica Park for their 2000 season leaving Tiger Stadium largely unused.
The 21st Century
From the departure of the Detroit Tigers in 1999 through early 2006, the city of Detroit spent nearly $4 million maintaining Tiger Stadium.In the summer of 2000, the HBO movie 61* was filmed in Tiger Stadium. To make the field appear to be Yankee Stadium, the seats were painted green and a third deck and skyline of the Bronx were added through the use of CG. In the credit roll at the end of the film, Yankee Stadium is listed as a character played by Tiger Stadium. Coincidently, it was at Tiger Stadium that Roger Maris hit his first home run of his record-breaking 1961 season.
On July 24, 2001, a Great Lakes Summer Collegiate Game between the Motor City Marauders and the Lake Erie Monarchs was played at Tiger Stadium. It was in an effort by a local sports management company that is seeking to bring a minor-league franchise to Detroit in the Frontier League
In July 2002, the Tigers sponsored a fantasy camp with instructors Jason Thompson and Milt Wilcox. For many, this was the final time that Tiger Stadium was opened to the public for a baseball-related purpose.
Since then, The Corner has been used periodically to videotape special segments, such as the appearance of Denny McLain on Fox Sports Net's Beyond the Glory and a pregame piece for the 2005 Major League Baseball All-Star Game featuring Ernie Harwell.
On Saturday, February 4 and Sunday, February 5, 2006, a tent on Tiger Stadium's field played host to Anheuser-Busch's Bud Bowl 2006 [link]. Among performers at the nightclub-style event was Snoop Dogg [link]. After several years out of the public eye, the Bud Bowl event led the Detroit Free Press to make the interior of the stadium the feature of a photo series on February 1, 2006 [link]. These photos showed the stadium's deteriorating condition, which included trees and other vegetation growing in the stands. Anheuser-Busch promoted the advertising event as Tiger Stadium's Last Call.
Demolition
On June 15, 2006, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick announced that Tiger Stadium will be demolished, with a city-funded demolition set to begin in the fall of 2006. The historic playing field will be preserved in the new development to appear at the site. The development will include a ring of shops and condominiums around the baseball diamond, which will be converted into a public park[link].
In the years before the decision to demolish the stadium, the city rejected several proposals for developing the site. Among the proposals were plans to convert Tiger Stadium into condominiums, a jail, and a Wal-Mart shopping center [link]. Another rejected plan involved converting parts of the stadium into residential lofts. Still another apparently rejected plan, floated by a Detroit area financier, would have reconfigured the stadium to its Navin Field size, which would also have included a museum, shops, and conference space[link].
Trivia
- Had a 125 ft (38 m) tall flagpole in fair play, to the left of dead center field near the 440 ft (134 m) mark.
- When it closed, it was tied with Fenway Park as the oldest ballpark in Major League Baseball the way the dates are normally reckoned. They opened on the exact same date in 1912. Taking predecessor Bennett Field into account, this was the oldest site in use in 1999.
- The right-field upper deck overhung the field by 10 feet (3 m), prompting the installation of lights above the warning track.
- Was the second-to-last stadium to install lights for night play, before Wrigley Field.
- Had upper-deck bleacher seating in the outfield.
- Was host to 11,111 home runs, the last a mammoth, right field, roof top grand slam by Detroit's Robert Fick as the last hit in the last game played there.
- The depth in straightaway center field was actually 425 ft (130 m), not the 440 ft (134 m) as shown on the center field wall.
- It was sometimes called The Corner, as it is at the corner of Michigan and Trumbull Avenues.
- Tiger Stadium was home to the Detroit Lions from 1938 to 1974 when they dropped their final Tiger Stadium game to the Denver Broncos on Thanksgiving Day. The football field ran mostly in the outfield from the right field line to left center field parallel with the third base line. The benches for both the Lions and their opponents were on the outfield side of the field.
- On July 13, 1934, Babe Ruth hit his 700th career home run at The Corner.
- May 2, 1939, will be forever remembered in the annals of baseball as the day New York Yankees first baseman Lou Gehrig voluntarily benched himself at Briggs Stadium, ending a streak of 2,130 consecutive games.
- The stadium was depicted in Tiger Town, a 1983 made-for-television baseball movie starring Roy Scheider, and (as Briggs Stadium) in the 1980 feature film Raging Bull where the stadium was the site of two of Jake LaMotta's championship boxing matches. Tiger Stadium was also seen in the film Hardball starring Keanu Reeves.
- "Michigan and Trumbull," a song by Michigan indie-pop band The Original Brothers and Sisters of Love, pays tribute to Tiger Stadium in its last season.
- The stadium hosted the 1941, 1951, and 1971 MLB All-Star games.
- Major League Baseball expressed interest in making use of Tiger Stadium during the 2005 MLB All-Star Game, which was held at nearby Comerica Park. No events were held at Tiger Stadium that weekend.
- In February 2006, Tiger Stadium's field was used for the 2006 Anheuser-Busch Bud Bowl advertising event, part of the unofficial Super Bowl XL festivities.
External links
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