November 27, 2007

BY DAN AUSTIN

FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

The corner of Michigan and Trumbull is the home of memories for millions of fans. Now, vacant since its final game on Sept. 27, 1999, most of Tiger Stadium is slated to meet the wrecking ball in January or February.

BACK, WAY BACK ...

Professional baseball was first played on the site, at a 5,000-seat ballpark known as Bennett Park, on April 28, 1896 -- three years before Detroit even had an auto plant. The field, named after fan favorite Charlie Bennett, was laid out on the former site of a municipal hay market.

The ballpark was razed after the 1911 season and replaced at the same location with Navin Field, which was expanded several times. It became Briggs Stadium in 1938 and Tiger Stadium in 1961.

For many Detroiters, however, the place was known simply as the Corner.

LAUNCHING PAD

More than 11,000 home runs were creamed at the stadium. Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle hit the longest dingers of their careers there.

Detroit outfielder George Stallings smacked the first round-tripper at the site during the very first game, and Tiger Robert Fick clobbered the last: a grand slam in the final game.

Thirty-six moon shots literally left the park since the upper deck was added in 1938. Tiger great Norm Cash did it four times and Mantle three.

UNIQUE

In his farewell remarks following the final game, Ernie Harwell noted that the Corner hosted 6,873 regular-season games, 35 postseason contests and three All-Star Games -- in 1941, 1951 and 1971.

With Detroit being a charter member of the American League, every starting player in the league from 1900 to 1999 -- from Wahoo Sam Crawford to Ted Williams to Alvaro Espinoza -- played at the Corner.

DIFFERENT KIND OF CAT

The stadium also hosted football, beginning Oct. 9, 1921, when Detroit (also called the Tigers) squeaked by Dayton, 10-7. The Detroit Panthers roamed the Corner in 1925-26. The Lions set up shop in 1938 and stayed through Nov. 28, 1974, when they lost, 31-27, to Denver.

OTHER STARS

Pat Boone, Nat King Cole, Perry Como, Rod Stewart, Kiss and the Eagles are among the many musical stars who performed at the stadium.

On June 28, 1990, South African leader Nelson Mandela thrilled 49,000 as he described his life during apartheid.

The Three Tenors -- José Carreras, Plácido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti -- sang before a crowd of more than 31,000 on July 17, 1999, in the stadium's farewell season.