Another landmark from my youth will soon be gone. Venerable Tiger Stadium, the 90-year-old playing field at the corner of Michigan and Trumbell, is on the demolition block, according to the Detroit Free Press:
Tiger Stadium will be demolished to make way for homes and stores under a plan that will save parts of the historic baseball venue, Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick said Friday.During the summer of 1987, I worked at Tiger Stadium as a “Junior Usher.”A portion of the field as well as a small piece of the stadium itself will remain.
The position was unpaid, but I generally made anywhere from $20-$40 a night in tips by showing fans to their reserved seats and wiping them (the seats, not the fans) down with a damp rag. More aggressive JU’s boasted of making over $100/night.
The Senior Ushers were salaried employees of the stadium and took care of ticket-holders in the box seats. To a one, they were grumpy 80-year-old men who viewed the JU’s with derision. In the event that one of us would inadvertently approach a box-seater, the elderly SU’s would practically push us out of the way and into a pile of peanut shells and discarded beer cups.
Apart from the cash, one benefit was free admission to the games, and I happened to luck into working a pretty exciting season. In 1987, the Tigers won the Eastern Division and advanced to the playoffs (where they soundly defeated by the Minnesota Twins.)
Tiger Stadium itself was in Corktown, a part of the city that could be charitably called “run down.” The abandoned hulk of Michigan Central Station loomed nearby. Overgrown fields temporarily morphed into make-shift (and probably illegal) parking lots on game day. The local business section consisted predominantly of bars, bail bonds joints, used-car lots, and the White Castle Hanburgers establishment near which I waited for the bus on my way home. Though Corktown appears to be experiencing a low-level “revival,” from what I remember of the ‘hood, it would take a lot of work to turn it around. I hope, for the city’s sake, that the Tiger Stadium plan contributes positively to that effort.
Comments
Yes, Tiger Stadium will be demolished to make room for homes and stores. Wild, rabid bats will be flying from my ears about the same time these houses and stores are built.
Posted by: Your Mother | June 19, 2006 6:16 PM
The new stadium seems nice at first, but there's something too sterile about it . . . too Disney World or something. The old place had character.
Posted by: Bill | June 19, 2006 10:35 PM
Sad to hear. It will always remain "Briggs Stadiium" to me. A few years ago Mike received the book, "On the Corner" from one of my daughters for either a birthday or Christmas or whatever. This book, which sports lots of photos and a nice history, shall ever remain on our coffee table.
Posted by: dar | June 20, 2006 9:12 AM
Correction. Book is entitled "The Corner" and it was offered by the Franklin Mint.
Posted by: dar | June 20, 2006 9:26 AM