Jim, the Piano Tuner’s Son
This morning on Detroit’s WJR, Frank Beckmann invited listeners to phone in wit their Tiger stories. The first caller, Jim from Clinton Township’s story touched my heart. His story was not a spectacular chance meeting with a Tiger player right after the big win or catching the winning ball, but rather a simple personal story much like my own. In 1968, he was 11 years old and part of a big family with not a lot of money to space. His father was a piano tuner who bartered his services at times. During the 1968 season, Jim’s dad tuned a piano in exchange for Tiger tickets and Jim attended the game, witnessing a Tiger’s grand slam (sorry, I missed the player’s name). It was the only game he went to as a kid, but it’s forever in his heart. For me, it’s not just seeing the grand slam by one of the ’68 greats, but how he acquired the tickets and how much the experience means to him even to this very day.
Side Note: Hmmm, I wonder if anyone will tune my piano for a couple of Detroit Red Wings tickets???
Talkin’ Baseball
My own baseball stories are rather scattered and few. I did not come from a sports family although my mom played softball and basketball with her brothers and my paternal grandpa loved football. My non-athletic dad met Cy Young when he was about 10 years old, but I’ll save that story for another day.
In 1968, I was three years old and no one watched or listened to baseball at my house, even if I could remember that summer much, there probably wasn’t much baseball talk. I remember that my best friend’s dad had a bobble head of a tiger from 1968 and eventually I learned the big names. Well, Al Kaline at least. I became acquainted a bit more with Tiger history during my career as a librarian. At one library, my colleague was very active in SABRE, The Society for Baseball Research. Another colleague at yet another job had held season tickets forever. In my current position, I replaced a baseball aficionado who left for another position.
It was during elementary school I became more exposed to sports and Detroit sports legends. During the seventies, our family lived on a court (cul de sac) where our neighbor was a local Detroit sportscaster. [After I originally wrote this, I discovered Don Kremer, our neighbor had been a Tigers broadcaster on Detroit's WWJ]
Mr. Kremer’s kids LOVED sports and he even took the time to teach me how to hold a bat. If I showed anymore interest, I’m sure I could have learned much more, but I was figure skating during a lot of those years and paid more attention to hockey. My younger brother tried Little League on for size and it didn’t fit. My dad tried to help him by playing catch on occasion, but eventually Dad accidently hit him in the head with a baseball and that was a sure sign to try something else. Metro Detroit definitely is a sports town/region and you can’t avoid getting caught up in it. I clearly remember the era of Mark “The Bird” Fidrych and being in the outfield at Howe Elementary School trying to avoid getting hit by a softball at recess.
In 1982, I went off to Michigan State and became a Spartan fan, leaving any loyalty to any other team behind. My little brother started school and discovered the Detroit Tigers. I remember how proud he was of meeting Lance Parrish and getting an autographed picture of him. I also remember my mom telling my how big these ballplayers were in real life!
During my first semester I met my college boyfriend, Roy. He was a baseball fan and loved the Tigers. We started dating seriously late in 1983 and right before he moved to Chicago to take a job, we saw the move The Natural with Robert Redford together. Our next date on his first visit home was to watch the Tigers beat the Seattle Mariners. This was my first Major League game ever and first visit of only two to Tiger Stadium. This was also 1984. During another visit home that summer, Roy took my little brother and me to watch the Tigers beat the Oakland A’s. Of course my little brother was thrilled as this was his first trip to Tiger Stadium and his Detroit Tigers won. This team I will not forget…Kirk Gibson played football and baseball at MSU, Lance, Tram…With a very few exceptions, if I recognize a Tiger player’s name, I assume that guy must have played on that team. Roy even bought an official player’s shirt, the white one with the blue old English D and let me hang onto it to wear when we were apart. I slept in it the entire summer and fall of 1984.
I don’t’ remember the night we won the World Series. I was probably practicing at the Music Building or studying in my dorm room. My roommate was a Cubs fan, so she wasn’t into the Tigers, but her boyfriend was watching, I’m sure. Ralf was MSU’s star kicker and like Kirk Gibson, also played on the MSU baseball team. Mary was always at his dorm and I’m sure she was watching the game and probably partying over there after the victory.
My big memory was the next day. I was working in the basement of Yakeley/Gilchrist dorm cafeteria cleaning off lunch trays when everyone was talking about it. I doubt if that was the first time I heard of the win, but it is a very clear memory of that time in my life and that day of pride in Detroit’s Pride!
Years past and my interest and awareness of baseball came and went. In October of 2001, my colleague encouraged me to take my then 4 year old daughter out to the ballgame. The Tigers were losing and because of 9-11, no one was going to the games much. He assured me that getting tickets would be easy and parking would be safe. The new Comerica Park was right down the street from where I worked at Detroit Public Library, so I took my little girl to her first Tigers game the day before the last game of the 2001 season. We “toured” the ballpark and played on the bleachers and finally ended up moving down to seats right over the dugout and visiting with “Paws” the mascot and enjoying the beautiful day. Suddenly, Tigers player, Damon Easley batted a ball into the stands. Gloves went up surrounding us. The next thing I knew, that baseball was sitting right between my little girl’s feet!!! We were offered money for that darn thing, but I picked it up and said “no way!”. My Tiger fan friends from work were super jealous when I took it in for show and tell. Damon Easley was traded so I never tried to get it autographed. However, the next year I was working as a children’s librarian and bought a kids’ book about the Detroit Tigers and it had Damon Easley on the cover. I should buy a copy for my daughter to keep with “her ball”. For now it remains on a shelf next to a picture of my little girl holding her Tigers “beanie baby” and the ball.
Within a month of that memorable game, I met my husband. He is a hockey player and I finally got to go to my first Detroit Red Wings game and they won the Stanley Cup a couple months after we married in 2002. For the last few years, hockey hasn’t left a lot of room for baseball.
2006 saw a return to baseball in our home and it had nothing to do with the acquisition of Jim Leland, the Tigers new manager. Well before Opening Day, Tom and I took in the Baseball in America exhibit at the Henry Ford Museum. Since the Wings were out of the playoffs early, I noticed Tom started watching the Tigers early in the season. He also started to play softball with our church league and is quite the pitcher. It turned out to be a real baseball summer. Even my 3 year old talked about baseball and tried to play in the backyard with the help of her big sister. There was so much baseball in our house I almost forgot about hockey this summer! The Tigers season was just icing on the cake.
It is fun to remember too that Tigers owner Mike Illich also owns the Detroit Red Wings. We took in a Wings game and as soon as the Tigers won last Friday night, the aisles at Joe Louis Arena filled up with Tiger Blue and Orange! Another good day for Detroit, even if the Wings lost in a shoot out!
My secret hope is that the Tigers win the World Series by my little brother’s birthday, October 27. He was just about to turn 8 and I was looking at 20 the last time the Tigers Roared in ’84. Now he’s looking at 30!!!
Go Get ‘Em Tigers!!!!
