The Amazing 1st Year of the Detroit Tigers Detroit Opening Day 1901
Opening day is always a fresh start to a new baseball season. Records of the past are irrelevant for a moment. Hope for a good jump start in the standings. A sign of good luck to players for the year ahead. A win and people start thinking of playoffs way before the 162 games get underway.
The 2023 Detroit Tigers are in a bit of a rut finding themselves this year, but it is early in the season. A quick winning streak can turn this ship around. The local and national press doubts about the season are already noted. The 1984 Detroit Tigers started the season 9-0. The second best was the 1911 Detroit Tigers and the 2015 team started with 6 wins in a row. Note the Championship years 1935, 1945, 1968, and 1984. You can see that we are well overdue for a championship.
The Amazing 1st Year of the Detroit Tigers Detroit Opening Day 1901 on April 25, 1901. The famous corner of Michigan and Trumbull when it was called Bennet Park against the Milwaukee Brewers. Tigers’ first year in the American League. Over 10,000 fans filled the new ballpark for the game, and boy did they get a game for the ages.
If you bet against the Detroit Tigers that day you were in for a surprise. The Detroit Tigers in true Detroit team fashion were down 13-4 going into the ninth inning. Detroit mounted a comeback to win the game 14-13 due to the Detroit Tigers‘ first, walk-off homerun to end the game. The Detroit Tigers finished the season 74-61 good for third place that year. The Amazing 1st Year of the Detroit Tigers Detroit Opening Day 1901 is in the history books forever and it all started on April 25th, 1901.
Still have hope this year we can do better and who knows, this team might just surprise us all soon.
The Detroit Tigers in action in 1982
Tiger Stadium
Tigers' Opening Day at The Elwood
The time-honored tradition of Opening Day. Tigers’ Opening Day is a big damn deal in Detroit. Win or lose, there are massive parties. I admire the number of people that are able to day-drink without over-imbibing and I chuckle at the number of people that do over-imbibe. Day drinking really is a skill.
The Elwood
Being at The Elwood for Opening Day is the most prime of real estate. The Elwood is legendary. There are people that have gone to The Elwood EVERY Opening Day for literal generations. Doni told me about a man she met at The Elwood who had been there every year for the last 40-plus years. Once his kids were old enough, he started bringing them too. Here he is… Doni calls him “The Mayor of The Elwood.” I call him “Larry David’s doppleganger.”
Doni had a drink with The Mayor of the Elwood
The Tigers’ record has now gone to 69-53-1 for home openers, beginning back in 1901. That’s as of the home opener not-win against Boston on April 6th.
This was my first Opening Day witnessing the magic of Tiger Man.
TIGERMAN is in the house!
Tiger Man is magical. Everyone wants a picture with Tiger Man. On a personal note, Tiger Man saved my day. As we were leaving downtown Detroit, the traffic was a hot mess. I started getting worried about making it back to the WCSX studios before my show at 3pm. We were held up in massive traffic and street closures. Tiger Man gestured to the police, holding his hands in prayer and asking if we could please make the right onto the blocked-off street. The officer gave us the go-ahead! We turned onto the street and quickly made our way back to Ferndale and the WCSX studios. I never would have made it without Tiger Man! Check out our pictures from today at the Elwood! (more pics coming soon)
Screamin’ Scott at The Tigers’ Opening Day at The Elwood
