12 | OCTOBER 24 • 2019
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the game so fans could walk
around and reflect.
The Detroit Jewish com-
munity was well represented
(I used my connections),
and the old ballpark had
its first and last minyan for
Mincha and Maariv under
the stands of the upper deck
left field corner.
When it came time for
closing ceremonies, fans
stood and cameras clicked
as 63 former Tigers play-
ers trotted out (some were
driven in golf carts) from
behind the center field
flagpole to their former
positions. The biggest cheer
of the evening came when
Mark “The Bird” Fidrych
flew out and headed straight
to the pitching mound,
dropped to his knees, and
used the pitching hand that
led the league in 1976 to
scoop dirt from the mound
into a plastic bag. Fidrych
then stood up, took off
his cap and waved it in all
directions as he circled the
mound.
Since that memorable
evening 20 years ago, more
than half of the 63 former
players (including Fidrych)
have died. But as long as
there are baseball cards and
a new generation of collec-
tors, the names, faces and
records of the players from
previous generations will
live on.
A SPECIAL PLAYER
One name that will live on
from previous generations
to future generations will be
Hank Greenberg.
No Detroit Tiger hit as
many home runs in a sin-
gle season (58 in 1938). No
Detroit Tiger drove in as
many runs in a single season.
Greenberg had 183 RBI in
1937, an amazing number as
teams played 154 games in
a season then instead of the
162 today.
Greenberg, the only
Detroit Tiger to have hit five
World Series home runs,
also missed about four-and-
a-half baseball seasons due
to military service, more
than any Tiger player and
more than almost all major
league players.
It’
s only fitting that
the story of this genu-
ine hero lives on in the
Hank Greenberg Walk of
Heroes located about where
Greenberg lockered in the
Tigers clubhouse. It’
s a great
place for fans to browse and
learn about other heroes
in other sports, but none
achieved the accomplish-
ments and adoration as
Greenberg reached.
After you digest the
Greenberg display, step
outside on the same field
that Greenberg played on
and head to the batter’
s box
and look out to the pitcher’
s
mound. You’
ll see the same
flagpole that Greenberg did
in distant center field.
You may even sit in the
old green wooden seats
behind home plate where
fans actually watched
Greenberg play generations
ago. Take your friends,
children and grandchildren
and pass on your memories
so that they may live on in
future generations.
You may even tell them
of a Jewish Tigers employee
who counted and stood by
each and every seat in the
double-decked old ballpark
and viewed the diamond
from every possible angle.
Irwin Cohen has authored many
articles on Detroit history and
wrote the iconic “Echoes of
Detroit’
s Jewish Communities.” He
will be speaking to a large group
of Detroiters who winter in Florida
in February. Call Jewish Historical
Society for information.
Cohen from page 10
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