Cardinals vs. Tigers World Series, A Replay of 1968. A Poignant Look Back

[Yavin4]

True baseball fans love the sport because it can mark time. You know where you were when this team won or that team lost. You know what was going on in America when Hank Aaron overtook Babe Ruth's HR record.

This coming World Series between the Detroit Tigers and the St. Louis Cardinals is a replay of the 1968 World Series between these same two teams. That WS was played against the backdrop of major internal strife in America and in the city of Detroit in particular. America witnessed the assasinations of Martin Luther King and Sen. Robert Kennedy. Detroit was boiling over with racial animosity. Yet, the city was united with the Tigers winning the series after being down 3 games to 1.

It will indeed be interesting to see what Detroit has become since 1968.

[Old and In the Way]

1. This BoSox fan says....GO TIGERS!

Should be a great series for mid-America....

[JeffR]

2. If only the Cards could put Bob Gibson & his 1.12 ERA on the mound

again. That was a hell of a Series.

[rsdsharp]

5. Of Course Gibson LOST game 7.

Maybe the replay you're looking for is 1934, when Dizzy Dean shut out the Tigers 11-0 in game 7.

[JeffR]

10. No, I'd stick with Gibson

Splendid and noble even in defeat.

[rsdsharp]

18. As Johnny Keane said

"I had a commitment to his heart."

One thing I've never understood is how Gibson lost 9 games in 1968. He had the lowest ERA in modern times, and was pitching for the defending World Champions.

[meganmonkey]

3. Detroit needs this so bad

I am not a sports fan, but I am a Detroit fan. I love this city and it is in sad shape and desperately trying to rise up again.

Tigers in the fucking World Series? Tigers WINNING the world series? It sure can't hurt!!!

GO TIGERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[MessiahRp]

4. I want the Tigers to win..

BUT the Pistons did just win an NBA title a couple years back. Detroit's baseball and football teams have had a miserable two decades but the city isn't completely championship tortured like the fanbases in other cities.

Rp

[meganmonkey]

6. Yeah, but the Pistons don't even play in Detroit

They play 20 or 30 miles up the road from the actual city. I know, we have the Red Wings who do great most of the time too, but the Tigers are such a metaphor for the struggles of the city in some way.

Maybe I am just a cheeseball :P

[amandabeech]

21. You're not a cheeseball, unless

many, many more of us are.

Detroit needs this like it needed that '68 World Series win.

I'm from Michigan, but not the Detroit area. I really want to see Detroit make it out of its current tought situation.

A Tiger World Series would be a psychological boost for at least a little while, and when you're feeling positive, positive things often do happen.

[Yavin4]

9. meganmonkey

I don't know how old you are, but were you around for the '68 series. How much or how little has your city changed since then?

[meganmonkey]

12. I'm too young

Born in 1974.

But my Dad was in the National Guard and was sent to Detroit during the riots, so I have heard lots of stories about the city when it was angry. He had also lived in the city on and off throughout both his childhood and adulthood. In fact, during the riots, my mom and my uncle were moving my mom and dad's stuff into a house in Detroit - the only white family on that street, but some really nice neighbors helped them out (my mom was a little freaked by the riots, being from a small town in Pennsylvania and all ;) )

When I was growing up outside of the city I went downtown all the time - as soon as we got our driver's licenses we were going down there. A lot of the other suburban folks thought my mom was crazy for letting me go down there at night without a grown-up, or even a male with me. But I am so grateful for my parents not being racist or classist and letting me explore the world a little. I grew to love the city. I went to a lot of concerts and underground raves (early techno music parties). I got lost all the time, usually in my car, sometimes on foot, and nothing bad ever happened to me. I was some wierd combination of naive and streetwise, I always held my own. I saw some shady things but never got caught up in them.

For the record, I have never lived in the city proper.

My impression of Detroit is that it isn't so much angry and violent like it used to be, rather it is sad. Terribly sad. And it is trying. The people there are good people. But it is also very corrupt and broke, the leadership sucks. Coleman Young was mayor forever and he was corrupt. Then they got Dennis Archer in there who (IMO) wanted to and could have done great things for the city. But it was such a corrupt mess he gave up after one term. Now we have a guy barely older than me in the mayor's mansion. He is doing nothing for the city but trying to make a name for himself in politics.

We got the Super Bowl here last year, so they prettied up the highway from the airport to downtown, and shuffled away all the homeless people for the weekend. But it didn't help the city, not like people hoped/implied it would.

We need jobs. We need hope. I know a lot of cities can say that, but I have been to a lot of cities and very few in the US need hope like Detroit does. In Detroit, the population is steadily declining. In Detroit, people commute to the suburbs for work, not the other way around. I go to other cities and yeah, there are shitty areas and the economy sucks everywhere, but you go to Downtown Detroit on a Thursday morning (like I did a couple weeks ago for the WCW march) and nothing is open. There are no department stores, no coffee houses, no delis...It's just weird for a city. Everything is boarded up.

They are trying. People are trying to fix it but the suburbs ($$$) don't give a shit. They may go into the city for a game or a show once in a while but they don't have any desire to see the city succeed. In fact, they would probably prefer to see the theaters downtown close so they can see their concerts in Birmingham or Troy or wherever.

That's my little Detroit Stream of Consciousness. Sorry if I am just babbling :)

[noonwitch]

13. I lived in Detroit from 1989-2001, and have had ties there since childhood

My grandparents lived in the Plymouth/Greenfield area until Grandpa retired in 1978. In 1968, we lived in Temperance, which is a Michigan suburb of Toledo, OH. We spent a lot of time at my grandparents house at that time, because we weren't very far away.

When I was a little kid, in the late 60s to 1973, my grandparent's neighborhood was a cool place. It was diverse, most of the adults worked at Ford or one of the other auto companies, there were elm trees that were so tall, they formed a natural cathedral look to the streets in the summer.

In 1973, Coleman Young was elected mayor and the white flight began. My grandparents' neighborhood started going downhill, fast. All the white people sold their houses-some had done so right after the 67 riots, but many held out. The elm trees all died from dutch elm disease, and weren't replaced. Suddenly, my sister and I weren't allowed outside without a male adult with us (although my brother was allowed to play b-ball unsupervised with the kids across the street). We started going to Fairlane instead of Northland or dowtown Hudson's.

Then I didn't go into the city of Detroit until 1987, when I started working there (and still do). The city had become unrecognizable in many areas-boarded up buildings everywhere, abandoned houses, crackheads and junkies everywhere. In 1989, I decided to move into the Woodward/McNichols area because a bunch of my coworkers lived in the area and it was filled with mostly families, old greek people and gays. It was a pretty nice and safe area at the time, with cheap rent. There were some problems with drugs and prostitution, but they were not horrible. The old greek people died off, the families with children moved to better school districts, and the gay people all moved to Royal Oak and Ferndale. The neighborhood fell apart quickly. The city taxes in Detroit are too high for middle class people to buy houses, so it has become a city of mostly poor slums, with a few really nice areas of $200,000 homes. City residents pay so much in insurance costs and they pay a tax on every utility bill they get.

When I bought a house, I realized that there was not much value in buying a house in the city unless I had enough money to buy in one of the better areas (Rosedale Park, Sherwood Forest, all the new housing along the river). I got a good deal in Warren, and I don't pay any city taxes on utilities, my car insurance was reduced in half, and I only live a half a block north of the Detroit city limits. The costs combined with the poor schools and overstretched police department are keeping middle class people from living in the city, with a few exceptions like Corktown (where the old Tiger stadium stands rotting away) and some of the neighborhoods that border on the suburbs.

The city has no money for any of the cool things they had even as recently as 7 or 8 years ago. The Belle Isle zoo and aquarium are both gone now. The park is still there, but most of the buildings there are empty and seldom used. There's a beach, but I question the sanity of anyone who lets Detroit River water touch their skin. They took all the deer away, too, who were amusing, if nothing else (they took over the island in the winter).

[meganmonkey]

15. The Detroit River

Last summer I was on a little boat in the river, cruising around Belle Isle (which was really fun, I haven't done much boating in my life) and I was flabbergasted that there were kids swimming in the water! Eeeeew!

I don't know what could possibly happen that would bring that city back into being a livable place. To me, the biggest current problem is that the suburbs don't give a shit about the city they way they do in other cities (obviously job losses etc are bigger problems, but that's been the case for quite some time now).

There is so much money in some of the suburbs, the socialist in me wants to see that balanced out a bit so the city can revitalize.

I live in Ann Arbor now, and mistermonkey and I joke that we will never move east of US-23 again unless we can live right in downtown Detroit. Maybe that day will come, but right now we both work here in treetown so it won't be soon.

[LisaM]

17. Actually, I think the aquariaum is still there

My mom just got me a shirt saying "save the Belle Isle Aquarium".

I think that Dennis Archer and Kwame both can't see past the lure of things like casinos to bringing back some of the old traditions. Detroit really could be a beautiful city with a thriving ethnic population. If I were mayor, I think my slogan would be "One Neighborhood At a Time" and try to revitalize some of the good old stuff. You are so right about the suburbs.

[Lefty48197]

29. Detroit has changed tremendously since 1968

The riots of 67 accelerated the "white flight", where thousands of Detroiters fled to the northern suburbs, taking their money, their businesses, and the jobs with them. Detroit (and Michigan) suffered a terrible recession in the late 1970's into the 1980's. It didn't meet the definition of "depression" but it was the closest thing to it. The unemployment rate in Detroit peaked at about 20%. Detroit probably bottomed out in the early '80's.
The prosperity of the 1990's then "trickled down" to Detroit, and the renaissance began.
The improvements have been tremendous. The riverfront redevelopment is now shifting into high gear, with the promenade being nearly 1/2 completed, and hundreds of millions of dollars of (re) development now taking place from Hart Plaza up to the Belle Isle bridge.
The stadiums and the Fox theater rehabilitation have spurred all sorts of development in the Woodward corridor. Nearby Brush Park has risen like a Phoenix from what used to look like bombed out Berlin.
The new HQ for Compuware and GM's improvements to the Renaissance center have helped to turn downtown Detroit into a vibrant downtown. Anybody who walked around downtown Detroit, and didn't know where they were might very well think they were in New York or Chicago.
The condos at the soon to be refurbished Cadillac Hotel went on sale, and they sold 40 in the first day, including two penthouse apartments priced at over one million dollars each, the first in Detroit to do so.
I love going to Detroit now, because I see improvement every time.

[RB TexLa]

7. There is a very good documentary on it, can't remember if it was

PBS or ESPN. It could have been ESPN and been good enough for PBS, I'm sure it will be replayed sometime now.

[vickitulsa]

22. Oh thanks for reminding me of that!

I'll be on the lookout for it now ... I'll bet you're right -- they'll probably be showing it again, maybe more than once.

In fact, I think I'll go do a search in the teevee schedules/listings, see if I can find it.

I'd dearly LOVE to see that! Would love to see the entire 7th game from start to finish, actually. :)

What a World Series that was!!

:applause: :party: :applause:

Never seen one like it, before or since, in my four decades of being a baseball fan....


Oh, and GO TIGERS!!!! DO IT AGAIN!

:rofl: :party:

[genie_weenie]

8. As long as the New York Satans are both out, the World Series

is a great time. Although I would rather the Tigers win than the Red Birds...

[Gabi Hayes]

11. It also brought us the very first October surprise. remember?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_surprise

[vickitulsa]

23. OMG, I had forgotten about that!

YES......... one of the Nixon crew's major "dirty tricks" -- though the TRUTH about it didn't come out for a long time, did it?

Actually, I don't remember there EVER being much coverage of that sneakiest and dirtiest of moves by the Repukes! I believe their side had already gained way more control of the "liberal media" by then than any of them would acknowledge. Hell, they don't acknowledge their control of the corporate media YET! They're still calling their own bobble-headed pawns "the liberal media." Yeah ... riiight....

But going behind the scenes to persuade the North Vietnamese negotiators to pull OUT of the PEACE talks just before the American presidential election of '68 was as dirty and rotten a move as I can imagine. Well, up to that time anyway, since the current crooks have surpassed even that!

No one could be sure that an agreement to end the war would have been reached, of course; but Johnson and the Dems were trying hard to make it happen. Yes, they had other motives also, but at least theirs were in line with PEACE, not more WAR!

And if that political trick by Nixon's operatives to get the election WIN at any cost DID cause the war in Vietnam to drag on longer than it would have, that move would be more than just a "dirty trick." It would be more like treason, wouldn't it?, if it caused many thousands more needless deaths of American troops and a great many more Vietnamese.

That's why this sort of crap on the part of ANY political party or candidate just pisses me off no end. It's not right, it's not fair, and it's not in the best interest of the U.S. and all Americans.

Actions like that can and do have far wider consequences than we might at first think. Especially when WAR is one of the "factors" being manipulated solely for the benefit (or the harm) of someone running for office....

[bif]

14. In 1984, box seats for the series were $30

That was the last time the Tigers were in the World Series. Today, the tickets are $250.

[meganmonkey]

16. The last Tigers game I went to

was the final game of the Series in 1984. The sad part is, I was only 10 years old and I thought it was totally boring. What a waste of a ticket!! :spank:

Well, at least we had shitty seats, even our tickets had the words "Obstructed View" on them. There was a big pole right in front of us about 3 or 4 rows up. I am sure that day my dad wished he had had sons instead of daughters :P

(not that girls can't enjoy baseball, mind you, but my sister and I sure didn't)

[Bozita]

19. Once a baseball cathedral, Tiger Stadium now sits in disrepair

I found this article posted in the Michigan forum here at DU.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/al/tigers/2006-10-18-cover-tiger-stadium_x.htm

Once a baseball cathedral, Tiger Stadium now sits in disrepair
Updated 10/19/2006 1:22 AM ET
By Mel Antonen, USA TODAY

DETROIT — Former outfielder Willie Horton, a baseball legend in Motown, avoids driving anywhere close to Tiger Stadium. Baseball hasn't been played there for seven years, but seeing the ballpark is too emotional for Horton.

"Our team bus drives by it, and I look the other way," says Horton, a Detroit Tigers executive who played 14 years for the club, including the 1968 World Series win against the St. Louis Cardinals. "There's something there that's still a part of me, and when Tiger Stadium goes, a piece of me will be gone, too."

A new era of Detroit championship baseball begins Saturday night when the Tigers play Game 1 of the World Series in their snazzy $300 million Comerica Park. Opened in 2000, Comerica has roomy concourses, carnival rides, a downtown view, giant tiger sculptures and an outfield fountain that sprays water synchronized to music.

The park is a just over a mile from the corner of Michigan and Trumbull, where decaying Tiger Stadium sits waiting to be demolished. The no-frills park that opened in 1912 (as Navin Field), hosted 12 World Series games and averaged 1.6 million fans a year since 1960 is an albatross to the area's economic growth, city officials say.

After seven years of intense debate, city elders announced plans in June to raze the park next year and build retail stores, apartments and condominiums, a museum and a baseball field where children 12 and younger can step into the same batter's box as Ty Cobb, Hank Greenberg and Al Kaline.

more...

[Captain Hilts]

25. You mean "Briggs Stadium." To us purists....Go Kats! nt

[Awsi Dooger]

20. That's the first World Series I remember

Seems like in every sport my first major memory is '68 -- the second Super Bowl (Packers/Raiders), Dancers Image/Forward Pass controversy in the Derby, OJ Simpson and the great Buckeye team in college football, Trevino winning the US Open. Anyway, my mom was in an afternoon bowling league and I would sneak away to look at the TV in the bar. That's when they still had daytime Series games. We didn't have a team in Miami and I didn't know a damn thing about either team but for some reason I started rooting for Detroit when they were down 3-1, and the result of that Series made me a Tiger fan. I expected Detroit to lose game 7 so the media must have portrayed St. Louis as the favorite going into that game. For some reason I envision Freeman catching a popup for the final out but I have no idea if that's true.

In '84 I was a fan and knew every player but the last few years I've wonderfully dismissed baseball to such extreme I literally don't know which teams are in the playoffs until they start. I realize Kenny Rogers is pitching for the Tigers now, but he's the only player I can name.

[vireo]

24. My memory of that series

is of Jose Feliciano's stylized version of the national anthem. Comedian Robert Klein joked, "He must have thought they wouldn't kick the shit out of him because he ws blind." Too bad that he wasn't invited back and given a better reception.
http://www.josefeliciano.com/anthem.html

[Lefty48197]

26. Here's my favorite "memory" from the '68 Series:

GO GET 'EM TIGERS!

[Bozita]

27. Hey, Cards now lead the series 3-1. We got 'em right where we want 'em!

"A Replay of 1968. A Poignant Look Back:"

hmmm!

[LisaM]

28. Oh, if only that could be true!

Go Tigers, my Tigers!!!!!