Time to tear down Tiger Stadium and move on
By the Heckler
The drums of demise are beating ever-louder for the beloved yet-fading Detroit icon known as Tiger Stadium – with the Heckler leading the band.
Long ignored, left to rust away into history, it breaks my heart each and every time I pass by the ol’girl, still a requisite pass-by every time through downtown Detroit. Akin to visiting a dying grandparent in the hospital, each viewing becomes a bittersweet moment tinged with the overriding impression that it may be the last time I ever see it standing.
For my sake, the sake of the City of Detroit, and for baseball as a whole in the Motor City and surrounding area – let it be sooner than later.
What once stood proudly as a Midwest icon for baseball dating back to the late 1800s, now warbles frightfully as a graying symbol of an area either stuck in a time warp – or worse – as a muse for well-intended yet off-base romantics who still have yet to come to grips with the fact that Tiger Stadium’s day has passed.
I know, I was there, many, many times – including the final day, September 27, 1999. Truly the passing of an era, the memories of that day will stay with me forever (or at least until the Alzheimer’s kicks in). So many things passed through my mind as I took in game before me: happy memories attending games with my father; drunken binges with college buddies in the bleachers; seeing Cecil Fielder hit one off the left-field roof; losing-season after losing-season as the century came to a close; even the sadness of knowing I would never be able to take my son to a game there (God willing if I am ever blessed with children); Tiger Stadium may have honestly been my favorite place on Earth to spend a day.
That day, however, is now over.
Don’t get me wrong. It’s not like the Heckler ain’t one for nostalgia. We still make it a point to have our pre-game tailgate party in Corktown, just steps away from the former Navin Field. The Heckler and Irish Mike now call Nemo’s our home base, who offer free shuttles to the Tigers’ new home of Comerica Park.
But so much has already changed about the area - permanent changes, changes that aren’t going to be undone – that even sipping suds at Nemo’s is becoming more of séance to us, trying in vain to conjure up ghosts from the past and, no doubt, our faded youth.
Reedy’s Saloon used to a staple of our pre (if not post) game ritual, not to mention the Express bar, the Designated Hatter and Sportsland, U.S.A. – among other haunts.
But Reedy’s is now run by different owners, the Hall of Fame caliber collection of photos depicting past owner Bill Reedy, Mickey Mantle, Billy Martin and others long-since vanquished; The Hatter is now known as the Detroit Athletic Company and is half the size; the Express is open only a few times a year (like St. Patty’s Day) and Sportsland closed its doors only last year. And let’s not even bring up the late, great Lindell A.C.
This goes without saying all of the other business that have naturally dried-up in the vicinity thanks to losing its main source of customers.
Taking nothing away from the recently-released Gary Glaser/Richard Bak documentary “Stranded at the Corner” who trumpted the idea that a minor-league team could call the park home – along with other recent scenarios that paint a rosy picture of still-possible schemes such as scaling back the existing structure to 15,000 seats for other events such as conventions – the time to move on has come.
Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, for once, seems to be on the right track with his recent comments: “You have a lot of interesting things and perspectives that have been given about Tiger Stadium, but the only people with money who have approached us want that stadium gone. We’re focused on making sure that we do something with that site. It’s a prime opportunity.”
You could start with a wrecking ball and let it rest in peace. Thanks for the memories, Tiger Stadium. You will hardly be forgotten.
sources:
www.freep.com
www.macon.com
Thanks for stopping by Baseball Big Mouth! Your comments are greatly appreciated and are easily left by simply hitting the comments link at the bottom of each post. Once approved, they will be posted on the site. It’s that easy! Check by every other day for regular updates - and tell your friends! It gets so lonely heckling to yourself . . .
All photos copyright Baseball Big Mouth and the Heckler
- All rights reserved -
June 8th, 2007 at 4:10 pm
this just makes me wanna cry
June 8th, 2007 at 6:05 pm
Me too, Jenny, me too . . . but it’s time has come, unfortunately. All good things must come to an end.
Thanks for stopping by.
August 19th, 2007 at 11:07 pm
Hello! Good Site! Thanks you! offbescvsn
September 10th, 2007 at 8:58 pm
I totally disagree with anybody that says the old parks days are done and she should be demolished. I wasn’t the guy that went there game after game and spent game days lolling in the sun of the bleachers. Nor was I the guy that knew the stadium inside and out. What I was, was a 12 year old kid that went to one Tiger game in my life at that beautiful old ballpark. The Tigs were playing the White Sox in the summer of 1979. I don’t remember the final score but what stuck with me more than anything was the feeling of euphoria I got from sitting there watching the game with my dad and my two uncles, Ron and Paul. I remember Ronnie promised me that if he caught a pop-up it was mine. Sometime in the middle of the game, a ball was hit way high up in the upper deck down the third base line. He almost caught it with a mighty leap, but alas, the ball was about 5 feet over his head. When I think about it I can still smell the grass and dirt and popcorn and dogs in the air. I can still see the excitement on the faces of everyone that came to watch that game. I can still feel the awe at seeing what to me was the biggest building on the planet.
I don’t know what this big rush is about over the last ten to twenty years of demolishing the old and building the new. Does tradition mean nothing? Do we have no respect for a grand old dame like Tiger Stadium? Have we forgotten the glory of years past that were shared by the entire city when the Tigs won it all in 1984, or in ‘68? Have we forgotten watching Sweet Lou ( I remember hearing everyone in the stadium start calling “LOUUUUUU” when Whittaker took the field) and Tram patrol the infield better than any other short-second combination in history? Have we forgotten watching would-be home run balls flutter out to right only to die in the glove of Kaline? Have we forgotten watching in amusement as The Bird talked another ball into streaking into the catchers huge mitt? Have we forgotten the home run that big Cecil Fielder smacked clean out of the park?
That old ballpark deserves better treatment than she’s gotten since the Tigers left her to stand lost and alone. Hundreds of proposals have been brought to city counsel to restore the stadium or somehow preserve at least a part of it. Kwame and city counsel have turned them down one after another. The mayor has made it clear that he doesn’t care about history. That he doesn’t care about the Tigers. That he doesn’t care about the legends that have run that base path and covered those outfields. And it’s a shame, too.
She deserves better.
September 11th, 2007 at 7:18 am
Hi there, Matt. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on Tiger Stadium.
Believe me, The Heckler didn’t want to see the Stadium closed to begin with. I still would like to think they could have somehow redone it section by section, one at a time, all the while still playing in it. I would have liked to take my soon-to-be-born child to it, and tell them all the great tales of watching Trammell and Whitaker and Morris and Lemon and Fielder etc. I would have loved to have had the team still be playing in Tiger Stadium last year when they went to the World Series.
But they weren’t. Nor are they ever going to go back there.
Tiger Stadium should have some portion of it preserved, on that much I agree. No question. The last thing I want is to stand in a parking lot where the Stadium once stood, much like I did in Chicago when I stood where old Comiskey park once stood. It was sad.
I won’t argue with you on the magic of Tiger Stadium. It was probably my favorite place on Earth — truly. But nothing lasts forever. It’s time is nearing an end. We all must move on, unfortunately. Time already has . . .
Thanks again for sharing your thoughts.
- The Heckler
January 31st, 2008 at 1:18 am
FUCK IT ..STOP BEING A ABABY
January 31st, 2008 at 10:36 am
Okay, we’ll stop being A ABABY, as soon as you learn to type (for starters) and articulate yourself in complete sentences. We promise. Scout’s honor . . .
August 14th, 2008 at 8:52 am
1st things 1st BOB YOUR AN MORON.anyways I remember days when my grandfather used to put me on his shoulders high above other screaming fans mitt in my hand with hopes of catching a ball,(god rest his soul),days i’ve gone with friends growing up,(even the hot dogs you just cant get that taste anymore)but very sad to see the old girl go down due to previous owners RAPING it for all its worth then turning its back on her.But it sure would be a great idea to maybe let the true fans of TIGER STADIUM buy bits and pieces much like they sold the wall when it came down.I surely would be interested in buying a couple of seats.I now look back at my move to another state and i too wish i had spent more time with the old gal.thanks alot for this site and trying to keep some nostalgia and grace of my old friend
August 16th, 2008 at 5:51 pm
Thanks Gary. I appreciate your post. Take solace in this fact: In heaven, all games are at Tiger Stadium, they are all double-headers, and the hot dogs are free and beer always cold and plentiful. It’s true.