MUSIC- A million miles away by the Plimsouls
Location - 2121 Trumbull Ave., Detroit Michigan Bounded by Michigan Ave., Cochrane St.
Tiger Stadium - most of the park was demolished in the summer of 2008. The park is being preserved from the third base side to the first base side.
My first visit to the "corner" was July of 1976. The ballpark has changed A LOT over the last 31 years. The most noticeable is the color of the stadium. As you can see in the first batch of photos in 1976, Tiger stadium is green and white. In the remainder photos, it is in its blue and white color, which it remains today. The quality of some of the photos are mediocre at best, due to the fact the negatives are deteriorating.
Location - 2121 Trumbull Ave., Detroit Michigan Bounded by Michigan Ave., Cochrane St.
Tiger Stadium - most of the park was demolished in the summer of 2008. The park is being preserved from the third base side to the first base side.
My first visit to the "corner" was July of 1976. The ballpark has changed A LOT over the last 31 years. The most noticeable is the color of the stadium. As you can see in the first batch of photos in 1976, Tiger stadium is green and white. In the remainder photos, it is in its blue and white color, which it remains today. The quality of some of the photos are mediocre at best, due to the fact the negatives are deteriorating.
My FIRST ever view of Tiger Stadium was in July of 1976. I was 17.
Tiger Stadium was about a mile west of downtown Detroit in the Corktown neighborhood. Photo from internet.
The corner of Michigan and Trumbull . Tiger Stadium was green and white.
July 1976
Just to the right (not in picture) was a souvenir store called Sportsland USA. In 1976, I bought a Tigers t shirt and the owner (seeing I was from California) gave me a bumper sticker "the bird is the word" for Mark Fidrych. I stopped back at the same store some 10 years later, and the same store owner was there, and he rememeberd me. I always stopped in to see him when I was in Detroit. The last time I saw him was in 2003. He told me he was about to close for good due to the Tigers move downtown. Business fell off dramatically. When I drove thru Detroit in 2005, I stopped by. The old store was boarded up. A sign was on the front door that said "keep out go away". July 1976
Looking west towards Michigan and Trumbull. July 1976
Kaline Drive and Cochrane St. Cochrane street runs parallel to the third base side, while Kaline drive runs from left field to center and ending at Trumbull street. July 76
Looking down Cochrane street towards Kaline drive. July 1976
The centerfield bleacher entrance. July 1976
The light standard and the transformer that Reggie Jackson hit in the 1971 all star game. July 1976
The Tigers were out of town on this Saturday, but a guard let me in. You can see the green color that the stadium used to be, and the old wooden green seats.
The CF bleachers and old scoreboard. July 1976
The left field roof. July 1976
The third base side and football pressbox. July 1976
The old press box before the fire, and NO broadcast booth behind homeplate. It was added in the 80's. July 1976
The flagpole is in play in dead centerfield. A whopping 440 feet away. July 1976
Tiger Stadium in the gloom and rain in 1986. The view is from Pine street.. May 1986
The tarp covered infield. May 1986
The view down the third base line. May 1986
The Tigers bullpen covered up in left field. May 86
The upper deck in right field. May 86
Another rain soaked view from centerfield. May 86
The centerfield bleachers in the grey skies. May 86
True bleacher bench type seats in centerfield. May 86
Under the overhang. May 86
A soggy view of the field from the centerfield bleachers. May 86
A view of the lower centerfield bleachers. May 86
Another wet view from behind home plate. May 86
The visitors dugout. IF you look close enough at the top left of this photo, by the 325 marker, you will see Alan Trammell of the Tigers jogging in the rain. May 86
A panoramic shot thru the drizzle. May 86
A really lousy day at the corner. May 86
My first ever live game at Tiger Stadium May of 1986 against the Toronto Blue Jays. It took me 10 years, but I finally saw a game here. May 86
The view from my seat in the left field upper deck. May 86
Kirk Gibson swinging. May 86
The front row of the right field upper deck looking towards the centerfield bleachers. May 86
Looking towards right field. May 86
Fast forward one year to 1987. The Tigers offices on Trumbull May 87
The backside of the TIgers ticket offices. May 87
A view of the centerfield bleachers from Trumbull and Kaline. May 87
Looking down Trumbull towards Michigan Avenue. You can see the overhang of right field. May 87
A different view of Tiger stadium. This is looking towards Cochrane from Harrison Street. May 87
Left field bleacher entrance off Cochrane. May 87
The press elevator is in view on the right. May 87
A parking lot off Cochrane. May 87
This building has been here for years. When I was here in 76, there were more buildings next to this one, but since then they have all been demolished. May 87
Looking down Trumbull. May 87
Tigers vs. Seattle. May of 1987
A view from my seat (dont ask me how I got it!) from the first base dugout. May 87
Looking west up Michigan Ave. May 87
The TIgers ticket office. May 87
Home plate from Michigan Ave. May 87
Walking down the exit ramp and looking at the back side of the Tigers offices. may 87
This area is where the players used to park their cars. In the 90's it was turned into Tigers alley with food and souviner stands. May 87
These are better than the Uecker seats. May 87
A panoramic infield shot. May 87
The bleachers in the deepest part of centerfield. May 87
Another right field view. May 87
The visitors bullpen from the rightfield upper deck. May 87
Underneath the rightfield roof. May 87
The massive jumbotron scoreboard. May 87
Perfectly manicured grass. May 87
The "FRONT row". From the upper deck in right field. May 87
You can see how the paint color went from green in the 70's to blue in the 80's. Now the seats are blue and orange. May 87
The football pressbox ran atop the roof in right field. May 87
You can see the broadcast booth hanging from the second deck below home plate. It wasn't there in the 70's. May 87
A panoramic shot of left field on a spectacular May day in Detroit. May 87
Thats a HELL of a long way to hit it on the left field roof. May 87
A panorama of Tiger Stadium. A true classic ballpark. May 87
The football broadcast booth hangs from the second deck. The Detroit Lions played here from 1938 thru 1974. May 87
The left field light tower. May 87
The football pressbox in right field. May 87
Under the roof. You can see the peeling paint even in the 80's. May 87
You can see how the poles obstructed some views from the seats in the upper deck. May 87
The stairwell at the back of the wall leads up to the roof and football press box and the roof. May 87
Darrell Evans at bat for the Tigers. May 87
The girders holding up the roof. May 87
In DIRE need of a paint job. May 87
This narrow catwalk is how you got to your seats in the upper deck. May 87
Michigan and Trumbull on a hot Sunday in September. 9/91
Fast forward to 1991. My last ever game at Tiger Stadium. A view from centerfield. The Oakland A's vs. the Tigers. September 1991
A great night shot view from the upper deck. Sept. 91
Obstructed view seats in left field. Sept. 91
Apretty packed house for a Saturday night in September. Sept. 91
Left field from behind a pole. Sept. 91
The view from the upper deck in right. Sept. 1991
You can see how many seats were really good seats.
If I lived in Detroit, Tiger stadium would have been my second home. Sept. 1991
LOTS of poles obstructing your view. Sept. 1991
The view from my seat in left. Sept. 1991
You can see the catwalks in the upper deck. 9/91
Michigan Avenue and the Tigers player parking lot. Sept. 1991
Farewell old friend. I had a great time. Sept. 1991
The host of this site. Me in centerfield at Tiger stadium. October 1994.
The view of the corner. Michigan and Trumbull, with the new Tigers alley. It replaced the team parking lot. Oct. 1994
In 1976 there were alot more buildings along Michigan Avenue. Oct. 1994
The Tigers alley running parallel to Michigan Avenue. Oct. 1994
These are the only two left. Oct. 1994
The press elevator is to the left. Oct. 94
A freshly painted Tiger stadium from Michigan and Trumbull. You can see Tigers alley and the Tigers offices. Oct. 94
Home plate and a long abandoned restaurant. Oct. 94
The plaque about Tiger stadium that hung on the wall off Trumbull. Oct. 94
The plaque to the left is Ty Cobb's plaque. It reads "the greatest Tiger of them all". Oct. 94
The bleachers entrance with the old Tigers logo. Oct. 94
From the warning track in centerfield. Oct. 94
The view of left field from center. Oct. 94
Right field from the same view. Oct. 94
The catwalks and girders of the roof and upper deck in centerfield. Oct. 94
The gates in centerfield where they stored the batting cage. Oct. 94
A view from the Fisher freeway. Oct. 94
The view from Pine street. Oct. 94
January of 1996 was a very cold winter day in Detroit. January 1996
The sun is setting on Tiger stadium. Only 3 more seasons of baseball will be played here. January 1996
The Tigers ticket office. Waiting for spring. Jan. 96
Tiger stadium stands silent waiting for April. Jan. 1996
Tigers alley is vacant and COLD on this January afternoon. Jan. 96
A crystal clear blue sky as the sun goes down in the west. Jan. 96
The Tigers played here at the corner of Michigan and Trumbull from 1912-1999. It was known as Navin field from 1912-1938. Named after the owner, Frank Navin. From 1938 thru 1960, it was known as Briggs stadium, for former owner Walter Briggs. Then from 1960 thru 1999, it was Tiger stadium. This place is very special to me. It's quaint and is most of all it is "A BALLPARK". No fancy bells and whistles. No luxury boxes. Just a simple ballpark with a heart and soul. It looks like the old girl will meet the wreckers ball sometime in 2008. It was a HELL of a ride. You served Detroit well for a long time. Rest in peace old friend. On a scale of 1 to 10, I give Tiger stadium a 12. January 1996