Detroit became a charter member of the new and improved Western League when Ban Johnson purchased the circuit in 1894 (Detroit had previously fielded a National League team in the 1880s).  Initially called the Wolverines, the team became generally known as the Tigers as early as 1896 because of their navy and orange striped socks.   The team survived Johnson's various club relocation schemes that impacted a number of other Western League/American League clubs between 1894 and 1901, and is presently the American League club with the longest history in its current city.   

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The Tigers won 3 of the first 6 American League pennants but even the presence of the great, if problematic, Ty Cobb couldn't keep them from losing three consecutive World Series (two to the Cubs) to close out the 20th century's first decade.  Since then their success on the field has been limited.   A couple of Series wins over the Cubs in '35 and '45 were followed more than 2 decades later by an epic Series win over the Cardinals in 1968, which featured 3 complete game wins by Mickey Lolich.  That win, coming on the heels of a particularly violent and chaotic year in Detroit, served to bring the city some sense of unity and relief.  In contrast, the team's 1984 Series win (capping a dominant season where the team held first place from opening day on and won the division by 15 games) sparked riots and marked the final time authorities allowed fans to swarm the field after a championship win.  Some outstanding regular season performances in the early portion of the 21st century have yet to produce additional championships.    

The Tigers have generally been an offensive-minded club over the decades, and have had their share of personalities.  In addition to Cobb, there was the wonderfully eccentric Mark Fidrych, the prison-to-ball-park feel-good story of Ron LeFlore and of course the ball-park-to-prison feel-awkward story of 31 game winner Denny McClain.   

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The main purpose of this page is to illustrate those players, managers and coaches who have been the most prominent in the franchise's history.  Links below will take you to galleries highlighting each, by position.  Generally, an individual is included if he spent at least 2 full seasons (consecutive or cumulative) as a starter, relief pitcher, closer or manager. For coaches, I've generally used 5 years of service as the bar.  None of this is scientific, though, so there are exceptions.  Where possible and practical, I used pictures of actual baseball cards because that it is the medium through which I, and I suppose many others, first discovered the game. Where necessary, I designed my own images.  Images of actual baseball cards were obtained at the Card Cyber Museum, and for my own designs I used photos found at host of different sites, but none moreso than the wonderful forum at Out of the Park Developments.  

I claim no rights to, or ownership of, any of the photographic images I've used on these pages.   You are welcome to use them yourself.  All I ask is that that if you use any of my personal creations, you give credit to this site.