Photo Credit
The article was researched and compiled
by Carrie Birdsong
Major League Affiliations
American League: 1901 – Present
AL Central Division: 1998 – Present
AL East Division: 1969 – 1997
Western League: 1894 – 1900
Retired Numbers: COBB, 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 10, 11, 16, 23,
42, 47
Colors: Navy Blue, Orange, White(1)(2)(3)
Name: Detroit Tigers (1901 – Present)
Other Nicknames:
Name: Detroit Tigers (1901 – Present)
Other Nicknames:
1. The Bengals(4)
2. The Motor City Kitties(5)(6)
2. The Motor City Kitties(5)(6)
Ballpark:
1. Comerica Park (2000 – Present)
2. Tiger Stadium (1912 – 1999)(a)
3. Burns Park (1901 – 1902)(b)
4. Bennett Park (1896 – 1911)
5. Boulevard Park (1894 – 1895)
Major League Titles
1. World Series Titles (4): 1935, 1945, 1968,
3. Burns Park (1901 – 1902)(b)
4. Bennett Park (1896 – 1911)
5. Boulevard Park (1894 – 1895)
Major League Titles
1. World Series Titles (4): 1935, 1945, 1968,
1984
2. AL Pennants (11): 1907, 1908, 1909, 1934,
2. AL Pennants (11): 1907, 1908, 1909, 1934,
1935, 1940, 1945, 1968, 1984, 2006, 2012
3. AL Central Division Titles (4): 2011, 2012,
3. AL Central Division Titles (4): 2011, 2012,
2013, 2014
4. AL East Division Titles (3): 1972, 1984,
4. AL East Division Titles (3): 1972, 1984,
1987
Wild Card Berths (1): 2006
Front Office:
Principal Owners(s): Ilitch Holdings
President of Baseball Operations: Scott Harris
General Manager: Jeff Greenberg
Manager: A.J. Hinch
The history of the Detroit Tigers, a professional baseball franchise based in Detroit, Michigan, dates back to 1894, when they were a member of the minor league Western League. Becoming a charter member of the American League in 1901, they are the oldest continuous one-name, one-city franchise in the league.
Western League beginnings (1894 – 1900)
The franchise was founded as a member of the reorganized Western League in 1894(1). They originally played at Boulevard Park, sometimes called League Park. It was located on East Lafayette, then called Champlain Street, between Helen and East Grand Boulevard, near Belle Isle(2). In 1895, owner George Vanderbeck decided to build Bennett Park at the corner of Michigan and Trumbull Avenues, which would remain their base of operations for the next 104 seasons(3)(4). The first game at The Corner was an exhibition on April 13th, 1896. The team, now occasionally called the “Tigers”, beat a semi-pro team, known as the Athletics, by a score of 30 – 3(3)(4). They played their first Western League game at Bennett Park on April 28th, 1896, defeating the Columbus Senators 17 – 2(3)(4).
At the end of the 1897 season, Rube Waddell was lent to the team to gain professional experience. After being fined, Waddell left Detroit to pitch in Canada.(5)
When the Western League renamed itself the American League in 1900, it was still a minor league, but the next year, it broke from the National Agreement and declared itself a major league, openly competing with the National League for players and fans in four contested cities(6)(7)(8). For a while, there were rumors of the team relocating to Pittsburgh, but the two leagues made peace in 1903 when they signed a new National Agreement. (9)
First Major League Season (1901)
The Tigers were established as a charter member of the now-major league American League in 1901(10). They played their first game as a major league team at home against the Milwaukee Brewers on April 25th, 1901, with an estimated 10,000 fans at Bennett Park(7)(11). After entering the ninth inning behind 13 – 4, the team staged a dramatic comeback to win 14 - 13(11). The team finished third in the eight-team league. (12).
They were the first major league team to have a mascot – a red tiger on a dark background – on their ballcap. It was replaced by the letter “D” in 1903, and their iconic Olde English-style letterform appeared the following season.(13)
The Cobb Era (1905 – 1926)
1905
In 1905, the team acquired 18-year-old Ty Cobb, a fearless player with a mean streak, who came to be regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. The addition of Cobb to an already talented team that included Sam Crawford, Hughie Jennings, Bill Donovan, and George Mullin quickly yielded results.(14)
1907 American League Champions
Behind the hitting of outfielders Ty Cobb (.350) and Sam Crawford (.323), and the pitching of Bill Donovan and Ed Killian (25 wins each), the Tigers went 92 – 58 to win the AL pennant in 1907 by 1.5 games over the Philadelphia Athletics(15)(16). They moved on to their first World Series appearance against the Chicago Cubs.(17)(18)
Game 1 ended in a rare 3 – 3 tie called due to darkness after 12 innings(17)(18). The Tigers scored only three runs in the succeeding four games, never scoring more than one run in a game, and lost the Series, 4 – 0.(17)
1908 American League Champions
The Tigers won the AL by just a half-game over the 90 – 64 Cleveland Naps with a 90 – 63 record(19). Cobb hit .324, while Sam Crawford hit .311 with 7 home runs, which was enough to lead the league in the “dead ball” era. (20)
The Cubs, however, would defeat the Tigers again in the 1908 World Series, this time in five games(21). This would be the Cubs’ last World Championship until 2016. (22)
1909 American League Champions
In 1909, Detroit posted a 98 – 54 season, winning the AL pennant by 3.5 games over the Athletics(23). Ty Cobb won the batting triple crown in 1909, hitting .377 with 9 home runs (all inside the park) and 107 RBIs(24)(25). He also led the league with 76 stolen bases(25). George Mullin was the pitching hero, going 29 – 8 with a 2.22 ERA, while fellow pitcher Ed Willett went 21 – 10(26). Mullin’s 11 – 0 start in 1909 was a Tiger record for 104 years, finally being broken by Max Scherzer’s 13 – 0 start in 2013.(27)(28)(29)
It was hoped that a new opponent in the 1909 Series, the Pittsburgh Pirates, would yield different results. The Tigers performed better in the Fall Classic, taking Pittsburgh to seven games, but they were blown out 8 – 0 in the decisive game at Bennett Park. (30)
1910 – 1914
The Tigers dropped to third place in the American League in 1910 with an 86 – 69 record(31). They posted 89 wins in 1911 to finish second but were still well behind a powerhouse Philadelphia Athletics team that won 101 games(32). The team sunk to a dismal sixth place in both the 1912 and 1913 seasons(33)(34). A bright spot in 1912 was George Mullin pitching the franchise’s first no-hitter in a 7 – 0 win over the St. Louis Browns on July 4th, his 32nd birthday. (35)
Cobb went into the stands in a May 15th, 1912 game to attack a fan that was abusing him, and was suspended. Three days later, the Tigers protested the suspension by fielding a team of replacement players against the Philadelphia Athletics. They lost 24 – 2(36). During the five-season stretch, Cobb posted batting averages of .383, .420, .409, .390, and .368, winning the AL batting title every year. (37)
1915
In 1915, the Tigers won a then-club record 100 games, but narrowly lost the AL pennant to the Boston Red Sox, who won 101 games(38). The 1915 Tigers were led by an outfield consisting of Ty Cobb, Sam Crawford, and Bobby Veach that finished #1, #2, and #3 in RBIs and total bases(39). Cobb also set a stolen base record with 96 steals in 1915 that stood until 1962, when it was broken by Maury Willis(40). Baseball historian Bill James has ranked the 1915 Tigers outfield as the greatest in the history of baseball(39). The only team in Tigers’ history with a better winning percentage than the 1915 squad was the 1934 team that lost the World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals. (41)
1916 – 1920
The Tigers dropped to third place in 1916 with an 87 – 67 record and would remain mired in the middle of the AL standings the rest of the decade, never winning more than 80 games(42)(43)(44)(45)(46). In the late teens and into the 1920’s, Cobb continued to be the marquee player, though he was pushed by budding star outfielder Harry Heilmann, who went on to hit .342 for his career. (47)
Hughie Jennings left the Tigers after the 1920 season, having accumulated 1,131 wins as a manager(48). This stood as a Tiger record until 1992 when it was broken by Sparky Anderson(49). Cobb himself took over the managerial duties in 1921, but during his six years at the helm, the Tigers topped out at 86 wins and never won a pennant.(50)(51)(52)
1921
In 1921, the Tigers amassed 1,724 hits and a team batting average of .316, the highest team hit total and batting average in AL history(53). That year, outfielders Harry Heilmann and Ty Cobb finished #1 and #2 in the American League batting race with batting averages of .394 and .389 respectively(54). The downfall of the 1921 Tigers, however, was the absence of good pitching. The team ERA was 4.40(55). Without pitching to support the offense, the 1921 Tigers finished in sixth place in the American League at 71 – 82, 27 games behind the New York Yankees. (56)
On August 16th, 1921, Ty Cobb collected his 3,000th career hit off Elmer Meyers of the Boston Red Sox. Aged 34 at the time, he is still the youngest player to reach that milestone, also reaching it in the fewest at-bats (8,093).(57)(58)
1922 – 1926
The Tigers continued to field good teams during Ty Cobb’s tenure as player-manager, finishing as high as second in 1923, but lack of quality pitching kept them from winning a pennant(51)(59). Harry Heilmann hit .403 in 1923, becoming the last AL player to top .400 until Ted Williams hit .406 in 1941(60). In 1925, Heilmann collected six hits in a season-ending doubleheader to win the batting title, finishing at .393 to Tris Speaker’s .389.(61)(62)
Cobb announced his retirement in November 1926 after 22 seasons with the Tigers, though he would return to play two more seasons with the Philadelphia Athletics. (50)(51)
The Tigers break through (1927 – 1940)
1927 – 1933
Though the Tigers struggled with mediocre records in the seven years following Cobb’s departure, they were building a solid foundation, adding slugging first baseman Hank Greenberg and pitchers Tommy Bridges and Schoolboy Rowe to a lineup that already included second baseman Charlie Gehringer.(63)
In 1927, Harry Heilmann flirted with a .400 batting average all year, eventually finishing at .398 and winning his fourth AL batting title.(64)
Following the 1933 season, the Tigers added perhaps the final piece to the puzzle, acquiring catcher Mickey Cochrane from the Philadelphia Athletics to serve as player-manager. (63)
1934 American League Champions
The Tigers won the 1934 AL pennant with a 101 – 53 record, at the time a team record for wins, and still the best win percentage (.656) in team history(41). The Tigers infield (Hank Greenberg and Charlie Gehringer, along with shortstop Billy Rogell and Marv Owen) accumulated 462 runs during the season, with Gehringer (214 hits, .356 average) leading the way(65)(66). Schoolboy Rowe led a strong pitching staff, winning 16 straight decisions at one point of the season and finishing with a 24 – 8 record. (67)
The Tigers would fall in the 1934 World Series in seven games to the “Gashouse Gang” St. Louis Cardinals(63)(68). After winning a tight battle in Game 5 with a 3 – 1 decision over Dizzy Dean, Detroit took a 3 – 2 series lead but would lose the next two games at Navin Field (Tiger Stadium)(68). For the second time in a World Series Game 7, Detroit folded. St. Louis scored seven times in the third inning off starter Elden Auker and a pair of relievers, while Dean baffled the Tiger hitters en route to an 11 – 0 victory(63)(68)(69)(70). The final game was marred by an ugly incident. After spiking Tiger third baseman Marv Owen in the sixth inning, the Cardinals’ Joe Medwick had to be removed from the game for his own safety by Commissioner Kensesaw Mountain Landis after being pelted with debris from angry fans in the large temporary bleacher section in left field. (63)(68)(69).
1935 World Series Champions
The Tiger's 1935 lineup featured four future Hall of Famers (Hank Greenberg, Mickey Cochrane, Goose Goslin, and Charlie Gehringer)(71). Though they did not challenge the 1934 team’s 101 wins, their 93 – 58 record was good enough to give them the AL pennant by three games over the New York Yankees(72). Greenberg was named AL MVP after hitting .328 and leading the league in home runs (36), extra-base hits (98) and RBIs (168)(73)(74). Incredibly, Greenberg’s RBI total was 48 higher than the next closest player (Lou Gehrig, with 120)(74). The Tigers finally won their first World Series, defeating the Chicago Cubs, 4 – 2. Game 6 concluded with Goslin’s dramatic walk-off RBI single, scoring Cochrane for a 4 – 3 victory. (63)
After owner Frank Navin died in the offseason, Walter Briggs Sr. took over control of the team.(76)(77)
1936 – 1939
Despite being forecast to win the American League pennant again in 1936,(78) the Tigers fell to a distant second place behind the New York Yankees both that season and in 1937(79)(80). The team fell further down the standings with an 84 – 70 record in 1938 and an 81 – 73 record in 1939(81)(82). Hank Greenberg nevertheless provided some excitement for Tigers fans in 1938 by challenging the single-season home run record held by Babe Ruth (60). He went into the season’s final weekend against the Cleveland Indians with 58 home runs, tied with Jimmie Foxx for the most by a right-handed batter at the time, but he failed to homer. (83)(84)(85).
During the final week of the 1938 season, the Tigers presciently held out doubt about a pennant in 1939 but figured that 1940 would be their year. (86)
1940 American League Champions
In a tight three-team race, the 90 – 64 Tigers won the 1940 AL pennant by one game over the Cleveland Indians and two games over the New York Yankees(87). Before the season, the first baseman was persuaded to move to left field to make room for Rudy York(88). The move proved successful. York hit .316 with 33 home runs and 134 RBIs. Greenberg batted .340 and slammed 41 home runs while driving in 150(89). Greenberg won his second AL MVP award, becoming the first major leaguer to win the award at two different positions(88). Charlie Gehringer batted .313 while collecting 101 walks and scoring 108 runs. (89)
Bobo Newsom was the ace of the Tiger pitching staff in 1940, going 21 – 5 with a 2.83 ERA(89). An unlikely hero on the mound this season was 30-year-old rookie Floyd Giebell. Making just his third major league start on September 27th, Giebell was called upon to pitch the pennant-clinching game against Bob Feller of the Indians. Feller surrendered just three hits, one being a 2-run homer by Rudy York, while Giebell blanked the Tribe for a 2 – 0 victory.(90)(91)
The Tigers lost the 1940 World Series to the Cincinnati Reds in seven games(92)(93). Despite a heroic effort by Bobo Newsom, the Tigers came up short in the deciding game, losing 2 – 1(92)(93). Newsom’s father had died in a Cincinnati hotel room after watching his son win Game 1(92)(93). An inspired Newsom won game 5 and pitched game 7 on just one day’s rest(92)(93). This was the third time the Tigers had lost a World Series in a deciding seventh game. (93)
The war years 1941 – 1945
With Hank Greenberg serving in World War II for all or parts of the 1941 – 1944 seasons, the Tigers struggled to recapture the glory of 1940(94). They finished no higher than fifth place in 1941 – 1943 but did manage a second-place finish in 1944, largely on the strength of pitchers Hal Newhouser and Dizzy Trout, who won 29 and 27 games respectively(95)(96)(97)(98)(99). Newhouser, who was 29 – 9 with a 2.22 ERA, won the first of his two consecutive AL MVP awards this season(99)(100). The Tigers were in first place as late as September 18th but would finish one game behind the St. Louis Browns for the AL pennant.(98)(101)
With the end of World War II and the timely return of Hank Greenberg and others from the military, the Tigers won the AL pennant by just 1.5 games over the Washington Senators with an 88 – 65 record(102)(103). Hal Newhouser became the first pitcher in the history of the AL (and still the only pitcher as of 2018) to win the MVP Award in two consecutive seasons(104). Newhouser won the pitching triple crown, leading the AL in wins (25), ERA (1.81), and strikeouts (212)(105).
With Newhouser, Virgil Trucks, and Dizzy Trout on the mound and Greenberg leading the Tiger bats, Detroit responded in a World Series Game 7 for the first time, staking Newhouser to a 5 – 0 lead before he threw a pitch en route to a 9 – 3 victory over the Cubs(106)(107). Because many stars had not yet returned from the military, some baseball scholars have deemed the 1945 World Series to be among the worst-played contests in World Series history. For example, before the World Series, Chicago sportswriter Warren Brown was asked who he liked, and he answered, “I don’t think either one can win.”(108)
A long drought 1946 – 1967
1946 – 1950
Following their World Series win in 1945, the Tigers continued to have winning records for the remainder of the decade, finishing second in the AL three times, but never winning the pennant.(109)(110)(111)(112)(113)
During the 1946 season, the Tigers acquired George Kell, a third baseman who would become a 10-time all-star and Hall of Famer(114)(115). He batted over .300 in eight straight seasons (1946 – 1953) and finished with a career .306 average(114)(115). Kell won the batting title in a very close race with Ted Williams in 1949, going 2-for-3 on the last day of the season to edge out the Red Sox slugger, .34291 to .34276.(114)(115)(116)
The 1950 season was particularly frustrating, as the Tigers posted a 95 – 59 record for a .617 winning percentage, the fourth-best in team history at the time. However, they finished three games behind a strong New York Yankees team that went on to sweep the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series.(113)(117)
1951 – 1960
Over the next 10 years, the Tigers sank to the middle and lower ranks of the American League. The team had only three winning records over this span and never finished higher than fourth place(118)(119)(120)(121)(122)(123)(124)(125)(126)(127). The last place 1952 team went 50 – 104 (.325), which was the worst season in Tigers history until the 2003 team lost 119 games(128)(129). Despite the dismal season, Virgil Trucks threw two no-hitters, becoming only the third pitcher in major league history to accomplish this feat(130). Also, team owner Walter Briggs Sr. died in 1952. His son Walter Briggs Jr. inherited the team, but he was forced to sell it in 1956 to broadcast media owners John Fetzer and Fred Knorr.(131)(132)(133)
Notwithstanding Detroit’s fall in the standings, the decade saw the debut of outfielder Al Kaline in 1953. One of the few major league players who never played a day in the minor leagues, he would hit over .300 nine times in his career. He also made 15 All-Star teams, won 10 Gold Gloves, and featured one of the league’s best arms in right field. In 1955, the 20-year-old Kaline hit .340 to become the youngest-ever batting champion in major league history(134).
1958 saw the Tigers become the second to last team to integrate their roster when Dominican player Ozzie Virgil Sr. joined the team. Only the Boston Red Sox trailed the Tigers in integrating their roster.(135)(136)
1961
As the American League expanded from 8 to 10 teams, Detroit began its slow ascent back to success with an outstanding 1961 campaign. The Tigers won 101 games, a whopping 30-game improvement over the 71 – 83 1960 team, but still finished eight games behind the Yankees(137). This marked one of the few times in major league history that a team failed to reach the postseason despite winning 100 or more games, though it had happened once before to the Tigers in 1915(137). First baseman Norm Cash won the batting title with a .361 average, while teammate Al Kaline finished second(137)(138). Cash never hit over .286 before or after the 1961 season, and would later say of the accomplishment: “It was a freak. Even at the time, I realized that.”(139) Cash’s plate heroics, which also included 41 home runs and 132 RBI’s, might have earned him MVP honors were it not for New York’s Roger Maris bashing a then record 61 homers the same season(137). Cash also drew 124 walks for a league-leading .487 on-base percentage. (138)
The 1961 club featured two non-white starters, Bill Burton and Jake Wood, and later in the 1960’s, black players such as Willie Horton, Earl Wilson, and Gates Brown would contribute to Detroit’s rise in the standings.(140)(141)(142)(143)(144)
1962 – 1966
as a strong nucleus developed, Detroit repeatedly posted winning records throughout the 1960s. In 1963, pitchers Mickey Lolich and Denny McLain entered the rotation(145)(146). Outfielders Willie Horton (1963), Mickey Stanley (1964), and Jim Northrup (1964) also came aboard around this time.(142)(147)(148)
The team managed a third-place finish during a bizarre 1966 season, in which manager Chuck Dressen and acting manager Bob Swift were both forced to resign their posts because of health problems(149)(150)(151). Thereafter, Frank Skaff took over the managerial reins until the end of the year; Dressen died of a heart attack in August, while Swift died of lung cancer in October(150)(151). Following the season, the Tigers hired Mayo Smith to be their new manager. (153)
1967
In 1967, the Tigers were involved in one of the closest pennant races in history. Because of rainouts, the Tigers were forced to play back-to-back doubleheaders against the California Angels over the final two days of the season(154)(155). They needed to sweep the doubleheader on the last day of the season to force a one-game playoff with the Boston Red Sox(154)(155). The Tigers won the first game but lost the second, giving the Red Sox the pennant with no playoff(154)(155). Detroit finished the season at 91 – 71, one game behind Boston(156). Starter Earl Wilson acquired the previous season from the Red Sox, led the Tigers (and the major leagues) with 22 wins and would form a strong 1 – 2 – 3 combination with Denny McLain and Mickey Lolich over the next few years.(143)(157)
A World Series and the first AL East Title (1968 – 1972)
Glory in ’68: 1968 World Series
The Tigers finally returned to the World Series in 1968. The team grabbed first place from the Baltimore Orioles on May 10th and would not relinquish the position, clinching the pennant on September 17th and finishing with a 103 – 59 record(158). In a year that was marked by dominant pitching, starter Denny McLain went 31 – 6 (with a 1.96 ERA), the first time a pitcher had won 30 or more games in a season since Dizzy Dean accomplished the feat in 1934; no pitcher has accomplished it since(159). McLain won the AL MVP and Cy Young Award for his efforts.(160)(161)
Detroit Tigers Part 2 will be posted on
December 31, 2024 New Year's Eve
