Tiger Stadium was my stadium, growing up in the Detroit area. I was at the final game in 1999. The place was low on the amenities you see today, but it had a lot of charm and history. The right field overhang you pointed out created a "porch" in the right field stands, and when Al Kaline joined the team in the mid-50s, a section of seats in the right field corner was taken out, so Kaline could use his amazing defensive prowess to catch fly balls. Losing Tiger Stadium and watching it being torn down really hurt.
Tiger Stadium will always have a special place in my heart. My uncle took me to my first game there in 1981 after the strike vs Kansas Royals and the Tigers won on a walk off in the 10th and Kevin Saucier got the win and that was one of the best nights of my childhood it was magical. My uncle was a teenager in 1957 and went to the NFL championship game and sat in the upper deck bleachers for 50 cents lol how crazy. He still has the ticket stubb and framed it.
Famous teams like Man. Utd and Liverpool are constrained by the tight urban neighborhoods in which they are located. So instead they add new stands and seating, totally destroying most of any original character. Liverpool added an enormous new Main Stand in 2016 and will be rebuilding and double decking one of the end stands in the next two years. Also, Arsenal did leave its century plus home of Highbury (cap. 38000) for Emirates Stadium (cap. 60000). So moves can happen; it's just difficult in old, built up cities.
@@kevinfitzgerald1010 Good points, but in America, we often deem stadiums obsolete after twenty years. In baseball, the Rangers and Braves cried for new stadiums, only to move out after twenty years. The Diamondbacks and Brewers have recently wanted new stadiums, too. I find it all odd.
@gregorykrug8034 I'm American; on this thread because I'm from Detroit and knew Tiger Stadium very well. I spent a good deal of time in my career in England so I'm up on some of their stadium issues. Wouldn't you say the Atlanta and Texas situations are largely due to them being built before the luxury suite boom? Turner Field was hacked together from the 1996 Olympic stadium (liked it though) and the Texas ballpark was rather plain. The new Texas ballpark looks to have hit that spot; don't know much about the new Atlanta park except it's in the burbs. No avoiding traffic in Atlanta anyway. Also don't know much about the AZ park, but the Milwaukee situation grinds my gears. Newish high tech park, and the Selig family are allegedly loyal to the minor market that is Milwaukee. The extortion play is reprehensible.
@@kevinfitzgerald1010 The Rangers wanted a dome to beat the heat, but why not think of that before? The "last of the bad stadiums" imo is the new Comiskey Park. I have not been there (I have driven past it), but at least they have spent $$$ in improvements. Speaking of the White Sox, if the Bears do move out of Soldier Field eventually, I swear that the Soldier Field location would be a PERFECT location for a new Comiskey Park. They can keep the columns, but everything else could be redone for a beautiful ballpark.
This was my favorite place to go. The outside you show is cosmetic and was showing its age. I went to my last game in 1999. Sat in the right field Upper deck to experience the overhang.
My family moved to Detroit in 1968. I used to pay $1 for an upper deck bleacher in center field. Fly balls to the warning track in right field would disappear beneath the overhang and you wouldn't know if you should cheer or moan until you heard the reaction of the crowd in the rest of the stadium. It was a really good hitter's park (except for the 440 feet to straight away center field) that I could never understand why they built Comerica as big as an airport.
I choke up every time I see this gorgeous park.. My Dad took me to games all the time and I got to be there for The Win in '84... Bless You, Boys! Gibby made the building ring like a tuning fork. We live across the creek in Windsor and between Tiger Stadium, The Joe and Windsor arena.. The sight, sounds... and oh.. The smells can't be duplicated
I had the great fortune to go to a game there in 1987. Tigers were playing the Orioles. Good game, tho the Tigers blew a lead in the 8th and lost. But what I still remember most is the surreal feeling that time stopped as I exited the dark concourse that smelled of stale beer and walked out into the field level boxes. The stadium surrounded me and was so enormous. The field was so close. Everything stopped, and I felt my chest would explode from the beating of my heart. It was a feeling I never had at a ballpark before or since, and I've been to many. What a marvelous experience.
@@MrManflyballpark in arlington was a hitter’s park walls weren’t very deep any direction from home plate. While on the subject…. it’s RF porch was for Tiger Stadium Jagged outfield fence for Griffith Stadium Outer facade arches were for Ebbets field Taller LF fence with manual scoreboards was for Fenway CF batter’s eye grass was for Wrigley Frieze at the top of the upper grandstand was for Yankee Stadium I feel like I might be forgetting a few features in honor of the old baseball cathedrals…. DFW sports fans may remind me of others. That stadium was truly magnificent we just couldn’t add a roof to it.
@@moderationinexcess. Great recap, Mr Moderation! I’ll add one more. First neon “action” scoreboard was the Anheuser-Busch “A and Eagle” in Busch Stadium #1 (originally Sportsman’s Park). When Bill Veeck bought the White Sox, the Cards scoreboard was his inspiration for his even-more raucous neon action scoreboard with the pin wheels and fireworks.
@@OldRustySteele many lost gems and while the Ballpark in Arlington wasn’t around long enough to be considered an all time great I felt it was a fantastic stadium that combined awesome elements of past cathedrals of the game
Kinda sad that Tiger Stadium is no longer around. It was an iconic stadium with a lot of great memories and nostalgia behind it. I wish they could've saved it.
The field is now completely surrounded by mixed-use development, with the Detroit Police Athletic league using the field, along with youth and semi- por soccer teams. Corktown area surrounding it is booming.
Right, I just visited the area last week-I’d go to games at Tiger Stadium with my Dad and he’d always park over on Labrosse St. for free, and we’d walk about half a mile up Trumbull Ave. to the ballpark & I’d literally have my fingers crossed the whole time that our car would still be there fully intact after the game. Now, you pretty much have to be a millionaire to live there…pretty crazy, but it sure is a nice area. Although Michigan Ave. probably hasn’t been repaved since the Tigers won a World Series.
The Stadium was charming but old. It deserved a better fate. I saw a few games there as a student across the river in Windsor. Opening Day of Tigers Baseball was always a good day .
One of the more heart-wrenching things I've seen in terms of happenings to a stadium is when the last parts of Tiger Stadium demolition were featured in the music video for "Beautiful" by Eminem. That stadium looked like it had so much charm, and could tell so many majestic stories if its walls could talk.
The place had a culture of its own, and was steeped in history, not only due to the numerous sporting events that occurred there from boxing, to pro football, and baseball, but the generations of fans who went there, and even the employees. The structure itself had a lot of character, from the air vents on the exterior walls of the building, to the dark, dingy concourses leading to the breathtaking view of the bright green field, the aroma of hot dogs and stale beer, the dark shadowed between the upper and lower decks to weathered concrete, and the vast network of on the underside of the upper deck.
For me, attending games there was a similar to the feeling I would get when visiting my grandparents old house, the one they had lived in since the 1950s with the old furniture, family photos, and numerous memories.
My first impression of Briggs Stadium (later Tiger Stadium) when I was about 8 years old was that I had never seen so much green. A strange thought for someone growing up in the country.
When Comerica Park reaches it's expiration date, the Tigers will move back to Corktown somewhere near the corner of Michigan & Trumbull 35-40 years down the road. The Corner Ballpark (Old Tiger Stadium) is alive and well, they host PAL Youth League Baseball and Football, weddings, movie nights, parties. The area is bustling with bars,restaurants, alot of foot traffic that area was a dead zone in years past.
Loved watching games here in the upper deck box seats. You were on top of the action. There was no way to renovate the stadium and give a view to the city. A move needed to be made. While many hate on Comerica it's a good place to watch a ballgame in an area that has helped the city. Not many cities can have all 4 major sports within a 1/2-mile radius with arts / music and food!
You forgot that it was in the 💩est neighborhoods in one of the 💩est cities in America. You had a real shot at getting jacked when you went to a Tigers game.
ive been to about a dozen games at the CoPa. have hated almost every aspect of the game and the field. ive LOVED being in the company of family and friends but that field and all of the flat dinner plate (seating) stadiums suck in my opinion. i liked being on top of the action at The Corner...
What I most remember about the old Tiger Stadium were the green wooden seats that folded down. They gave the stadium a great hitting background. The old stadium was a home run paradise. Tiger announcer Ernie Harwell called Tiger Stadium a Green Cathedral. In the 1970's the stadium was sold to the city of Detroit for a nominal amount and the city took over maintenance. The wooden seats were taken out and replaced by blue plastic seats. The 1970-80 renovations by the City took the heart out of the old stadium.
I believe the reason why the wooden seats were taken out was to avoid a fire hazard. I remember in London when there was a Tube station that had a wooden escalator which was actually historic but the escalator caught in fire due to the oil and grease collecting inside the well and heating up causing an automatic fire and as a result, the entire escalator had to be taken out. If anything, removing the wooden seats was to avoid a fire hazard.
I sat in the right field overhang that was literally over the field just to the right of the right field foul pole. I was there in 1999 when I was 13 years old and as the sun was setting behind the stadium in the background I got to see griffey and Arod hit, and idk why but at that moment I knew what I was seeing was so beautiful that I’d remember it forever. That stadium was a bummer for me cause just as I fell in love with it they’d be leaving it within a few months for comerica. It’s like falling in love and finding out the girl has 6 months to live… Maybe not as dramatic, but I’d give anything to see one more game there. It’s also criminal that it was torn down, and the creators of mlb the show should be prosecuted for not putting this stadium in the game but having 2 versions of comiskey and Forbes smh….
Detroit had a landmark, an attraction for baseball enthusiasts, and they threw it away. What also gets me is that they rejected every proposal for redevelopment. It was such a part of the Tigers’ and city’s identity, and should have been saved. I always loved its presence on the corner. The sight would both give me chills, and pull at my heartstrings.
Landmark?? Hardly. Too far from downtown and the riverfront. And a cookie cutter old design. The only thing special about Tiger Stadium is what happened there, not the building itself.
@@kentstallard6512 clearly, you were either never there, or have no appreciation for the sport and its history. Who cares if it wasn’t right in the middle of downtown or on the river!? It’s a ballpark, not a condominium!! Located in the historic Corktown neighborhood was an icon and an attraction for baseball enthusiasts.
@@blacksunshine1089 I was born and raised in the 313. Went to many games at Tiger Stadium. It was not a great stadium. Great things happened there. Just like the old Yankee Stadium.
@@kentstallard6512 it wasn’t an amusement park/entertainment center with a baseball diamond in the middle. It was built in a time when people were there to watch the game, and didn’t need water slides, nightclubs, Ferris wheels, and 5-star restaurants to keep them entertained. If it was still there today, we’d have our own Fenway Park, or Wrigley Field.
@@MrKerry4371That's 4 more games than I'll ever attend. Due 2 "non-baseball" reasons (specifically how Comerica Bank conducts business), I have a personal boycott of Comerica Park bc of how the namesake bank treated me as a customer.
@@billybandyk0720 your not missing anything at Comerica Park- it seems like only after 22 years, it's already outdated from what I have read. Sorry for your side note of dealing with the bank issues.
@@MrKerry4371 Completely agreed. Bc of my personal issues w/"Blow-Me-Erica" (rhymes w/Comerica) Bank; NO 1 CAN PAY ME 2 STEP FOOT INSIDE THAT P.O.S. BALLPARK!!!!! Furthermore; it goes beyond personal RE: Comerica Bank/Park. When the L8, GR8 Mr. I (Mike Ilitch, Sr.) sought financial assistance in getting the ballpark built, ALL of the Michigan-based banks (including Comerica) FLAT-OUT REJECTED. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE 4 Mr. I; he obtained the financial assistance from Japan-based Sumitomo Bank. Down the line; Mr. I sold the naming rights 2 the ballpark 2 Comerica Bank. Here's my problem w/that; Comerica Bank wouldn't provide a loan 2 build the ballpark but can afford 2 put their name on it. @ that time; Comerica Bank's slogan was "We LISTEN; We UNDERSTAND; We MAKE IT WORK"!!!!! Ok; here's my translation of that slogan as it pertains 2 the loan 4 the ballpark as follows: We LISTEN 2 ALL OF THE FBS that Mr. I would NEVER SELL THE NAMING RIGHTS 2 THE BALLPARK!!!!! We UNDERSTAND THAT ALL OF THE MICHIGAN-BASED BANKS (including Comerica) FLAT-OUT REJECTED MR. I'S LOAN REQUEST 4 FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE IN BUILDING THE BALLPARK (only 2 obtain the loan from Japan-based Sumitomo Bank thereafter). Yet; Comerica Bank insists that WE MAKE IT WORK!!!!! Well; if Comerica Bank couldn't loan Mr. I the money 2 build the ballpark; they have NO RIGHT WHATSOEVER 2 PUT THEIR NAME ON IT!!!!! Furthermore; Comerica Bank was the 1st bank in Michigan 2 charge maintenance fees on their savings & checking accounts. The manner in how these fees were assessed made it impossible 4 me 2 maintain an account w/them. Moreover; Comerica Bank bought out Manufacturers Bank (that's where the blue trapezoid comes from; I was originally w/Manufacuturers Bank RE: my savings account). Another translation of the matter; it's like u build a model airplane & u sell it 2 me but I tell others that I made it myself. Same philosophy applies RE: Comerica Park. Comerica Bank wouldn't loan out the money 2 build the ballpark but decided 2 put their name on it anyway. From my stance; that's simply unethical. Again; I have my reasons as a4mentioned RE: Comerica Park & it's all bc Comerica Bank has NO INTEGRITY RE: their business practices/ethics. If I were 2 ever step foot in2 Comerica Park; I'd b supporting their unethical business. No, thanks! I don't support that FBS!!!!!
@jonstefanik9400 The BASEBALL PALACE OF THE WORLD! 35TH & Shields. Right off the DAN RYAN EXPWY. I-94. I used to go to many a gm. at Comiskey. Tiger Stadium & Comiskey had similar designs. Only FENWAY & WRIGLEY remain. The crazy part is that DODGER STADIUM is 3rd oldest after Wrigley. Go figure!
I wish that everyone that never saw a game there could have. I've been to several MLB stadiums and the word 'intimate' is key here. It was the perfect place to get up close to your hero's and just 'feel' the game. Comerica is an Oasis in the city but whether in OR out of the park it just lacks that soul. As a Canadian I had my 1st legal U.S. beer there!
The baseball field still exists. The flag pole can still handle the flag. Baseball has and can be played at the location. The "Corner Ballpark" has bleacher seats along the infield base lines. Much like a 19th century ball park. You could play a major league baseball game now.. Just not with a true baseball crowd on hand. Come to Detroit and see it. The upper and lower decks of seats were used as the Detroit Lions played at the stadium during the 1950's and 1960's. Attendance of between 55,000 & 56,000 occurred for games at the stadium.
I am so lucky to see both the Tigers and the Lions play here back in the late 60's. Loved this stadium and still have it in my mind. One thing you failed to mention was it was located in one of the worse parts of Detroit. Many fans refused to go to night games there because of the danger getting out of there at night.
Yankee Stadium was located in the worst parts of the Bronx and while the old Yankee Stadium no longer exists, the new Yankee Stadium sits right across where the old one was at.
@@wanderer34 When you are one of the greatest sports franchises of all time, with Hall-of- Fame caliber players you can get away with that. If you are a smaller market team that is rarely above average stadium location and parking make a big difference.
PNC Park in Pittsburgh is the closest to a double deck stadium like a jewelbox ballpark. About as close to the action as any ballpark built after the 1920s. Comerica Park should have been built like that.
I absolutely loved Tiger Stadium. I grew in Grand Rapids very easy to get to in driving. I really miss that. I got goose bumps everytime i walked in an 1905 built stadium. If id known that was gonna happen i would have built another baseball team in competition to the Tigers!
Like many from that ERA, they were beautiful stadiums… and Aged Poorly? Stop smoking weed… the damn thing lasted for nearly 100 years.. .compared to stadiums in Texas and Atlanta, it lived a longer life than 3 stadiums in each location (plus.. still more years to come to get to Tiger Stadium).. I’d say it aged pretty dam well…
Jays fan here, loved this stadium--always felt you were on top of the play, snack bar on the second deck above us had a small fire which was quickly extinguished lol--good times
I remember seeing Joe Carter and Robbie Alomar put up 14 runs on us one night in 1993 at Tiger Stadium. Jays fans always travelled well in the 90s. Always wanted to see a game at Skydome growing up.
I thought there was a rumor that Wayne State University was going to build a baseball stadium on the site of Tiger Stadium, but I could have misremembered that. In any event, the left field scoreboard from Tiger Stadium was restored and is now part of the "Green Monster" replica wall at Wayne State's new baseball stadium, Harwell Field, which is at Trumbull and Warren, about 2.3 miles north of the old Tiger Stadium site at Trumbull and Michigan.
Upper deck bleachers were 50 cents in the 70's. It was always called the upper deck; not sure what you're on about there. Also, you can't compare it to Fenway. The Red Sox wanted for years to build a new, spacious park. But there's no way that would happen in Boston due to space, costs and litigation so they focused instead on maxing what could be done to Fenway. Detroit has endless open real estate to build from the ground up. Finally, the poles at Tiger Stadium ruined many a view. As much as I loved it, it was time to go, and in the end the city really couldn't afford anything but razing it entirely.
Both Tiger Stadium and Comiskey Park were real ballparks. Not shopping malls, they were true ballparks. Both of them did not deserve the wrecking ball.
Used to be home of the Detroit lions in Michigan and Michigan State play the football game you should look that up great video keep up the great content 👍
For most of the 1990s the lower-deck bleachers in center field had a blue curtain or tarp hanging from the upper deck, forming a hitter's eye. I don't recall if that curtain was there for the final game in 1999; I had to work and so ended up listening to the post-game ceremonies on the radio. I'm still salty about that.
I grew up in Cleveland. Tiger Stadium was the best stadium ever. Stopped a couple of years ago to see what was left. I saw the ghosts of Kaline, Gibson, Northrop, Lolich, Freehan etc. It was a good feeling. Really miss it. Most of all the voice of Harwell, Carey Go get ‘em Tigers
I can only imagine the memories my dad made at Tiger Stadium that he never told me about. I went there as a kid but was too young to remember. He got season tickets to Comerica when it opened. Lots of memories. You already know I shed some tears watching the final games of Miguel Cabrera on tv. Baseball will do that to you once you put it all in perspective. That stretch along Michigan Ave is nicer and nicer each time I go home. Train station looks incredible. Also, as much as I can't stand domes, would've been nice. I've definitely sat through a few Tigers games in the snow lol
Never got to see Tiger Stadium. Old Comiskey, Ebbets Field, the Polo Grounds and the original Yankee Stadium. Couldn't find any other reason to get to Detroit but I was trying to plan it when Comerica was built.
Anyone else remember an old Marlboro ad (early/mid 60s) featuring Paul Hornung standing in a trench coat by one of those upright supports in the stands, relaxing while smoking a Marlboro as a narrator reminisced about a previous outstanding game he had played at Tiger Stadium? Loved those great old ads featuring sports heroes
You didn't do research because they built a new grandstand and it's the The Corner Ballpark now. It's the home of the Detroit Police Athletic League and they have some big high school baseball games there. Therrs a grandstand built behind home plate with concessions and in the outfield there are nice looking townhouses.
I saw my first ever baseball game here in 1989 against the California Angels. I still get emotional each time I see Tiger Stadium because there is no baseball stadium like it. The way the catcher’s mitt echoed behind home plate. You could hear the loud pop. It felt like you were on the field. Loads of shade in many areas. I will never forget the chills I got when I got to walk the bases after the game in 1997 even though I was 14 and it was supposed to be kids 13 and younger. Those were the days! Only thing I hated were the terrible smelling urinal troughs.
In the 1980's I went to a game against the (then) California Angels. Prior to the game, Reggie Jackson was shagging balls in right field, and fans were tossing money on him (coins) from the right field overhang. That was in reaction to how much he was getting paid by the Angels : ) I was also there when he hit a home run over the roof.
wish I want to tiger Stadium but here is the good thing me my mom and brother was visiting Michigan from California and my aunt and uncle was like let's go into tiger Stadium so we tried in the 7th inning but couldn't get inside so we went back to the pickup truck and from there we was listening to Al Kaline and Ernie Harwell on the radio we was right by tiger Stadium listening to the game on the radio that was a cool thing right there and looking at Tiger Stadium this was in 1992 and being from Oakland California was cool because all my family members are tigers fans even my two little nephews but they are from California like me but me I am a big Oakland A's fan but if the A's do move to Las Vegas I might be a Tigers fan but back in the day my uncle who is in California to told me that my aunts and uncles used to go to Tiger Stadium even my older cousins to and my uncle used to Chase my older cousins around the stadium I did go by Comerica Park when I was last in Michigan in 2000 that was cool to see
Lions and Tigers and demolished stadiums. Oh my! Sad to see that historic house demolished. I will always remember the home run by Reggie Jackson off the roof transformer at the 1971 All Star game.
They could have renovated the rest of Tiger Stadium and maybe used it for high school baseball, I think that would have been an AWESOME thing to do with the remainder of Tiger Stadium
Opened the same day as Fenway, could have been saved but for greed. EDIT: Also, they tore up the grass and now the "surviving field" is artificial turf, absolutely criminal.
Fenway Park & Tiger Stadium opened the same year, using the same building techniques. If you even suggested tearing down Fenway, they’d lynch you in Boston. In Detroit, they just let cool old buildings rot.
born in 93, so my Tiger Stadium memories are extremely vague but I been there before.. The before, in between & after of that Michigan & Trumbull intersection are mind blowing.. the cobblestone roads are still there tho
@@jonstefanik9400 Also, you're below street level watching games too... which allows for that skyline view from the stadium. Maybe not with the upper deck seating plus suites, but with the lower bowl, you're below the street level watching games.
The insistence on having generous dimensions was the biggest mistake. Camden Yards had been open for several years by then; it's as if the designers took no lessons from it.
Moot point about the corporate suites location. Tiger Stadium was torn down because the city of Detroit was basically bankrupt at the time. They had no money to maintain the facility. The city couldn't keep its street lights on or tear down residential blight, much less maintain a steel 100-year-old structure. I attended many games in Tiger Stadium later in life, long after I became a Tiger fan in the 1968 season. I've been to one game at the new field. It's just not the same, I won't go again. The city wanted to get football back downtown, and that was the nail in the coffin that drove baseball to be relocated to a joint complex with Ford Field. They got corporate money to help that joint project.
No I’m not really a baseball fan. I have to admit that tiger stadium has a field for an English Premier league soccer stadium. One of the features of that is a usually most English Premier stadium especially the older ones are surrounded by city or community so they don’t just feel like a stadium, but rather personal grounds.
I remember Bo Schembecler said you can't shackle the team to the rusting hulk that tiger stadium had become . The amount of salt used to keep people safe during the football season ruined it internally . My Harper Woods little league team played on the field after the stadium was torn down. My St. Louis Cardinals tied the Tigers in a very closely contested game.
Tiger stadium was uncomfortable, but a GREAT place to see a game for 40,000 people,,another 10,000 or so seats had restricted views mostly behind posts,,the upper deck almost felt like you were on top of the field, because you were !.Tiger Stadium should have been saved just like Fenway and Wrigley Field were,,, SOMEONE REALLY DROPPED THE BALL ON THIS ONE !!
I've been to 41 different MLB stadiums. I caught the end of the 1990s when all the stadiums were being changed. Tiger Stadium was BY FAR my favorite stadium. My dad and I both caught a ball there in 1999. Not as trendy and yuppie as Wrigley or Fenway, and so charming. I will NEVER go to a game at Comerica Park or whatever park they play in now. Think about this: the first week for games at Tiger Stadium was the week of the Titanic sinking.
Considering they didn't have enough money to fund the fire department at the time, I don't think saving a 90 year old ballpark was real high on the docket. It sucks but there was nothing anyone could have done, short of a Bill Gates type rolling in and buying up the entire thing.
Wish I had a chance to go to Tiger Stadium, but never did. Been to quite a few of both the old and current stadia, but never been to either one in Motown.
Navin Field , Briggs Stadium , Tiger Stadium , I wish they could have saved the Stadium . Like Fenway and Wrigley Field . Unfortunately it wasn't in the cards .
the demolition of the stadium at The Corner, was one of the worst things to happen to the city. the CoPa sucks. the closest seats at CoPa are double the distance from the field than they were at Tiger Stadium and the upper deck might just as well be in the next county, youre so far away. the reason they moved the bullpen at the CoPa is because in the builders rush to build the next 'best' big thing, the fences were farther than almost all of the batters could reach resulting in boring low scoring games. they move the bullpen and brought the outfield fence in what, 20-30-40 feet? there is absolutely zero charm in CoPa or any of the new 'stadium boom' era fields. obstructed view seats? fine, so many people would walk around anyway or, lean over and get neighborly with the seats next to you. i took my wife to The Three Tenors when they performed there and Aretha Franklin sang the National Anthem to start the show. best rendition ive ever heard and the last time i was there...
Not old enough to see a Lion game there. I would have loved to see a Lion game there before it was torn down. Just a preseason or practice game would have been cool.
Fenway tour guides claim that because Fenway Park is listed as a historical building, the stadium “can never” be torn down. Well, guess what, Tiger Stadium was also listed as a historical building. It wasn’t removed from the historical building records until loooong after it was demolished. So, someone is not correct. Either historical buildings CAN be demolished, or Tiger Stadium was illegally torn down
That was the original plan was supposed to keep that section up for high school games and add a few more lights. the city was dumb to demolish the whole thing...
It’s a Travesty historic ballparks like Tiger Stadium and comiskey park were left to rot by their owners and be demolished. Baseball will never let wrigley field or Fenway park ever be demolished.
I feel very fortunate to have seen many games there including the final in 1999. It was a shame more of it wasnt saved since a new grandstand ultimately ended up being built behind home plate anyway. But the city was very corrupt at the time. Comerica Park is in a great location and is nice to walk around but the sightlines are terrible, maybe the worst of any baseball only stadium built after Camden Yards. Hard to think of a more dramtic contrast between seat views of two ballparks in the same city or team.
Why don't modern stadiums build the upper decks over the lower decks like that? I'm sure we have the materials and engineering now to do it without the support beams.
People in the lower deck can't track balls hit into the air if they are sitting under an overhang. What they see is a ball hit, but they have no idea where it is going until it lands or is caught.
I don't know why Tigers can't preserve some of the field and make a museum or memorial for historical purposes? This is where Ty Cobb played, and the home of the 1968 and 1984 World Series Champions. Keep the field and use it for amateur leagues and dress it up with historic Tigers memorabilia.
The same here happened in Baltimore Memorial Stadium they let the ballpark run down when we lost the Colts to Indianapolis they were forced to build a new ballpark downtown Oriole Park at Camden Yards
The Illitch's owned the team. They owned the land where Comerica was built. They didn't own Tiger Stadium. That was that. This is why you do things, go places, see stuff today. Tomorrow never knows.
Tiger Stadium was my stadium, growing up in the Detroit area. I was at the final game in 1999. The place was low on the amenities you see today, but it had a lot of charm and history. The right field overhang you pointed out created a "porch" in the right field stands, and when Al Kaline joined the team in the mid-50s, a section of seats in the right field corner was taken out, so Kaline could use his amazing defensive prowess to catch fly balls. Losing Tiger Stadium and watching it being torn down really hurt.
The worst part about it being torn down was the decade it took... The slowest band-aid pull ever.
Tiger Stadium will always have a special place in my heart. My uncle took me to my first game there in 1981 after the strike vs Kansas Royals and the Tigers won on a walk off in the 10th and Kevin Saucier got the win and that was one of the best nights of my childhood it was magical. My uncle was a teenager in 1957 and went to the NFL championship game and sat in the upper deck bleachers for 50 cents lol how crazy. He still has the ticket stubb and framed it.
Jack Morris was a beast
If Tiger Stadium was in England, it would have been renovated. In America, we tear old things down so we can have newer, shinier things.
Famous teams like Man. Utd and Liverpool are constrained by the tight urban neighborhoods in which they are located. So instead they add new stands and seating, totally destroying most of any original character. Liverpool added an enormous new Main Stand in 2016 and will be rebuilding and double decking one of the end stands in the next two years. Also, Arsenal did leave its century plus home of Highbury (cap. 38000) for Emirates Stadium (cap. 60000). So moves can happen; it's just difficult in old, built up cities.
@@kevinfitzgerald1010 Good points, but in America, we often deem stadiums obsolete after twenty years. In baseball, the Rangers and Braves cried for new stadiums, only to move out after twenty years. The Diamondbacks and Brewers have recently wanted new stadiums, too. I find it all odd.
@gregorykrug8034 I'm American; on this thread because I'm from Detroit and knew Tiger Stadium very well. I spent a good deal of time in my career in England so I'm up on some of their stadium issues. Wouldn't you say the Atlanta and Texas situations are largely due to them being built before the luxury suite boom? Turner Field was hacked together from the 1996 Olympic stadium (liked it though) and the Texas ballpark was rather plain. The new Texas ballpark looks to have hit that spot; don't know much about the new Atlanta park except it's in the burbs. No avoiding traffic in Atlanta anyway. Also don't know much about the AZ park, but the Milwaukee situation grinds my gears. Newish high tech park, and the Selig family are allegedly loyal to the minor market that is Milwaukee. The extortion play is reprehensible.
@@kevinfitzgerald1010 The Rangers wanted a dome to beat the heat, but why not think of that before?
The "last of the bad stadiums" imo is the new Comiskey Park. I have not been there (I have driven past it), but at least they have spent $$$ in improvements.
Speaking of the White Sox, if the Bears do move out of Soldier Field eventually, I swear that the Soldier Field location would be a PERFECT location for a new Comiskey Park. They can keep the columns, but everything else could be redone for a beautiful ballpark.
The British completely demolished old Wembley before building the new stadium on that site
This was my favorite place to go. The outside you show is cosmetic and was showing its age. I went to my last game in 1999. Sat in the right field Upper deck to experience the overhang.
The '71 All Star Game played there was such a classic.
Absolutely! Do you remember Reggie Jackson's Homer? What a blast!
The upper deck was terrific with a nearly unique vantage point of a game. My Dad and I were in the second row behind home plate. Terrific seats.
My family moved to Detroit in 1968. I used to pay $1 for an upper deck bleacher in center field. Fly balls to the warning track in right field would disappear beneath the overhang and you wouldn't know if you should cheer or moan until you heard the reaction of the crowd in the rest of the stadium. It was a really good hitter's park (except for the 440 feet to straight away center field) that I could never understand why they built Comerica as big as an airport.
I choke up every time I see this gorgeous park.. My Dad took me to games all the time and I got to be there for The Win in '84... Bless You, Boys! Gibby made the building ring like a tuning fork. We live across the creek in Windsor and between Tiger Stadium, The Joe and Windsor arena.. The sight, sounds... and oh.. The smells can't be duplicated
Did you get to crash the field when they won
I had the great fortune to go to a game there in 1987. Tigers were playing the Orioles. Good game, tho the Tigers blew a lead in the 8th and lost. But what I still remember most is the surreal feeling that time stopped as I exited the dark concourse that smelled of stale beer and walked out into the field level boxes. The stadium surrounded me and was so enormous. The field was so close. Everything stopped, and I felt my chest would explode from the beating of my heart. It was a feeling I never had at a ballpark before or since, and I've been to many. What a marvelous experience.
I am very blessed to be able to see tiger stadium before they demolished it
The home run porch at Globe Life Park was a tribute to Tiger Stadium.
Didn’t they even botch the new at the time stadium 🏟️ by making the walls in the outfield too far back making it tough to hit homers? 🤔
@@MrManflyballpark in arlington was a hitter’s park walls weren’t very deep any direction from home plate. While on the subject….
it’s RF porch was for Tiger Stadium
Jagged outfield fence for Griffith Stadium
Outer facade arches were for Ebbets field
Taller LF fence with manual scoreboards was for Fenway
CF batter’s eye grass was for Wrigley
Frieze at the top of the upper grandstand was for Yankee Stadium
I feel like I might be forgetting a few features in honor of the old baseball cathedrals…. DFW sports fans may remind me of others. That stadium was truly magnificent we just couldn’t add a roof to it.
@@moderationinexcess. Great recap, Mr Moderation! I’ll add one more. First neon “action” scoreboard was the Anheuser-Busch “A and Eagle” in
Busch Stadium #1 (originally Sportsman’s Park). When Bill Veeck bought the White Sox, the Cards scoreboard was his inspiration for his even-more raucous neon action scoreboard with the pin wheels and fireworks.
@@OldRustySteele many lost gems and while the Ballpark in Arlington wasn’t around long enough to be considered an all time great I felt it was a fantastic stadium that combined awesome elements of past cathedrals of the game
Definitely my favorite sports stadium of all time. I still can’t believe that it’s gone.
Kinda sad that Tiger Stadium is no longer around. It was an iconic stadium with a lot of great memories and nostalgia behind it. I wish they could've saved it.
I feel the same about Comiskey, damn was my summer home away from home.
The field is now completely surrounded by mixed-use development, with the Detroit Police Athletic league using the field, along with youth and semi- por soccer teams. Corktown area surrounding it is booming.
The area is much nicer now!
Right, I just visited the area last week-I’d go to games at Tiger Stadium with my Dad and he’d always park over on Labrosse St. for free, and we’d walk about half a mile up Trumbull Ave. to the ballpark & I’d literally have my fingers crossed the whole time that our car would still be there fully intact after the game. Now, you pretty much have to be a millionaire to live there…pretty crazy, but it sure is a nice area. Although Michigan Ave. probably hasn’t been repaved since the Tigers won a World Series.
@@erikmoyer1788 Detroit still garbage.
@@AlligatorArms Liberal Elite Millennials and Gen Z. Democrat youth.🤬
The Stadium was charming but old. It deserved a better fate. I saw a few games there as a student across the river in Windsor. Opening Day of Tigers Baseball was always a good day .
I lived in Windsor from 1987-1998 and moved to the downtown area just so i could go to games using tunnel bus.
My grandfather took me to my first game here. The upper deck seats here felt closer to the field than lower deck at Comerica.
Tigers fan here, great video. My first game NY@DET June 1993.
One of the more heart-wrenching things I've seen in terms of happenings to a stadium is when the last parts of Tiger Stadium demolition were featured in the music video for "Beautiful" by Eminem. That stadium looked like it had so much charm, and could tell so many majestic stories if its walls could talk.
The place had a culture of its own, and was steeped in history, not only due to the numerous sporting events that occurred there from boxing, to pro football, and baseball, but the generations of fans who went there, and even the employees. The structure itself had a lot of character, from the air vents on the exterior walls of the building, to the dark, dingy concourses leading to the breathtaking view of the bright green field, the aroma of hot dogs and stale beer, the dark shadowed between the upper and lower decks to weathered concrete, and the vast network of on the underside of the upper deck.
For me, attending games there was a similar to the feeling I would get when visiting my grandparents old house, the one they had lived in since the 1950s with the old furniture, family photos, and numerous memories.
2:00 - The dome never came, "that's how we got Ford Field." No! Lack of a dome is how we got the Pontiac Silverdome!! Ford Field was decades later.
Old MLB Tiger Stadium: Among the best site lines in the history of MLB.
My first impression of Briggs Stadium (later Tiger Stadium) when I was about 8 years old was that I had never seen so much green. A strange thought for someone growing up in the country.
Loved those summer nights at Tiger Stadium.
When Comerica Park reaches it's expiration date, the Tigers will move back to Corktown somewhere near the corner of Michigan & Trumbull 35-40 years down the road. The Corner Ballpark (Old Tiger Stadium) is alive and well, they host PAL Youth League Baseball and Football, weddings, movie nights, parties. The area is bustling with bars,restaurants, alot of foot traffic that area was a dead zone in years past.
Loved watching games here in the upper deck box seats. You were on top of the action. There was no way to renovate the stadium and give a view to the city. A move needed to be made. While many hate on Comerica it's a good place to watch a ballgame in an area that has helped the city. Not many cities can have all 4 major sports within a 1/2-mile radius with arts / music and food!
Facts
You forgot that it was in the 💩est neighborhoods in one of the 💩est cities in America. You had a real shot at getting jacked when you went to a Tigers game.
ive been to about a dozen games at the CoPa. have hated almost every aspect of the game and the field. ive LOVED being in the company of family and friends but that field and all of the flat dinner plate (seating) stadiums suck in my opinion. i liked being on top of the action at The Corner...
What I most remember about the old Tiger Stadium were the green wooden seats that folded down. They gave the stadium a great hitting background. The old stadium was a home run paradise. Tiger announcer Ernie Harwell called Tiger Stadium a Green Cathedral. In the 1970's the stadium was sold to the city of Detroit for a nominal amount and the city took over maintenance. The wooden seats were taken out and replaced by blue plastic seats. The 1970-80 renovations by the City took the heart out of the old stadium.
I love my old green wooden seats from Briggs Stadium
I believe the reason why the wooden seats were taken out was to avoid a fire hazard. I remember in London when there was a Tube station that had a wooden escalator which was actually historic but the escalator caught in fire due to the oil and grease collecting inside the well and heating up causing an automatic fire and as a result, the entire escalator had to be taken out. If anything, removing the wooden seats was to avoid a fire hazard.
@wanderer34 and they were taken out around the time the use of lead in paint was finally banned.
I’m not even a tigers fan. And I didn’t even want this destroyed. I mean look at it. It is aesthetically pleasing
I sat in the right field overhang that was literally over the field just to the right of the right field foul pole. I was there in 1999 when I was 13 years old and as the sun was setting behind the stadium in the background I got to see griffey and Arod hit, and idk why but at that moment I knew what I was seeing was so beautiful that I’d remember it forever. That stadium was a bummer for me cause just as I fell in love with it they’d be leaving it within a few months for comerica. It’s like falling in love and finding out the girl has 6 months to live… Maybe not as dramatic, but I’d give anything to see one more game there. It’s also criminal that it was torn down, and the creators of mlb the show should be prosecuted for not putting this stadium in the game but having 2 versions of comiskey and Forbes smh….
Detroit had a landmark, an attraction for baseball enthusiasts, and they threw it away. What also gets me is that they rejected every proposal for redevelopment.
It was such a part of the Tigers’ and city’s identity, and should have been saved.
I always loved its presence on the corner. The sight would both give me chills, and pull at my heartstrings.
Landmark?? Hardly. Too far from downtown and the riverfront.
And a cookie cutter old design. The only thing special about Tiger Stadium is what happened there, not the building itself.
It’s the only move that I rejected from the CAY era.
@@kentstallard6512 clearly, you were either never there, or have no appreciation for the sport and its history. Who cares if it wasn’t right in the middle of downtown or on the river!? It’s a ballpark, not a condominium!!
Located in the historic Corktown neighborhood was an icon and an attraction for baseball enthusiasts.
@@blacksunshine1089 I was born and raised in the 313. Went to many games at Tiger Stadium.
It was not a great stadium. Great things happened there. Just like the old Yankee Stadium.
@@kentstallard6512 it wasn’t an amusement park/entertainment center with a baseball diamond in the middle.
It was built in a time when people were there to watch the game, and didn’t need water slides, nightclubs, Ferris wheels, and 5-star restaurants to keep them entertained.
If it was still there today, we’d have our own Fenway Park, or Wrigley Field.
I loved Tiger Stadium. I wish they would have saved it for MLB. I absolutely hated Comerica Park when it first opened.
Never did like Comerica Park- I've only been to maybe 4 games at comerica.
@@MrKerry4371That's 4 more games than I'll ever attend. Due 2 "non-baseball" reasons (specifically how Comerica Bank conducts business), I have a personal boycott of Comerica Park bc of how the namesake bank treated me as a customer.
@@billybandyk0720 your not missing anything at Comerica Park- it seems like only after 22 years, it's already outdated from what I have read. Sorry for your side note of dealing with the bank issues.
@@MrKerry4371 Completely agreed. Bc of my personal issues w/"Blow-Me-Erica" (rhymes w/Comerica) Bank; NO 1 CAN PAY ME 2 STEP FOOT INSIDE THAT P.O.S. BALLPARK!!!!! Furthermore; it goes beyond personal RE: Comerica Bank/Park. When the L8, GR8 Mr. I (Mike Ilitch, Sr.) sought financial assistance in getting the ballpark built, ALL of the Michigan-based banks (including Comerica) FLAT-OUT REJECTED. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE 4 Mr. I; he obtained the financial assistance from Japan-based Sumitomo Bank. Down the line; Mr. I sold the naming rights 2 the ballpark 2 Comerica Bank. Here's my problem w/that; Comerica Bank wouldn't provide a loan 2 build the ballpark but can afford 2 put their name on it. @ that time; Comerica Bank's slogan was "We LISTEN; We UNDERSTAND; We MAKE IT WORK"!!!!! Ok; here's my translation of that slogan as it pertains 2 the loan 4 the ballpark as follows:
We LISTEN 2 ALL OF THE FBS that Mr. I would NEVER SELL THE NAMING RIGHTS 2 THE BALLPARK!!!!!
We UNDERSTAND THAT ALL OF THE MICHIGAN-BASED BANKS (including Comerica) FLAT-OUT REJECTED MR. I'S LOAN REQUEST 4 FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE IN BUILDING THE BALLPARK (only 2 obtain the loan from Japan-based Sumitomo Bank thereafter).
Yet; Comerica Bank insists that WE MAKE IT WORK!!!!!
Well; if Comerica Bank couldn't loan Mr. I the money 2 build the ballpark; they have NO RIGHT WHATSOEVER 2 PUT THEIR NAME ON IT!!!!! Furthermore; Comerica Bank was the 1st bank in Michigan 2 charge maintenance fees on their savings & checking accounts. The manner in how these fees were assessed made it impossible 4 me 2 maintain an account w/them. Moreover; Comerica Bank bought out Manufacturers Bank (that's where the blue trapezoid comes from; I was originally w/Manufacuturers Bank RE: my savings account). Another translation of the matter; it's like u build a model airplane & u sell it 2 me but I tell others that I made it myself. Same philosophy applies RE: Comerica Park. Comerica Bank wouldn't loan out the money 2 build the ballpark but decided 2 put their name on it anyway. From my stance; that's simply unethical. Again; I have my reasons as a4mentioned RE: Comerica Park & it's all bc Comerica Bank has NO INTEGRITY RE: their business practices/ethics. If I were 2 ever step foot in2 Comerica Park; I'd b supporting their unethical business. No, thanks! I don't support that FBS!!!!!
I always thought that Tiger Stadium and old Comiskey Park were cousin stadiums. They even had identical light stantions.
@jonstefanik9400 The BASEBALL PALACE OF THE WORLD! 35TH & Shields. Right off the DAN RYAN EXPWY. I-94. I used to go to many a gm. at Comiskey. Tiger Stadium & Comiskey had similar designs. Only FENWAY & WRIGLEY remain. The crazy part is that DODGER STADIUM is 3rd oldest after Wrigley. Go figure!
I wish that everyone that never saw a game there could have. I've been to several MLB stadiums and the word 'intimate' is key here. It was the perfect place to get up close to your hero's and just 'feel' the game. Comerica is an Oasis in the city but whether in OR out of the park it just lacks that soul. As a Canadian I had my 1st legal U.S. beer there!
The baseball field still exists. The flag pole can still handle the flag. Baseball has and can be played at the location. The "Corner Ballpark" has bleacher seats along the infield base lines. Much like a 19th century ball park. You could play a major league baseball game now.. Just not with a true baseball crowd on hand. Come to Detroit and see it. The upper and lower decks of seats were used as the Detroit Lions played at the stadium during the 1950's and 1960's. Attendance of between 55,000 & 56,000 occurred for games at the stadium.
I went to 718 games at Tiger Stadium from 1982-99.I love what they did to site it's awesome.Wish i could visit but can't get there anymore.
I am so lucky to see both the Tigers and the Lions play here back in the late 60's. Loved this stadium and still have it in my mind. One thing you failed to mention was it was located in one of the worse parts of Detroit. Many fans refused to go to night games there because of the danger getting out of there at night.
Yankee Stadium was located in the worst parts of the Bronx and while the old Yankee Stadium no longer exists, the new Yankee Stadium sits right across where the old one was at.
@@wanderer34 When you are one of the greatest sports franchises of all time, with Hall-of-
Fame caliber players you can get away with that. If you are a smaller market team that is rarely above average stadium location and parking make a big difference.
It does make me sick that they dismantled the Historic Tiger Stadium!
Thanks for the video- watched many many games at Tiger stadium in the 70's and early 80's !!! Awesome stadium- I miss it!!!
Lot's of great times in my youth at that stadium. 1984 World Series, KISS playing there in 1996, just so much.
One of the best ballparks in which to watch a game, even the outfield seats had a great view, sad that she’s gone
All stadiums should have a 2nd deck like that. Maybe not that big but same general concept of the seats being really close
PNC Park in Pittsburgh is the closest to a double deck stadium like a jewelbox ballpark.
About as close to the action as any ballpark built after the 1920s. Comerica Park should have been built like that.
Luxury seats rule stadiums and arenas.
I absolutely loved Tiger Stadium. I grew in Grand Rapids very easy to get to in driving. I really miss that. I got goose bumps everytime i walked in an 1905 built stadium. If id known that was gonna happen i would have built another baseball team in competition to the Tigers!
Like many from that ERA, they were beautiful stadiums… and Aged Poorly? Stop smoking weed… the damn thing lasted for nearly 100 years.. .compared to stadiums in Texas and Atlanta, it lived a longer life than 3 stadiums in each location (plus.. still more years to come to get to Tiger Stadium).. I’d say it aged pretty dam well…
Jays fan here, loved this stadium--always felt you were on top of the play, snack bar on the second deck above us had a small fire which was quickly extinguished lol--good times
I remember seeing Joe Carter and Robbie Alomar put up 14 runs on us one night in 1993 at Tiger Stadium. Jays fans always travelled well in the 90s. Always wanted to see a game at Skydome growing up.
I thought there was a rumor that Wayne State University was going to build a baseball stadium on the site of Tiger Stadium, but I could have misremembered that. In any event, the left field scoreboard from Tiger Stadium was restored and is now part of the "Green Monster" replica wall at Wayne State's new baseball stadium, Harwell Field, which is at Trumbull and Warren, about 2.3 miles north of the old Tiger Stadium site at Trumbull and Michigan.
So glad to have been able to go to games at Tiger Stadium before it closed. Comerica Park is so dated and I will not cry when that's finally closed.
Upper deck bleachers were 50 cents in the 70's. It was always called the upper deck; not sure what you're on about there. Also, you can't compare it to Fenway. The Red Sox wanted for years to build a new, spacious park. But there's no way that would happen in Boston due to space, costs and litigation so they focused instead on maxing what could be done to Fenway. Detroit has endless open real estate to build from the ground up. Finally, the poles at Tiger Stadium ruined many a view. As much as I loved it, it was time to go, and in the end the city really couldn't afford anything but razing it entirely.
Bleacher Creature 4 Life.
Both Tiger Stadium and Comiskey Park were real ballparks. Not shopping malls, they were true ballparks. Both of them did not deserve the wrecking ball.
Used to be home of the Detroit lions in Michigan and Michigan State play the football game you should look that up great video keep up the great content 👍
For most of the 1990s the lower-deck bleachers in center field had a blue curtain or tarp hanging from the upper deck, forming a hitter's eye. I don't recall if that curtain was there for the final game in 1999; I had to work and so ended up listening to the post-game ceremonies on the radio. I'm still salty about that.
I grew up in Cleveland. Tiger Stadium was the best stadium ever.
Stopped a couple of years ago to see what was left. I saw the ghosts of Kaline, Gibson, Northrop, Lolich, Freehan etc. It was a good feeling. Really miss it. Most of all the voice of Harwell, Carey
Go get ‘em Tigers
I can only imagine the memories my dad made at Tiger Stadium that he never told me about. I went there as a kid but was too young to remember. He got season tickets to Comerica when it opened. Lots of memories. You already know I shed some tears watching the final games of Miguel Cabrera on tv. Baseball will do that to you once you put it all in perspective. That stretch along Michigan Ave is nicer and nicer each time I go home. Train station looks incredible. Also, as much as I can't stand domes, would've been nice. I've definitely sat through a few Tigers games in the snow lol
Never got to see Tiger Stadium. Old Comiskey, Ebbets Field, the Polo Grounds and the original Yankee Stadium. Couldn't find any other reason to get to Detroit but I was trying to plan it when Comerica was built.
Anyone else remember an old Marlboro ad (early/mid 60s) featuring Paul Hornung standing in a trench coat by one of those upright supports in the stands, relaxing while smoking a Marlboro as a narrator reminisced about a previous outstanding game he had played at Tiger Stadium? Loved those great old ads featuring sports heroes
You didn't do research because they built a new grandstand and it's the The Corner Ballpark now. It's the home of the Detroit Police Athletic League and they have some big high school baseball games there. Therrs a grandstand built behind home plate with concessions and in the outfield there are nice looking townhouses.
I saw my first ever baseball game here in 1989 against the California Angels. I still get emotional each time I see Tiger Stadium because there is no baseball stadium like it. The way the catcher’s mitt echoed behind home plate. You could hear the loud pop. It felt like you were on the field. Loads of shade in many areas. I will never forget the chills I got when I got to walk the bases after the game in 1997 even though I was 14 and it was supposed to be kids 13 and younger. Those were the days!
Only thing I hated were the terrible smelling urinal troughs.
THIS WAS AWESOME! I grew up in that ballpark and miss her to this very day. Loved the photos and your excellent commentary.
In the 1980's I went to a game against the (then) California Angels. Prior to the game, Reggie Jackson was shagging balls in right field, and fans were tossing money on him (coins) from the right field overhang. That was in reaction to how much he was getting paid by the Angels : ) I was also there when he hit a home run over the roof.
wish I want to tiger Stadium but here is the good thing me my mom and brother was visiting Michigan from California and my aunt and uncle was like let's go into tiger Stadium so we tried in the 7th inning but couldn't get inside so we went back to the pickup truck and from there we was listening to Al Kaline and Ernie Harwell on the radio we was right by tiger Stadium listening to the game on the radio that was a cool thing right there and looking at Tiger Stadium this was in 1992 and being from Oakland California was cool because all my family members are tigers fans even my two little nephews but they are from California like me but me I am a big Oakland A's fan but if the A's do move to Las Vegas I might be a Tigers fan but back in the day my uncle who is in California to told me that my aunts and uncles used to go to Tiger Stadium even my older cousins to and my uncle used to Chase my older cousins around the stadium I did go by Comerica Park when I was last in Michigan in 2000 that was cool to see
Keep the A’s in Oakland!!
It looks like a multi purpose stadium tbh
The Lions played there for a time
@@DebitAdams never knew that ty :)
It was. Hosted NFL games.
It is
The Lions played there for many years. They had their first Thanksgiving Day game there in 1934 I think.
It would've been awesome if this stadium was able to see a few more years to be able to host an NHL Winter Classic.
Lions and Tigers and demolished stadiums. Oh my! Sad to see that historic house demolished. I will always remember the home run by Reggie Jackson off the roof transformer at the 1971 All Star game.
This was a great stadium. Very unique in its way. It could have been saved and still be used as an MLB stadium. Damn shame.
They could have renovated the rest of Tiger Stadium and maybe used it for high school baseball, I think that would have been an AWESOME thing to do with the remainder of Tiger Stadium
Opened the same day as Fenway, could have been saved but for greed.
EDIT: Also, they tore up the grass and now the "surviving field" is artificial turf, absolutely criminal.
Tiger Stadium had none of the quirky charm of Fenway.
Good riddance.
why do you hate baseball@@kentstallard6512
Fenway Park & Tiger Stadium opened the same year, using the same building techniques. If you even suggested tearing down Fenway, they’d lynch you in Boston. In Detroit, they just let cool old buildings rot.
The same day in fact.
born in 93, so my Tiger Stadium memories are extremely vague but I been there before.. The before, in between & after of that Michigan & Trumbull intersection are mind blowing.. the cobblestone roads are still there tho
It's a real shame that Tiger Stadium's replacement, Comerica Park, is such a bland ballpark.
Although with Comerica Park you do get a view of Downtown Detroit.
@@jonstefanik9400 Also, you're below street level watching games too... which allows for that skyline view from the stadium.
Maybe not with the upper deck seating plus suites, but with the lower bowl, you're below the street level watching games.
The insistence on having generous dimensions was the biggest mistake. Camden Yards had been open for several years by then; it's as if the designers took no lessons from it.
Tiger Stadium was actually the oldest ballpark in MLB, even slightly older than Fenway Park. What would’ve been had Tiger Stadium been preserved…
Moot point about the corporate suites location. Tiger Stadium was torn down because the city of Detroit was basically bankrupt at the time. They had no money to maintain the facility. The city couldn't keep its street lights on or tear down residential blight, much less maintain a steel 100-year-old structure. I attended many games in Tiger Stadium later in life, long after I became a Tiger fan in the 1968 season. I've been to one game at the new field. It's just not the same, I won't go again. The city wanted to get football back downtown, and that was the nail in the coffin that drove baseball to be relocated to a joint complex with Ford Field. They got corporate money to help that joint project.
It is sad that luxury boxes are more important than the hardcore fans.
RIP Tigers Stadium and the Palace
So sad that this was where I saw my first MLB game. It was such an amazing ballpark
No I’m not really a baseball fan. I have to admit that tiger stadium has a field for an English Premier league soccer stadium. One of the features of that is a usually most English Premier stadium especially the older ones are surrounded by city or community so they don’t just feel like a stadium, but rather personal grounds.
I remember Bo Schembecler said you can't shackle the team to the rusting hulk that tiger stadium had become . The amount of salt used to keep people safe during the football season ruined it internally . My Harper Woods little league team played on the field after the stadium was torn down. My St. Louis Cardinals tied the Tigers in a very closely contested game.
Reggie Jackson almost hit it out of this park in the 1971 ALL STAR game. . .Against the late Doc Ellis who said he was on LSD.
only the light tower kept it in the park.
There was no batter's eye screen in that stadium. Weird.
There is actually a small multi purpose “stadium” on the lot now
Tiger stadium was uncomfortable, but a GREAT place to see a game for 40,000 people,,another 10,000 or so seats had restricted views mostly behind posts,,the upper deck almost felt like you were on top of the field, because you were !.Tiger Stadium should have been saved just like Fenway and Wrigley Field were,,, SOMEONE REALLY DROPPED THE BALL ON THIS ONE !!
Excellent
doing a great job on these videos.
There's a stadium there now, it's much smaller but it's called "The Corner Ballpark" and is used for youth sports.
and the Juice ran for 273 yards here in a 1976 game,,and Buffalo still only scored 14 points.
I've been to 41 different MLB stadiums. I caught the end of the 1990s when all the stadiums were being changed. Tiger Stadium was BY FAR my favorite stadium. My dad and I both caught a ball there in 1999. Not as trendy and yuppie as Wrigley or Fenway, and so charming. I will NEVER go to a game at Comerica Park or whatever park they play in now. Think about this: the first week for games at Tiger Stadium was the week of the Titanic sinking.
Fenway also opened on the same day.
Tearing down Tiger Stadium was criminal. Those city council people should be ashamed. It should have been kept as a Baseball shrine.
Considering they didn't have enough money to fund the fire department at the time, I don't think saving a 90 year old ballpark was real high on the docket. It sucks but there was nothing anyone could have done, short of a Bill Gates type rolling in and buying up the entire thing.
Wish I had a chance to go to Tiger Stadium, but never did. Been to quite a few of both the old and current stadia, but never been to either one in Motown.
Navin Field , Briggs Stadium , Tiger Stadium , I wish they could have saved the Stadium . Like Fenway and Wrigley Field .
Unfortunately it wasn't in the cards .
Technically, while Tiger Stadium around it is long gone, the field is still there. As well is being used for high school use.
the demolition of the stadium at The Corner, was one of the worst things to happen to the city. the CoPa sucks. the closest seats at CoPa are double the distance from the field than they were at Tiger Stadium and the upper deck might just as well be in the next county, youre so far away. the reason they moved the bullpen at the CoPa is because in the builders rush to build the next 'best' big thing, the fences were farther than almost all of the batters could reach resulting in boring low scoring games. they move the bullpen and brought the outfield fence in what, 20-30-40 feet?
there is absolutely zero charm in CoPa or any of the new 'stadium boom' era fields. obstructed view seats? fine, so many people would walk around anyway or, lean over and get neighborly with the seats next to you.
i took my wife to The Three Tenors when they performed there and Aretha Franklin sang the National Anthem to start the show. best rendition ive ever heard and the last time i was there...
Not old enough to see a Lion game there. I would have loved to see a Lion game there before it was torn down. Just a preseason or practice game would have been cool.
Fenway tour guides claim that because Fenway Park is listed as a historical building, the stadium “can never” be torn down. Well, guess what, Tiger Stadium was also listed as a historical building. It wasn’t removed from the historical building records until loooong after it was demolished. So, someone is not correct. Either historical buildings CAN be demolished, or Tiger Stadium was illegally torn down
That was the original plan was supposed to keep that section up for high school games and add a few more lights. the city was dumb to demolish the whole thing...
It’s a Travesty historic ballparks like Tiger Stadium and comiskey park were left to rot by their owners and be demolished. Baseball will never let wrigley field or Fenway park ever be demolished.
I feel very fortunate to have seen many games there including the final in 1999.
It was a shame more of it wasnt saved since a new grandstand ultimately ended up being built behind home plate anyway. But the city was very corrupt at the time.
Comerica Park is in a great location and is nice to walk around but the sightlines are terrible, maybe the worst of any baseball only stadium built after Camden Yards. Hard to think of a more dramtic contrast between seat views of two ballparks in the same city or team.
Wish you would have shown those renderings of the remodeling efforts
Why don't modern stadiums build the upper decks over the lower decks like that? I'm sure we have the materials and engineering now to do it without the support beams.
People in the lower deck can't track balls hit into the air if they are sitting under an overhang. What they see is a ball hit, but they have no idea where it is going until it lands or is caught.
I don't know why Tigers can't preserve some of the field and make a museum or memorial for historical purposes? This is where Ty Cobb played, and the home of the 1968 and 1984 World Series Champions. Keep the field and use it for amateur leagues and dress it up with historic Tigers memorabilia.
That's kinda what happened with the new development there. The Corner Ballpark as it's called.
That's like, almost precisely what happened. Are you new?
I wish we couldd have safe the old Stadium.
could have being an mls stadium
They should have converted it into a minor league stadium or for a local colleges baseball team.
If it had survived a few more yrs it'll probably b still here . The big boom n Detroit happened a few yrs later
Tiger Stadium deserved to be saved way more than Fenway.
You forgot to mention that after it closed Billy Crystal used it to film 61*
The same here happened in Baltimore Memorial Stadium they let the ballpark run down when we lost the Colts to Indianapolis they were forced to build a new ballpark downtown Oriole Park at Camden Yards
So sad. I wish the front entrance had been saved. A damn shame to see every last bit of it torn down 😢
The Illitch's owned the team. They owned the land where Comerica was built. They didn't own Tiger Stadium. That was that.
This is why you do things, go places, see stuff today. Tomorrow never knows.
You could smell weed in the center field bleachers.