Tiger Stadium

Michael Betzold is a former reporter, columnist, and copyeditor for the Detroit Free Press. He lives in Detroit. John Davids, an architect at Kingscott Associates, produced The Cochrane Plan for renovating Tiger Stadium. He lives in Royal Oak, Michigan. Bill Dow has written about Detroit sports history for the Detroit Free Press and Baseball Digest. He lives in Birmingham, Michigan. John Pastier is a San Jose-based architecture writer with a specialty in ballpark history and design. Lifelong Detroiter Frank Rashid of Marygrove College, writes about Detroit literature, culture, and politics.

“The editors of this text do an excellent job of tracing the nearly 100-year history of Tiger Stadium... The book’s chief strength is the stories and memories from countless Detroit Tiger fans, workers, announcers, and players.... a richly informative and entertaining resource...recommended”—Choice; “an extremely well-researched and thorough presentation of both the history of the park and the place of Tiger Stadium in the larger history of Detroit...an incredible literary journey”—The Inside Game (SABR Deadball Era Committee Newsletter); “sure to be a winner...edited by five renowned baseball historians...will prove a feast for the soul for Tigers fans, full of memories, anecdotes, perspectives, photos, architectural diagrams, and forgotten history. This is Detroit’s must-have baseball book...a book to savor, sip by delicious sip, like an ice-cold beer, with enough stories and essays to last you through the long, hot summer. All the editors and writers did a wonderful job, adding another volume to what has been a great series by McFarland.”—Detroit Athletic; “Tiger fans who remember Tiger Stadium with great affection will love this book...a thorough history of the ballfield.... The book doesn’t miss a single significant moment in the park’s history. This fine book is the equal of a no-hitter in the seventh game of the world series. It is memorable, full of fascinating details, and darn near perfect.”—Michigan in Books.

• Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroductionPart I: History and BackgroundA Century on Common Ground I: Bennett Park and Navin Field (Michael Betzold)A Century on Common Ground II: Briggs Stadium and Tiger Stadium (Michael Betzold)Detroit Lions Roar at Briggs Stadium (Bill Dow)Longevity and Adaptability: Tiger Stadium’s Evolution, Architecture, Functionality, Structure and Urban Context (John Pastier with Drawings by John Davids)The Mallparking of America: Tiger Stadium and the Subsidy Game (Neil deMause)Losing Tiger Stadium, 1987–1997 (Frank Rashid)The Battle for Sacred Ground, 1998–2011 (Rebecca Long with a 2016 Postscript by Michael Betzold)Part II: MemoriesTiger Stadium Souvenirs (Bill Dow)Tiger Stadium in Literature(Michael P. Gruber)Tiger Stadium Memories and Stories• From the Stands• From the Workers• From the Booth• From the Gridiron• From the Diamond“The Biggest House in the Neighborhood”: Living Near Tiger Stadium (Frank Rashid)The Stadium: An Essay in Memory of George Cantor (Tom DeLisle)For the Love of the Game (Karen Elizabeth Bush)Closer (Todd Jones) Reflections on the Closing of Tiger Stadium• The Final Opener (Kim Stroud)• The Final Week (Judy Davids)• The Navin Field Grounds Crew (John Davids)• Elegy for Tiger Stadium (Jim Daniels)Appendix 1: 161 Baseball Hall of Famers Who Played at the Tiger Stadium Site (Bill Dow)Appendix 2: The 15 ­All-Star Game Home Runs Hit at Briggs/Tiger Stadium (Bill Dow)Appendix 3: The Lions’ Most Memorable Games at Tiger Stadium (Bill Dow)A Select Bibliography of Works About Tiger Stadium (Compiled by Frank Rashid)About the ContributorsIndex