Doc Fletcher

The History of Tiger Stadium Doc Fletcher

This book is a fan's love letter to baseball played at the Corner of Michigan and Trumbull, in downtown Detroit, first at wooden Bennett Park (1896-1911) and then at its steel and concrete replacement known by three names: Navin Field (1912-1937), Briggs Stadium (1938-1960), and finally, Tiger Stadium (1961-1999). The Cathedral at The Corner was where-together with our great-grandparents, grandparents, parents, uncles, aunts, siblings, children, godchildren, and friends-we have cheered our Detroit Tigers. Although the structure is gone, the memories remain. This book is a tribute to the characters on the field, in the stands, and those in the neighborhoods surrounding the ballpark, as well as to the broadcasters who brought the action to us when we couldn't be there. It is from those characters and those who knew them, loved them, or both from which many of the book's stories come from. Baseball is a game of statistics, their inclusion critical to the history told, but it's the back stories that give the book its humanity, humor, and liveliness.