1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910455942203321

Autore

Harrigan Patrick J (Patrick Joseph), <1941->

Titolo

The Detroit Tigers : club and community, 1945-1995 / / Patrick J. Harrigan

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Toronto, [Ontario] ; ; Buffalo, [New York] ; ; London, [England] : , : University of Toronto Press, , 1997

©1997

ISBN

1-281-99750-1

9786611997502

1-4426-8110-1

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (448 p.)

Disciplina

796.357640977434

Soggetti

Baseball - Michigan - Detroit - History

SPORTS & RECREATION / Baseball / Essays & Writings

Electronic books.

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Frontmatter -- Contents -- LIST OF TABLES -- LIST OF APPENDICES -- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS -- Introduction -- 1. Baseball in Postwar American Society -- 2. The Briggs Era of Detroit Baseball -- 3. Transitions and Adaptation of the Detroit Baseball Club in the 1950s -- 4. Community Problems and a World Championship -- 5. The Players -- 6. The Era of Personalities, 1969-1977 -- 7. Free Agency and Big Money for Baseball, 1977-1983 -- 8. The Golden Age of Detroit Baseball -- 9. A Franchise in Decline -- 10. The Stadium as Symbol -- Epilogue: The 1994 Strike and Its Aftermath -- TABLES -- APPENDICES -- NOTES -- BIBLIOGRAPHY -- INDEX

Sommario/riassunto

This study of the Detroit Tigers over a half-century demonstrates how baseball has reflected the fortunes of America's postwar urban society. Patrick Harrigan shows that the declining fortunes of this franchise have been inextricably linked with those of its city and surrounding community. Attention is paid to major on-field exploits, but the focus is on the development of the ball club as a corporate enterprise and its symbiotic relationship with metropolitan Detroit.The Detroit Tigers,



established as a club in the nineteenth century, have been an integral part of the community in and around Detroit. At one time, Detroit was even regarded as the best town for baseball in the country. The club has interacted with the city's various communities, but it has also neglected or clashed with some - most notably with the African-American community. The relationship of club and community in Detroit has distinctive features, but it also has much in common with baseball in other metropolises. Harrigan examines the development of baseball's modern institutional and economic structure; the role of major-league teams in large urban centres; the influence of radio and television on the popularity of the game; racial integration; unionization and free agency; and stadium renovation or rebuilding, and the financing of such projects. A declining city population base, the riot of 1967, and alienation between the city, its suburbs, and the state have highlighted the Tigers' own troubled history. The controversy surrounding the building of a new stadium - viewed as the key to revitalizing the downtown core, as well as the team's fortunes - demonstrates that baseball is still a major community concern in Detroit. The Detroit Tigers is the most complete view of the finances of any sports organization yet published. It also illustrates baseball's human dimension. Harrigan has conducted more than a hundred interviews with former players, their wives, team executives, media personalities, sports writers, and politicians and uncovered many previously unused sources to give us a vivid portrayal of a sport and its far-reaching influence.