Looking Back at Old Tiger Stadium, 20 Years After Closing

Despite the construction of a new downtown stadium, closing Tiger Stadium was not popular with the team’s fans. To this day, “The Corner” remains a beloved memory for thousands of Metro Detroiters.

On September 27, 1999, fans made their last pilgrimage to Corktown for the final game at Tiger Stadium.

When the first grandstand was built in 1895, few could have predicted that more than 100 years later, baseball would still be played on the corner of Trumbull and Michigan Avenue. 

Despite the construction of a new downtown stadium, closing Tiger Stadium was not popular with the team’s fans. To this day, “The Corner” remains a beloved memory for thousands of Metro Detroiters.

Bill Dow is the author of “Tiger Stadium: Essays and Memories of Detroit’s Historic Ballpark 1912-2009.” He also recently wrote an article for the Detroit Free Press commemorating the 20th anniversary of Tiger Stadium’s closing.   

Dow, along with Navin Field Grounds Crew founding member and writer Dave Mesrey, share their memories of Tiger Stadium with CultureShift’s Amanda LeClaire and Ryan Patrick Hooper.  

Click the audio player to hear Dow and Mesrey remember the legacy of Tiger Stadium.

Author

  • Amanda LeClaire is an award-winning host and producer of CultureShift on 101.9 WDET-FM Detroit’s NPR station. She’s a founding producer of WDET’s flagship news talk show Detroit Today, and a former host/reporter for Arizona Public Media. Amanda is also an artist, certified intuitive and energy healer, and professional tarot reader.