They never knew the treasures they had there. It would be hard to take inventory of missing seat backs, signs, seat emblems, seats and 2 foot by 2 foot photos. $28k a month just to let it go to shit. Hey fans, we paid that with ticket surcharges all those years!

Today, I got a nice surprise while at work. My morning guy on one of the radio stations I work for, came into the newsroom and handed me a copy of "A Place For Summer" A Narrative History of Tiger Stadium as a gift. I've heard you guys talk about it and I've always wanted to read it, so looking forward to having Tiger STadium come alive while reading this book:)

"Place for Summer" is kind of dated. The better TS book is the Freeps "The Corner." You can find it used bookstores if you look around. Lots of cool photographs

This book is also a must-read and such a deal at half.com

Queen of Diamonds: The Tiger Stadium Story (Paperback)

Michael Betzold (Author)
› Visit Amazon's Michael Betzold Page

 Available from these sellers.

2 new from $1.99 9 used from $3.97

I have seen the Corner, I have not read A Place For Summer, so regardless of it being dated, I found it to be a nice gift and I'm looking forward to hopefully starting it this week.
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Any book automatically becomes dated the day it is published, that's just how books are. All the TS books mentioned are good reads.Here's a couple more than I found good (good for winter reading when your still dreaming of baseball in spring):

Art Hill "I Don't Care if I never Come Back" which is about Hill's love affair with the Tigers from the 30s to about the early 80s. The writer's pretty witty (read the sections on Dizzy Trout, great stuff).

Also Bak's "Cobb Would've Caught It" which has a lot of old Tigers from our grandparents' day (1920s-50s) talking about baseball and life in general. All these guys the author interviewed are dead, so it's impossible for someone to do the same kind of oral history. Unless of course, somebody comes along and does the same kind of book with players from the 60s, 70s and 80s.

I drove by the weed farm that used to be our beloved stadium yesterday. What a shock to the system to see nothing there. Just another open sore on the skin of Detroit. What a pitiful city this is.

Edited by author 02-08-2010 05:21 AM
Bob I could not agree with you more. I look at the stadium site every week day and it still leaves me in a complete daze that its no longer with us. Truely its like Im now living in the twilight zone all the while hoping that the next time I LOOK up it will be there just like always sadly that will never happen.

So for the first spring since 1895 the stadium will be missing from the Corner of Michigan and Trumbull shame on Mayor Archer, Mayor Kilpatrick,Mayor Cockrel, Mayor Bing, the Detroit City Council, George Jackson, Frederick Rottach, Walter Watkins, Mike Ilitch the Detroit Tigers the Farrow Group, MCM Management Corp. and Homrich Demolition for caring out this terrible crime on all the people of Michigan.

Shame on all of us for letting them do it. A Pitiful City indeed with Greedy and racitist leaders.

I have given up on Detroit just like the leaders gave up on Tiger Stadium.

We will Remember!!

Evidently the Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy has given up regarding the historic ball diamond. Even if their desire was still there to do or try something one would think we should have heard something by now.

And even if the Conservancy is still an entity.... its name should be changed. There is NO MORE "Tiger Stadium" thanks to a group of visionless folks seemingly intent on continuing the process of running their city into the ground while crapping on what remains of its history.
PISSED??? You bet I'm Pissed! This hurt will never go away!

Well, the city has stated from the beginning of the demo that the field will be preserved. We can only hope that that is still their intentions.

Has anyone thought about contacting the city to see what their intentions are? Because I'd have to imagine that the federal earmark that was available to the conservancy is also available to the city fo r this property.

Agreed with all of you-----its a pity the old park no longer stands. Shame on the City of Detroit for letting this happen.

Just saw a tractor trailer from Farrow demolition drive by my shop a few minutes ago.

I just couldn't believe those assholes had the Tiger Logo on the side of their truck with a picture of the demolition, as if its something to be proud of.

Makes me sick

Damn straight Claude G.! Unbelievable that Farrow would wear the demo of Tiger Stadium like a damned badge of honor. The only badge of honor we HAD was the stadium when it was standing. And till my dying day I'll never understand those who didn't see that and allowed it to be taken away?!?!?!? I loved that God damned ballpark and had a deep rooted respect for IT and its history! And I'm sick and tired of people making lite of what we lost. The total and so unecessary demolition of Tiger Stadium should forever be looked on as a huge embarassment to Detroit and the entire state of Michigan. And those responsible should get their rightful place in history.... and Peter mentioned most of them in his post.

Dale...please don't take my name in vain.

And, no, I don't look like George Burns, in case any of you were wondering.

Dale,

The people responcible will get their rightfull place in history sometime before opening day. Wait and see :)

Ballpark Digest: Ripken endorses Hinchliffe Stadium renovation

Hall-of-Famer Cal Ripken Jr. endorsed the renovation of Hinchliffe Stadium, the historic Paterson (N.J.) stadium.

In a letter sent to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which is considering the addition of the 1932 facility to a list of America's Most Endangered Places, Ripken endorsed a plan to renovate the stadium, which served as home to the New York Black Yankees and New York Cubans of the Negro Leagues.

"The preservation of the history of baseball is essential to understanding the context in which the history of this country was formed," Ripken wrote. "Hinchliffe Stadium's role in the Negro Leagues and the legendary players who played there are not just significant to the history of baseball, but to the history of segregation, race relations and the integration of society in the United States."

Voters have already approved a $15-million bond issue for renovation of the facility, which is owned by the Paterson school district and last hosted an event in 1997. Various plans have called for it to serve as a youth sports academy; a final plan for the facility remains to be finalized, though city and school-district officials say they're close.

http://www.ballparkdigest.com/news/index.html?article_id=2060