A considerable piece of Detroit's prep sports history is dying today -- Tiger Stadium is falling at the hands of de-construction crews and an army's worth of earth movers and bulldozers.
I thought I was over it. I was ready to move on after nine years to remove myself emotionally from what I heard in the late morning today, but the news bulletins took my breath away. Let me also say this: I'm proud to consider Ernie Harwell a friend. He was extremely helpful in pointing me in the right direction to getting published, and he put me in touch with Paul Carey to write the book's foreword. I pray I'm wrong when I say I don't think Ernie's best efforts will save the portion of the stadium he dearly wants to spare. Today is probably the beginning of the end of Tiger Stadium's days at 2121 Trumbull Avenue.
Today Tiger fans nationwide are buzzing along e-mail threads and Internet chat rooms while both Detroit dailies published online pictures this afternoon of the first substantial walls to crumble from the weight of the wrecking ball. Even longtime Red Wing fans feel the sting. Those who remember watching the old Olympia Stadium on Grand River Avenue at McGraw fall from grace in 1986 are watching with the same pained expression they displayed 22 summers ago when their hallowed hall was demolished.
But something more than hallowed halls that once housed Hank Greenberg, Ty Cobb, Bobby Layne and Joe Louis is being lost. Detroit's considerable prep sports history is waving goodbye to an address that has hosted some of the most memorable prep football games, championship baseball games, a statewide All-Star baseball game.
The Goodfellows Game was a classic played at Tiger Stadium after the Lions and Packers battled on Thanksgiving Day. The champions of the Catholic League and the Detroit Public School League, then better known as the Metropolitan League, battled for bragging rights, Top 10 rankings and potential state championships on Tiger Stadium's floor. In the spring, both the Catholic League and PSL hosted their respective league championship games in baseball. In the early summer after the state championship games, the state's best baseball players played the annual East-West All-Star Game.
The Denby Tars, Pershing Doughboys and University of Detroit High Cubs often locked horns with De LaSalle's Pilots, Catholic Central's Shamrocks, the Rustics of Redford St. Mary's or the St. Ambrose in the season-ending Goodfellows Game. Many times the winner of that game was voted to a high ranking in the season-ending Associated Press poll, and sometimes that winner was declared the state champion.
In baseball, Birmingham Brother Rice, the Fighting Irish of Harper Woods Notre Dame or Dearborn Divine Child have been regulars in the CHSL title tilts. Detroit Western's Cowboys or the Mustangs of Detroit Mumford have been multiple-time participants from the PSL side. Frank Tanana, Frank Clouser and Frank Sumbera have been among the many ball park franks to have seen games in the first person at Tiger Stadium.
Tiger Stadium belongs to the Tigers and their faithful fans. The Lions and their long-suffering legions have a considerable stake in today's news, too. But playing a game at Tiger Stadium for his high school was the goal of many a prep football and baseball player. Wearing a school letter jacket to a Lions game or Tiger opener was oft-seen as well.
Hopefully the stories, memories and traditions will outlive our historic park's fall from grace. Sadly, the dreams we all shared, long shuttered for all of us, officially died forever today.
~ Detroit Lions letter to Detroit Archdiocese courtesy of Detroit's Catholic High School League
You can still have memories of prep sports at the Corner as the plan is to have prep sports at the Corner, visit savetigerstadium.org to see the plans and help save a piece of history and perserve baseball and other sports in the location it has thrived for 100 years. Savetigerstadium.org
Posted by: doug Sokolowski | July 13, 2008 at 11:34