Tiger Stadium 25 Years Ago

[Bobbert]

25 years ago this week we were saying goodbye to Tiger Stadium.

I made many trips to the stadium that summer. To make the experience even more interesting, I also made my only trips to Wrigley Field and Fenway Park that year. To get to both of those ballparks, I had to take commuter train rides. Those stadiums are very integral parts of their neighborhoods, which is probably one of the reasons why they still exist today.

I spent most of the last weekend at Tiger Stadium, and the Tigers won all three games that I attended.

On Saturday, September 25, I made my last trip to the upper center field bleachers and enjoyed that rowdiness one last time.

On Sunday, September 26, I sat in the lower deck along the right field foul line. After the last out, I noticed that many people were just standing, staring out at the field. I realized that they were looking at the field one last time. It was a very solemn, poignant moment.

Then the last game on Monday, September 27. A very hot day in the mid-80s. All kinds of impressions. Michigan and Trumbull an absolute sea of people before the game. Sports celebrities on the field before the game—Al Kaline, Scotty Bowman, Bob Costas, and others. All through the game, television reporters doing live shots and interviews under the stands. The cameras flashing at the last out. The Field of Dreams, with Mark Fidyrich the first one out.

And finally, Ernie Harwell's farewell speech. When he finished, you knew it was all over, and the stadium felt very quiet.

[radiofann]

Thanks for sharing, definitely tiger stadium was one of a kind.

1976 when 52000 fans chant “go bird go”, stomping and rocking the stadium, , when he would mow down the Yankees and the A’s, you’d never know it was a fifth place team if you were only 10 years old. To a kid, the tigers were playoff contenders.

[Mega Hertz]

I remember jumping on my dial-up internet connection to print off the story about the last game from Yahoo.

It's a shame those were such mediocre days for the Tigers. We hadn't even seen the worst of it, yet. The name Bobby Higginson dregs up some terrible memories.

I'm pretty sure I have a set of the 1997 squad cards that Pepsi was giving away that summer.

[edj]

Comerica will never be as good as Tiger Stadium.

[moldyoldie]

Tiger Stadium was a complete dump..

Wow, I wouldn't go that far, but touring the bowels of the stadium one could see the necessity for an "updated" ballpark. That visitors locker room was incredibly small; one wonders how a visiting NFL team could possibly all fit in there. Also, I'm only 5'6" and the tunnel roof to the dugout cleared my head by maybe six inches, if that. And those horse trough urinals....

I did love those upper deck box seats down the lines practically overhanging the field. Admittedly, there's some nostalgia here.

[craig11152]

They had some seriously obstructed view seats . I sat in a couple over the years.
When I was kid we had season tickets to the Lions for a couple years when they played there.

[edj]

Ilitch and the city let Tiger Stadium go so they could get a new park. I will stand by that until the day I die.

Tiger Stadium could have been another Wrigley or Fenway.

[Bobbert]

Tiger Stadium was a complete dump..

Wow, I wouldn't go that far, but touring the bowels of the stadium one could see the necessity for an "updated" ballpark. That visitors locker room was incredibly small; one wonders how a visiting NFL team could possibly all fit in there. Also, I'm only 5'6" and the tunnel roof to the dugout cleared my head by maybe six inches, if that. And those horse trough urinals....

I did love those upper deck box seats down the lines practically overhanging the field. Admittedly, there's some nostalgia here.

I agree with all the criticisms of Tiger Stadium. Comerica Park definitely was designed to be more customer-friendly and entertainment-oriented, which helps draw in the more marginal fan. I like the 360-degree inner concourse, which always gives you a view of the field, even when you're not in your seat.

But Tiger Stadium had the upper deck around the whole field, which created amazing sounds, and a beautifully symmetrical image, both inside and out. It also had field level seats around the whole field, getting fans close to the action. Watching an outfielder track down a long fly ball just a few yards in front of you was an exciting experience.

[Matt]

Tiger Stadium was a complete dump..

Wow, I wouldn't go that far, but touring the bowels of the stadium one could see the necessity for an "updated" ballpark. That visitors locker room was incredibly small; one wonders how a visiting NFL team could possibly all fit in there. Also, I'm only 5'6" and the tunnel roof to the dugout cleared my head by maybe six inches, if that. And those horse trough urinals....

I did love those upper deck box seats down the lines practically overhanging the field. Admittedly, there's some nostalgia here.

I agree with all the criticisms of Tiger Stadium. Comerica Park definitely was designed to be more customer-friendly and entertainment-oriented, which helps draw in the more marginal fan. I like the 360-degree inner concourse, which always gives you a view of the field, even when you're not in your seat.

But Tiger Stadium had the upper deck around the whole field, which created amazing sounds, and a beautifully symmetrical image, both inside and out. It also had field level seats around the whole field, getting fans close to the action. Watching an outfielder track down a long fly ball just a few yards in front of you was an exciting experience.

Some have said it rivals watching paint dry.

[MotorCityRadioFreak]

Tiger Stadium was a complete dump.

Comerica Park has aged very nicely, in my opinion. Other than the exorbitantly priced food and drink, I enjoy seeing a ballgame there.

Seriously? Wow. The fan experience was great. You truly felt like you were on the field from the grandstand at Tiger Stadium. And the pop of the catcher's mitt reverberated to the seats.

The only criticism I can see is the trough urinals which were disgusting. It was built after the turn of the 20th century so I don't want to hear bitching about the dugouts.

Losing Tiger Stadium was like losing a part of my soul. Make fun of me all you want. The lack of shade in Comerica is a big reason why I stopped going to as many games. I begged my dad to go each year to Tiger Stadium. Gosh, I miss that old girl.

[MotorCityRadioFreak]

Ilitch and the city let Tiger Stadium go so they could get a new park. I will stand by that until the day I die.

Tiger Stadium could have been another Wrigley or Fenway.

1000%

[Honeyman]

Tiger Stadium was a complete dump.

Comerica Park has aged very nicely, in my opinion. Other than the exorbitantly priced food and drink, I enjoy seeing a ballgame there.

Seriously? Wow. The fan experience was great. You truly felt like you were on the field from the grandstand at Tiger Stadium. And the pop of the catcher's mitt reverberated to the seats.

The only criticism I can see is the trough urinals which were disgusting. It was built after the turn of the 20th century so I don't want to hear bitching about the dugouts.

Losing Tiger Stadium was like losing a part of my soul. Make fun of me all you want. The lack of shade in Comerica is a big reason why I stopped going to as many games. I begged my dad to go each year to Tiger Stadium. Gosh, I miss that old girl.

Great post. Tiger Stadium was a shrine. I loved that place

[Matt]

Tiger Stadium was a complete dump.

Comerica Park has aged very nicely, in my opinion. Other than the exorbitantly priced food and drink, I enjoy seeing a ballgame there.

Seriously? Wow. The fan experience was great. You truly felt like you were on the field from the grandstand at Tiger Stadium. And the pop of the catcher's mitt reverberated to the seats.

The only criticism I can see is the trough urinals which were disgusting. It was built after the turn of the 20th century so I don't want to hear bitching about the dugouts.

Losing Tiger Stadium was like losing a part of my soul. Make fun of me all you want. The lack of shade in Comerica is a big reason why I stopped going to as many games. I begged my dad to go each year to Tiger Stadium. Gosh, I miss that old girl.

Great post. Tiger Stadium was a shrine. I loved that place

They posted finally at 7:30 EDT, crediting ABC News - embarrassing.

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/415 ... er-dies-83