Detroit Tigers

From BR Bullpen

This is for the American League Detroit Tigers. For the Detroit Tigers that played in the Western League and minor league American League, please click here.

Franchise Season Summaries 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 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 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Franchise Record: 8221-8050 World Series Titles: 4 (1935, 1945, 1968, 1984) American League Pennants: 10 (1907, 1908, 1909, 1934, 1935, 1940, 1945, 1968, 1984, 2006) Playoffs: 12 (1907, 1908, 1909, 1934, 1935, 1940, 1945, 1968, 1972, 1984, 1987, 2006) Franchise Players: Norm Cash, Ty Cobb, Mickey Cochrane, Rocky Colavito, Bill Freehan, Charlie Gehringer, Kirk Gibson, Hank Greenberg, Willie Horton, Al Kaline, George Kell, Mickey Lolich, Jack Morris, Lance Parrish, Ivan Rodriguez, Alan Trammell, Lou Whitaker Legendary Voices: Paul Carey, Ernie Harwell, Van Patrick Detroit Tigers logo

The Detroit Tigers were founded in 1901 with the formation of the American League. Led by energetic manager Hughie Jennings and legendary outfielder Ty Cobb, the Tigers won the AL pennant three years in a row (1907-1909) but lost the World Series each season. Cobb played 22 seasons with the Tigers until 1927 when he signed with Connie Mack's Philadelphia Athletics.

In 1934 the Tigers acquired catcher Mickey Cochrane from the A's. Led by Cochrane, second baseman Charlie Gehringer, and first baseman Hank Greenberg, the Tigers reached the Series that season and won it in 1935. The club again won the World Series in 1945 and 1968.

In 1983, the Tigers were bought by Domino's Pizza mogul Tom Monaghan. The following year, the team, managed by Sparky Anderson, won the World Series. Monaghan sold the club to business rival Mike Ilitch, owner of the Little Caesar's pizza chain in 1992. He oversaw the move of the club to new Comerica Park from Tiger Stadium, but the team has finished below .500 for more than a decade. In 2003, Alan Trammell, who was a shortstop for the Tigers in the 1980s, took over as manager of the club. In his first season, the team lost 119 games, one shy of the modern single season record. He was fired October 3, 2005.

After over a decade of teams with losing records, Detroit finally rewarded long suffering fans with an unforgettable season in 2006. The club surprised many people by winning the 2006 AL pennant and making it to the World Series, where they came up short against the Cardinals.

Retired Numbers:

• 2 Charlie Gehringer (1983)
• 5 Hank Greenberg (1983)
• 6 Al Kaline (1980)
• 16 Hal Newhouser (1997)
• 23 Willie Horton (2001)
• 42 Jackie Robinson (retired by MLB in 1997; worn by Jose Lima until 2002)
• In addition, Ty Cobb's name is included in the list of players whose numbers have been retired on Comerica Park's left-field wall; Cobb played before the introduction of uniform numbers in 1931.

[edit] Further Reading

• Gary Gillette and Pete Palmer: The Ultimate Tigers Companion: A Complete Statistical and Reference Guide, Maple Street Press, Hingham, MA, 2008.
• Herm Krabbenhoft: "Fascinating Aspects About the Retired Uniform Numbers of the Detroit Tigers", in The National Pastime - A Review of Baseball History, Society for American Baseball Research, Cleveland, OH, number 26 (May, 2006), pp. 77-84.