Tiger Stadium ( Detroit ) - wikipedia Tiger Stadium ( Detroit ) This article is about the Detroit Tigers ' former stadium. For the current stadium of the Detroit Tigers, see Comerica Park. This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( February 2016 ) Tiger Stadium The Corner Tiger Stadium in 1998 Former names Navin Field ( 1912 -- 37 ) Briggs Stadium ( 1938 -- 60 ) Location 2121 Trumbull Avenue Detroit, Michigan 48216 Coordinates 42 ° 19 ′ 55 '' N 83 ° 4 ′ 8 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 42.33194 ° N 83.06889 ° W ﻿ / 42.33194 ; - 83.06889 Coordinates : 42 ° 19 ′ 55 '' N 83 ° 4 ′ 8 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 42.33194 ° N 83.06889 ° W ﻿ / 42.33194 ; - 83.06889 Owner Detroit Tigers ( 1912 -- 77 ) City of Detroit ( 1977 -- 2009 ) Operator Detroit Tigers Capacity 23,000 ( 1912 ) 30,000 ( 1923 ) 52,416 ( 1937 ) Field size Left field -- 340 ft ( 104 m ) Left - center field -- 365 ft ( 111 m ) Center field -- 440 ft ( 134 m ) Right - center field -- 370 ft ( 113 m ) Right field -- 325 ft ( 99 m ) Backstop -- 66 ft ( 20 m ) Surface Grass Construction Broke ground October 1911 Opened April 20, 1912 Closed July 24, 2001 Demolished June 30, 2008 ( began ) September 21, 2009 ( completed ) Construction cost US $300,000 ( $7.61 million in 2017 dollars ) Architect Osborn Engineering Company General contractor Hunkin & Conkey Tenants Detroit Tigers ( MLB ) ( 1912 -- 1999 ) Detroit Heralds ( OL ) ( 1912 -- 1919 ) Detroit Heralds / Tigers ( APFA ) ( 1920 -- 1921 ) Detroit Panthers ( NFL ) ( 1925 -- 1926 ) Detroit Lions ( NFL ) ( 1938 -- 1939, 1941 -- 1974 ) Detroit Cougars ( NPSL / NASL ) ( 1967 -- 1968 ) Tiger Stadium U.S. National Register of Historic Places NRHP reference # 88003236 Added to NRHP February 6, 1989 Tiger Stadium, previously known as Navin Field and Briggs Stadium, was a baseball park located in the Corktown neighborhood of Detroit, Michigan. It hosted the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball from 1912 to 1999, as well as the Detroit Lions of the National Football League from 1938 to 1974. It was declared a State of Michigan Historic Site in 1975 and has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1989. The stadium was nicknamed `` The Corner '' for its location on Michigan Avenue and Trumbull Avenue. The last Detroit Tigers game at the stadium was held in September 1999. In the decade after the Tigers vacated the stadium, several rejected redevelopment and preservation efforts finally gave way to demolition. The stadium 's demolition was completed on September 21, 2009, though the stadium 's actual playing field remains at the corner where the stadium once stood. Since the spring of 2010, a volunteer group known as the Navin Field Grounds Crew ( composed of Tiger Stadium fans, preservationists, and Corktown residents ) has restored and maintained the field. A plan to redevelop the old Tiger Stadium site would retain the historic playing field for youth sports and ring the 10 - acre property with new development has received final approval, and funding. Contents 1 History 1.1 Origins 1.2 Features 1.3 Professional football 1.4 Other events 2 Notable moments and facts 2.1 The final game 3 After baseball 3.1 Demolition 3.2 Redevelopment 4 Films and television 5 References in popular culture 6 Seating capacity 7 Photo gallery 8 References 9 External links History Bennett Park on October 12, 1907, during a World Series game between the Detroit Tigers and Chicago Cubs. Origins In 1895, Detroit Tigers owner George Vanderbeck had a new ballpark built at the corner of Michigan and Trumbull Avenues. That stadium was called Bennett Park and featured a wooden grandstand with a wooden peaked roof in the outfield. At the time, some places in the outfield were only marked off with rope. In 1911, new Tigers owner Frank Navin ordered a new steel - and - concrete baseball park on the same site that would seat 23,000 to accommodate the growing numbers of fans. Navin Field opened on April 20, 1912, the same day as the Boston Red Sox 's Fenway Park. While constructed on the same site as Bennett Park, the diamond at Navin Field was rotated 90 °, with home plate located in what had been left field at Bennett Park. Cleveland Naps player `` Shoeless '' Joe Jackson, later banned from baseball for life following the Black Sox Scandal, scored the first run at Navin Field on the opening day. The intimate configurations of both stadiums, both conducive to high - scoring games featuring home runs, prompted baseball writers to refer to them as `` bandboxes '' or `` cigar boxes '' ( a reference to the similarly intimate Baker Bowl ). Postcard showing Briggs Stadium, circa 1930 -- 1945 Over the years, expansion continued to accommodate more people. In 1935, following Navin 's death, new owner Walter Briggs oversaw the expansion of Navin Field to a capacity of 36,000 by extending the upper deck to the foul poles and across right field. By 1938, the city had agreed to move Cherry Street, allowing left field to be double - decked and the now - renamed Briggs Stadium had a capacity of 53,000. In 1961, new owner John Fetzer took control of the stadium and gave it its final name : Tiger Stadium. Under this name, the stadium witnessed World Series titles in 1968 and 1984. A fire gutted the press box on the evening of February 1, 1977. In 1977, the Tigers sold the stadium to the city of Detroit, which then leased it back to the Tigers. As part of this transfer, the green wooden seats were replaced with blue and orange plastic ones and the stadium 's interior, which was green, was painted blue to match. In 1992, new owner Mike Ilitch began many cosmetic improvements to the ballpark, primarily with the addition of the Tiger Den and Tiger Plaza. The Tiger Den was an area in the lower deck between first and third base that had padded seats and section waiters. The Tiger Plaza was constructed in the old players parking lot and consisted of many concessionaires and a gift shop. After the 1994 strike, plans were made to construct a new park, but many campaigned to save the old stadium. Plans to modify and maintain Tiger Stadium as the home of the Tigers, known as the Cochrane Plan, were supported by many in the community, but were never seriously considered by the Tigers. Ground was broken for the new Comerica Park during the 1997 season. Features A look under the famous overhang. Tiger Stadium right field overhang, looking toward center field. Tiger Stadium had a 125 - foot ( 38 m ) tall flagpole in fair play, to the left of dead center field near the 440 foot ( 134 m ) mark. The same flag pole was originally to be brought to Comerica Park, but this never took place. A new flagpole in the spirit of Tiger Stadium 's pole was positioned in fair play at Comerica Park until the left field fence was moved in closer prior to the 2003 season. The original Tiger Stadium flagpole, designed by Rudolph V. Herman at the request of W.O. `` Spike '' Briggs, is still in its original position on the now vacant site. When the stadium closed, it was tied with Fenway Park as the oldest ballpark in Major League Baseball, the two parks having opened on exactly the same date in 1912. Taking predecessor Bennett Field into account, Tiger Stadium was the oldest Major League Baseball site in use in 1999. The right field upper deck overhung the field by 10 feet ( 3 m ), prompting the installation of spotlights above the warning track. When the park was expanded in 1936 and the second deck was added over the right field pavilion and bleachers, there was a limited amount of space between the right field fence and the street behind it. To fit as many seats as possible in the expansion, the second deck was extended over the fence by 10 feet. The overhang would occasionally `` catch '' some extremely high arced fly balls and prevent the right fielder standing underneath it with his back to the fence from catching the ball, resulting in a home run for the batter, in what otherwise would have been a long out. Other batted balls would occasionally hit the facing of the overhang and bounce far back into right field ( still resulting in a home run ). Like other older baseball stadiums such as Fenway Park and Wrigley Field, Tiger Stadium offered `` obstructed view '' seats, some of which were directly behind a steel support column ; while others in the lower deck had sight lines obstructed by the low - hanging upper deck. By making it possible for the upper deck to stand directly above the lower deck, the support columns allowed the average fan to sit closer to the field than at any other major league baseball park. For a time after it was constructed, the right field upper deck had a `` 315 '' marker at the foul pole ( later painted over ), with a `` 325 '' marker below it on the lower deck fence ( which was retained ). The Texas Rangers claim that the design of the right field section was copied and used in the construction of The Ballpark in Arlington ( now Globe Life Park ) in Arlington, Texas, but in fact the upper deck does not actually extend over the right field fence, but is set back by several feet Supposedly due to then - owner Walter Briggs 's dislike of night baseball, lights were not installed at the stadium until 1948. The first night game at the stadium was held on June 15, 1948. Among major league parks whose construction predated the advent of night games, only Chicago 's Wrigley Field went longer without lights ( 1988 ). Tiger Stadium featured an upper and lower deck bleacher section that was separated from the rest of the stadium. Chainlink and at one time, a barbed wire fence, separated the bleachers from the reserved sections and was the only section of seating not covered by at least part of the roof. The bleachers had their own entrance, concession stands and restrooms. In 1999, its final season, this ballpark and Chase Field were the only ones that had a dirt path that ran from the pitcher 's mound to home plate ; it originally did have one between 1912 & 1938. Professional football Tiger Stadium was home to the Detroit Lions from 1938 to 1974 when they dropped their final Tiger Stadium game to the Denver Broncos on Thanksgiving Day. The stadium hosted two NFL championship games in 1953 and 1957. The football field ran mostly in the outfield from the right field line to left center field parallel with the third base line. The benches for both the Lions and their opponents were on the outfield side of the field to provide lower - sitting fans in the front rows of the infield side an unobstructed view of the football field. Well into the 1990s -- some two decades after the Lions left -- a `` possession '' symbol, with its light bulbs, for football games could still be seen on the auxiliary scoreboards. In the late 1960s, the city of Pontiac and its community leaders made a presentation to the Metropolitan Stadium Committee of a 155 - acre ( 0.63 km ) site on the city 's east side at the intersection of M - 59 and Interstate 75 ( I - 75 ). Initially, a dual stadium complex was planned that included a moving roof that was later scrapped due to high costs and the lack of a commitment from the Detroit Tigers baseball franchise. In 1973, ground was broken for a stadium to exclusively house the Detroit Lions. The Metropolitan Stadium Committee voted unanimously for the Pontiac site. Other events 1939 saw a major boxing fight being held at the stadium, when Joe Louis defended the world Heavyweight title with an eleventh - round knockout of Bob Pastor. On Friday, October 5, 1951, the University of Notre Dame played the University of Detroit at Briggs Stadium before a capacity crowd of 52,371. It was the first Notre Dame football game to be played at night. The Fighting Irish won, 40 - 6. Northern Irish professional soccer club Glentoran called the stadium home for two months in 1967. The Glens, as the team from Belfast are known played under the name Detroit Cougars as one of several European teams invited to the States during their off / close season to play in the United Soccer Association. Notable moments and Facts Roger Maris of the New York Yankees strikes out against Detroit Tigers pitcher Jim Bunning in the top of the 3 inning of a game on September 17, 1961 at Tiger Stadium. When Ty Cobb played at Tiger Stadium, the area of dirt in front of home plate was kept wet by the groundstaff in order to slow down Cobb 's bunts and cause opposing infielders to slip as they fielded them. The area was nicknamed `` Cobb 's Lake ''. On July 18, 1921, Babe Ruth hit what is believed to be the verifiably longest home run in the history of major league baseball. It went to straightaway center, as many of Ruth 's longest homers did, easily clearing the then - single deck bleacher and wall, landing almost on the far side of the street intersection. The distance of this blow has been estimated at between 575 and 600 feet ( 180 m ) on the fly. On July 13, 1934, Ruth hit his 700th career home run. As noted in Bill Jenkinson 's The Year Babe Ruth Hit 104 Home Runs, the ball sailed over the street behind the then - single deck bleachers in right field, and is estimated to have traveled over 500 feet ( 150 m ) on the fly. On May 2, 1939, an ailing New York Yankees first baseman Lou Gehrig voluntarily benched himself at Briggs Stadium, ending a streak of 2,130 consecutive games. Due to the progression of the disease named after him, it was the final game in his career. The stadium hosted the 1941, 1951 and 1971 MLB All - Star Games. All three games featured home runs. Ted Williams won the 1941 game with an upper deck shot. The ball was also carrying well in the 1951 and 1971 games. Of the many homers in those games, the most often replayed is Reggie Jackson 's drive to right field that hit so high up in the light tower that the TV camera lost sight of it, until it dropped to the field below. Jackson dropped his bat and watched it sail, seemingly astonished at his own power display. On April 7, 1986, Dwight Evans hit a home run on the first pitch of the Opening Day game, for the earliest possible home run in an MLB season ( in terms of innings and at bats, not dates ). Tiger Stadium in 1961 Tiger Stadium saw exactly 11,111 home runs, the last a right field, rooftop grand slam by Detroit 's Robert Fick as the last hit in the last game played there. There were over 30 home runs hit onto the right field roof over the years. It was a relatively soft touch compared to left field, with a 325 - foot ( 99 m ) foul line and with a roof that was in line with the front of the lower deck. In left field, it was 15 feet ( 4.6 m ) farther down the line, and the roof was set back some distance. Only four of the game 's most powerful right - handed sluggers ( Harmon Killebrew, Frank Howard, Cecil Fielder and Mark McGwire ) reached the left field rooftop. In his career, Norm Cash hit four home runs over the Tiger Stadium roof in right field and is the all - time leader. The final game Main article : 1999 Detroit Tigers season § Final game at Tiger Stadium On September 27, 1999, the final Detroit Tigers game was held at Tiger Stadium ; an 8 -- 2 victory over the Kansas City Royals, capped by a late grand slam by Robert Fick. Fick 's 8th inning grand slam hit the right field roof and fell back onto the playing field, where it was retrieved by Tigers personnel. Fick 's blast was the final hit, home run and RBI in Tiger Stadium 's history. The whereabouts of the ball are currently unknown. Following the game, an emotional ceremony with past and present Tigers greats was held to mark the occasion. The Detroit Tigers moved to the newly constructed Comerica Park for their 2000 season, leaving Tiger Stadium unused. After baseball On July 24, 2001, the day Detroit celebrated its 300th birthday, a Great Lakes Summer Collegiate Game between the Motor City Marauders and the Lake Erie Monarchs was played at Tiger Stadium. It was in an effort by a local sports management company that is seeking to bring a minor league franchise to Detroit in the Frontier League. On Saturday, February 4 and Sunday, February 5, 2006, a tent on Tiger Stadium 's field played host to Anheuser - Busch 's Bud Bowl 2006. Among performers at the nightclub - style event was Snoop Dogg. After several years out of the public eye, the Bud Bowl event led the Detroit Free Press to make the interior of the stadium the feature of a photo series on February 1, 2006. These photos showed the stadium 's deteriorating condition, which included trees and other vegetation growing in the stands. Anheuser - Busch promoted the advertising event as Tiger Stadium 's Last Call. In early 2006, the feature - length documentary Stranded at the Corner was released. Funded by local businessman and ardent stadium supporter Peter Comstock Riley, and directed by Gary Glaser, it earned solid reviews and won three Telly awards and two Emmy awards for the film 's writer and co-producer, Richard Bak ( a local journalist and the author of two books about the stadium ). It was also shown at the inaugural National Baseball Hall of Fame Film Festival, held in Cooperstown, New York, November 2006. Demolition Center field bleachers of Tiger Stadium during partial demolition. Many private parties, non-profit organizations and financiers expressed interest in saving the ballpark after its closure. These included multiple proposals to convert the stadium into mixed - use condominiums and residential lofts overlooking the existing playing field. By 2006, however, demolition appeared inevitable when then - Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick announced the stadium would be razed the following year. In December 2006, the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation ( DEGC ) hosted a walk - through for potential bidders on a project to remove assets from Tiger Stadium that qualified as `` memorabilia '' and to sell these items in an online auction hosted by Schnieder Industries. Once the stadium was stripped of seating, signage and other items classified as non-structural ( i.e. support columns ) which would yield income for the City of Detroit at auction, demolition would commence. The DEGC awarded the demolition contract on April 22, 2008, with the speculation that demolition revenue would come from the sale of scrap metal and not from the City of Detroit. Wrecking crews commenced operations on June 30, in the wall behind the old bleacher section facing I - 75 near the intersection of Trumbull Avenue. The demolition of the left field stands opened up the stadium 's interior to view for the first time in decades on July 9, 2008 ( the ballpark had been double - decked since the late 1930s ). After a hiatus wherein various plans to preserve portions of the stadium were considered, demolition was completed in June 2009. Tiger Stadium 's site is now occupied by a baseball diamond, seen here in October 2011. Redevelopment During the summer of 2010, a group calling itself `` The Navin Field Grounds Crew '' began maintaining the playing field and hosting vintage baseball, youth baseball, and softball games at the site. There is also a sign on the enclosing fence labelling the site `` Ernie Harwell Park '', and the name is also used to refer to the site on OpenStreetMap and other online mapping services based on it. On December 16, 2014, a $33 million project by Larson Realty Group to redevelop the old Tiger Stadium site was approved by Detroit 's Economic Development Corporation. Development plans include a four - story building along Michigan Avenue with about 30,000 square - feet of retail space and 102 residential property rental units, each averaging 800 square feet. Along Trumbull Avenue, 24 town homes are planned for sale. Detroit 's Police Athletic League ( PAL ) headquarters will relocate to the site and maintain the field. PAL will build its new headquarters and related facilities on the western and northern edges of the site while preserving the historic playing field for youth sports, including high school and college baseball. Films and television The stadium was depicted in Disney 's award - winning Tiger Town, a 1983 made - for - television baseball film written and directed by Detroit native, Alan Shapiro, starring Roy Scheider, Sparky Anderson, Ernie Harwell and Mary Wilson, and ( as Briggs Stadium ) in the 1980 feature film Raging Bull where the stadium was the site of two of Jake LaMotta 's championship boxing matches. Tiger Stadium was also seen in the film Hardball starring Keanu Reeves, Renaissance Man with Danny DeVito and in the aforementioned film 61 *, where it `` played '' the part of Yankee Stadium as well as itself. In the summer of 2000, the HBO movie 61 * was filmed in Tiger Stadium. The film dramatized the efforts of New York Yankees teammates Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris during the 1961 season to break fellow Yankee Babe Ruth 's single - season home run record of 60. ( Coincidentally, Roger Maris hit his first home run of the 1961 season at Tiger Stadium. ) For the film, Tiger Stadium was repainted to resemble Yankee Stadium in 1961. During the very last days in which part of Tiger Stadium was still standing, scenes for the film, Kill the Irishman, depicting the old Cleveland baseball stadium were shot at the stadium, extending for a day ( demolition continued the day after the single day shoot at the stadium on June 5, 2009 ) the life of Tiger Stadium. The pilot of the HBO series Hung featured the stadium 's demolition in its opening scene. References in Popular culture This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( February 2016 ) Sports Illustrated featured a poll of major league baseball players asking which stadium is the favorite to play in. Tiger Stadium usually placed within the top 5. Green Cathedrals quoted Joe Falls, sportswriter for The Detroit Free Press, who used to say that there was a sign over the visitors ' clubhouse entrance that read `` No visitors allowed ''. In Douglass Wallop 's 1954 novel The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant ( which inspired the Broadway musical Damn Yankees ), Joe Hardy makes his debut for the Washington Senators team during a doubleheader at Tiger Stadium, hitting a game - winning home run in each game. During batting practice he hits one ball over the right field roof. Artist Gene Mack, who drew a series of pictures of Major League parks, mentioned a bone that Ty Cobb used to `` bone '' his bats as part of his care for them. The bone stayed in the clubhouse after he left the Tigers in 1926 and, indeed, after he retired in 1928. In his autobiography, he noted that the last time he visited the Tigers ' clubhouse ( he died in 1961 ), that bone was still in use. As of 1999, when the Tigers completed their tenure at Tiger Stadium, a bone remained a fixture in the clubhouse on a table next to the bat rack. In the music video for rapper Eminem 's song `` Beautiful '', Eminem can be seen walking through the stadium, showing the destruction of the stadium. In episode 9 of the second season of the HBO TV show Hung the main character `` Ray '' randomly and incoherently laments on the demolition of Tiger Stadium blaming it on the desire for a `` glass box '' or something. The scene was filmed on the remains of Tiger Stadium 's field, in the area on and around the pitcher 's mound as well as just outside the field 's gates. Seating capacity Baseball Years Capacity 1912 -- 1922 23,000 1923 -- 1936 30,000 1937 36,000 1938 -- 1960 58,000 1961 52,904 1962 52,850 1963 -- 1968 53,089 1969 -- 1977 54,226 1978 -- 1979 53,676 1980 52,067 1981 52,687 1982 -- 1988 52,806 1989 -- 1996 52,416 1997 -- 1999 46,945 Football Years Capacity 1938 -- 1967 52,555 1968 -- 1970 54,082 1971 -- 1974 54,418 Photo gallery An empty Tiger Stadium in January 2005 Tiger Stadium showing signs of neglect in 2006. Tiger Stadium with facade lettering removed in November 2007. of visitors ' bullpen and right field from lower deck, November 2007. Tiger Stadium with seats removed in November 2007. Abandoned in April 2008 ; Tigers now play in Comerica Park. Demonstration against a School Amendment at Navin Field in 1920 References Jump up ^ Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Community Development Project. `` Consumer Price Index ( estimate ) 1800 -- ''. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Retrieved January 2, 2018. Jump up ^ `` Bennett Park / Navin Field / Briggs Stadium / Tiger Stadium ''. Detroit1701. Retrieved May 10, 2014. Jump up ^ `` NPS Focus ''. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. Retrieved January 8, 2012. Jump up ^ Gallagher, John ( February 2, 2016 ). `` Detroit PAL hits goal for HQ at Tiger Stadium site ''. Detroit Free Press. Retrieved September 6, 2017. Jump up ^ Detroit Tigers, Past Detroit Tigers Venues Jump up ^ `` Tiger Stadium Damaged By Fire, '' United Press International, Wednesday, February 2, 1977. Jump up ^ jw1223117 Flickr - Photo Sharing Jump up ^ jw121789 Flickr - Photo Sharing Jump up ^ `` Rangers Ballpark in Arlington ''. Archived from the original on 2012 - 04 - 19. 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Jump up ^ Leubsdorf, Ben ( June 2, 2009 ). `` So Long : Detroit Board OKs Leveling Tiger Stadium ''. USA Today. Retrieved May 25, 2010. Jump up ^ Beck, Jason ( June 8, 2009 ). `` Demolition of Tiger Stadium Resumes ''. Major League Baseball Advanced Media. Archived from the original on June 15, 2011. Retrieved May 10, 2014. Jump up ^ Saving Tiger Stadium, James Hughes, grantland.com, April 7, 2014 Jump up ^ http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/10/23/8yjagemu.jpg Jump up ^ Austin, Dan ( December 16, 2014 ). `` Renderings reveal future of Tiger Stadium, field ''. Detroit Free Press. Retrieved December 16, 2014. Jump up ^ Aguilar, Louis ( December 16, 2014 ). `` Key approval given to Tiger Stadium plans ''. Detroit News. Retrieved December 16, 2014. Jump up ^ Bertha, Mike ( December 16, 2014 ). `` Who wants to live at Tiger Stadium ? Development deal to include houses, preservation of field ''. MLB. Retrieved December 16, 2014. 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Jump up ^ Watson, Michael ( November 22, 1970 ). `` Pivotal Encounter for 49ers ''. The Argus ( Fremont ). p. 13. Jump up ^ Detroit Lions External links Baseball portal National Football League portal Detroit portal Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tiger Stadium ( Detroit ). Aerial Views, Demolition of Tiger Stadium 2008 - 2009 A documentary on the battle to save Tiger Stadium Navin Field Information Site Past Tigers Venues Tiger Stadium Demolition News & Videos Overhead images of Tiger Stadium before and after demolition hide Events and tenants Preceded by Bennett Park Home of the Detroit Tigers 1912 -- 1999 Succeeded by Comerica Park Preceded by University of Detroit Stadium Home of the Detroit Lions 1938 -- 1974 Succeeded by Pontiac Silverdome Preceded by Sportsman 's Park Comiskey Park Riverfront Stadium Host of the All - Star Game 1941 1951 1971 Succeeded by Polo Grounds Shibe Park Atlanta Stadium Detroit Lions Founded in 1930 Formerly the Portsmouth Spartans ( 1930 -- 1933 ) Based in Detroit, Michigan Headquartered in Allen Park, Michigan Franchise Franchise Team history Seasons Players First - round draft picks Starting quarterbacks Coaches Stadiums Universal Stadium University of Detroit Stadium Tiger Stadium Pontiac Silverdome Ford Field Culture NFL on Thanksgiving Day Paper Lion ( film ) `` What 's Going On '' ( Marvin Gaye song ) Beverly Hills Cop Home Improvement Cheerleaders Lore 1932 Playoff Game Curse of Bobby Layne Mike Utley gives a thumbs up Marty Mornhinweg takes the wind `` Fire Millen '' 0 -- 16 `` Calvin Johnson rule '' Miracle in Motown Rivalries Chicago Bears Green Bay Packers Minnesota Vikings Notable people William Clay & Martha Firestone Ford Barry Sanders Bobby Layne Glenn Presnell Calvin Johnson Wayne Fontes Division championships ( 4 ) 1935 1991 1993 Conference championships ( 4 ) 1952 1953 1954 1957 League championships ( 4 ) 1935 1952 1953 1957 Media Broadcasters Radio : Radio network Dan Miller Lomas Brown WJR TV : Television network Matt Shepard Chris Spielman Jennifer Hammond WJBK Fox Sports Detroit Current league affiliations League : National Football League Conference : National Football Conference Division : North Division Seasons ( 89 ) 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1984 1985 1986 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Championship seasons in bold Detroit Tigers Established in 1901 Based in Detroit, Michigan Franchise History Seasons Records No - hitters Award winners and league leaders Players First - round draft picks Managers Owners and executives Opening Day starting pitchers Ballparks Bennett Park Tiger Stadium Comerica Park Spring training : Whittington Park Plant Field Bosse Field Henley Field Joker Marchant Stadium Culture Paws `` Detroit Rock City '' `` The Bird '' One in a Million : The Ron LeFlore Story Magnum, P.I. Tiger Town For Love of the Game Bless You Boys `` The Singing Hot Dog Man '' Lore 1910 Chalmers Award Disco Demolition Night 2009 AL Central tie - breaker game 28 - out perfect game Important figures Hall of Fame members Sparky Anderson Ty Cobb Mickey Cochrane Sam Crawford Charlie Gehringer Hank Greenberg Harry Heilmann Hughie Jennings Al Kaline George Kell Heinie Manush Jack Morris Hal Newhouser Alan Trammell Ford C. Frick Award recipient Ernie Harwell J.G. Taylor Spink Award recipients Joe Falls Tom Gage H.G. Salsinger Minor league affiliates Player overview AAA : Toledo Mud Hens AA : Erie SeaWolves A Adv. : Lakeland Flying Tigers A : West Michigan Whitecaps Short A : Connecticut Tigers Rookie : GCL Tigers West GCL Tigers East DSL Tigers 1 DSL Tigers 2 Key personnel Owner : Christopher Ilitch General Manager : Al Avila Manager : Ron Gardenhire World Series championships ( 4 ) 1935 1945 1968 1984 American League pennants ( 11 ) American League : 1907 1908 1909 1934 1935 1940 1945 1968 1984 2006 2012 Division titles ( 7 ) East : 1972 1984 Central : 2011 2012 2013 2014 Wild card berths ( 1 ) 2006 Broadcasters TV : Fox Sports Detroit Matt Shepard Kirk Gibson Radio : Detroit Tigers Radio Network WXYT WXYT - FM Dan Dickerson Jim Price History : List of Detroit Tigers broadcasters Seasons ( 119 ) 1900s 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910s 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920s 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930s 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940s 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950s 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960s 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970s 1970 1971 1972 1973 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980s 1980 1981 1982 1984 1985 1986 1988 1989 1990s 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1997 1998 1999 2000s 2000 2001 2002 2003 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010s 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Detroit Heralds / Tigers / Panthers / Wolverines Series of defunct Ohio League and National Football League clubs 1908 -- 28 based in Detroit Detroit Heralds from 1905 -- 20 The Heralds were renamed the Detroit Tigers in 1921 A new franchise was established as the Detroit Panthers 1925 -- 26 Cleveland Bulldogs relocated to Detroit and played in 1928 as the Detroit Wolverines The Franchise Detroit Heralds / Tigers Detroit Panthers Detroit Wolverines Stadiums Mack Park ( Heralds ) Packard Park ( Heralds ) Navin Field ( Heralds, Tigers, Panthers ) Dinan Field ( Wolverines ) NFL seasons 1920 1921 1925 1926 1928 Lore Cleveland Bulldogs New York Giants Thanksgiving Day football games Owners Bill Marshall ( Heralds / Tigers ) Jimmy Conzelman ( Panthers ) Benny Friedman ( Wolverines ) Coaches Bill Marshall ( Heralds / Tigers ) Jimmy Conzelman ( Panthers ) LeRoy Andrews ( Wolverines ) Defunct stadiums of the National Football League Early era : 1920 -- 1940 Akron 's League Park American League Park Armory Park Baker Bowl Bellevue Park Bison Stadium Borchert Field Bosse Field Braves Field Buffalo Baseball Park Canisius College Canton 's League Field Chicago Stadium City Stadium Cleveland Municipal Stadium Comiskey Park Commercial Field Cub 's Park Cycledrome Dinan Field Douglas Park Duluth 's Athletic Park Dunn Field East Hartford Velodrome Ebbets Field Eclipse Park Fenway Park Forbes Field Frankford Stadium Griffith Stadium Hagemeister Park Horlick Field Kinsley Park Knights of Columbus Stadium Lexington Park Luna Park Minersville Park Muehlebach Field Nash Field Navin Field Newark Schools Stadium Newark Velodrome Nickerson Field Nicollet Park Normal Park Parkway Field Philadelphia Municipal Stadium Polo Grounds Shaw Stadium Spartan Municipal Stadium Sportsman 's Park Staley Field Star Park ( possible ) Swayne Field Thompson Stadium Tiger Stadium Triangle Park Wisconsin State Fair Park Yankee Stadium ( 1923 ) Merger era : 1941 -- 1970 Alumni Stadium Astrodome Atlanta -- Fulton County Stadium Balboa Stadium Baltimore Memorial Stadium Busch Memorial Stadium Busch Stadium Cleveland Municipal Stadium Comiskey Park Dyche Stadium Ebbets Field Fenway Park Forbes Field Frank Youell Field Franklin Field Griffith Stadium Harvard Stadium Jeppesen Stadium Kansas City Municipal Stadium Kezar Stadium Metropolitan Stadium Miami Orange Bowl Milwaukee County Stadium Nickerson Field Nippert Stadium Philadelphia Municipal Stadium Pitt Stadium Polo Grounds Rice Stadium Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Shibe Park Tiger Stadium Tulane Stadium Wisconsin State Fair Park Wrigley Field Yankee Stadium ( 1923 ) Current era : 1971 -- present Anaheim Stadium Astrodome Atlanta -- Fulton County Stadium Busch Memorial Stadium Candlestick Park Cleveland Stadium Cotton Bowl The Dome at America 's Center Foxboro Stadium Georgia Dome Giants Stadium Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Kansas City Municipal Stadium Kingdome Metropolitan Stadium Miami Orange Bowl Mile High Stadium Milwaukee County Stadium Qualcomm Stadium RCA Dome Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Riverfront Stadium Shea Stadium Silverdome Sun Devil Stadium Tampa Stadium Texas Stadium Three Rivers Stadium Tiger Stadium Tulane Stadium Veterans Stadium War Memorial Stadium ( Buffalo ) Yankee Stadium ( 1923 ) Stadiums used by NFL teams temporarily Alamodome ( New Orleans Saints ) 1 Champaign Memorial Stadium ( Chicago Bears ) † Clemson Memorial Stadium ( Carolina Panthers ) † Frankford High School 's Community Memorial Stadium ( Frankford Yellow Jackets ) 1 Giants Stadium ( New Orleans Saints ) 1 Grant Field ( Atlanta Falcons ) Husky Stadium ( Seattle Seahawks ) 1 † Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium ( Tennessee Oilers ) † LSU Tiger Stadium ( New Orleans Saints ) 1 Marquette Stadium ( Green Bay Packers ) Philadelphia Municipal Stadium ( Philadelphia Eagles ) 1 Shibe Park 1 Stanford Stadium ( San Francisco 49ers ) 1 TCF Bank Stadium ( Minnesota Vikings ) 1 † University of Minnesota Memorial Stadium ( Minnesota Vikings ) 1 Vanderbilt Stadium ( Tennessee Titans ) † Yale Bowl ( New York Giants ) † † = Team 's stadium under construction or refurbishment at time 1 = A team used the stadium when their permanent stadium was unable to be used as a result of damage. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tiger_Stadium_(Detroit)&oldid=865689911 '' Categories : American football venues in Michigan Baseball venues in Michigan Soccer venues in Michigan Sports venues in Detroit Sports venues completed in 1912 1912 establishments in Michigan 2009 disestablishments in Michigan Sports venues demolished in 2009 Defunct Major League Baseball venues Defunct National Football League venues Defunct soccer venues in the United States Detroit Lions stadiums Detroit Tigers stadiums History of Detroit Jewel Box parks National Register of Historic Places in Detroit Demolished sports venues in Michigan Destroyed landmarks in Michigan Demolished buildings and structures in Detroit North American Soccer League ( 1968 -- 84 ) stadiums Event venues on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan Sports venues on the National Register of Historic Places Defunct baseball venues in the United States Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links All articles with dead external links Articles with dead external links from February 2013 Articles needing additional references from February 2016 All articles needing additional references Coordinates on Wikidata Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch Français 한국어 日本 語 Norsk Português Edit links This page was last edited on 25 October 2018, at 15 : 03 ( UTC ). 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Question: when was briggs stadium changed to tiger stadium
Answer: 1961