1917-Despite winning 17 games in June and 20 games in July the Detroit Tigers finished in the middle of the pack going 78-75 ending in fourth place 21 1/2 back of the Chicago White Sox. The Tigers played below average baseball at Nevin Field going 34-41-1 (.453). On the road the the Detroit Tigers went a very good 44-34 (.564). The Tigers still could hit the baseball outscoring their opponents 639-577.
Ty Cobb hit .383 to regain the batting crown.
1918-The Wheels came off in Tigertown. The Detroit Tigers finished 55-71, 7th place 20 games behind the Boston Red Sox. Tiger fans witnessed only one winning month. In June the Tigers when 16-15. Finishing 28-29 at Navin Field and 27-42 on the road. The Tigers were outscored 476-557 for the year.
The Georgia Peach was a hitting machine again batting .382 and winning the batting title.
1919-Huge improvement by the Detroit Tigers and the fans showed their appreciation of good baseball turning out to the tune of 643,805 to lead the American League. On the field the Tigers won 80 games and finished in 4th place, 8 games behind the Chicago White Sox.
Ty Cobb hit .384 to win his 12th batting crown in 13 years. Bobby Veach had 101 RBIs and Harry Heilmann knocked in 93. The Tigers outscored opponents 618-578. Hooks Dauss led the pitching staff going 21-9.
The 1919 season in major league baseball was forever etched in memory. The World Series pitted the Chicago White Sox against the Cincinnati Reds. The idea of White Sox first baseman Arnold "Chick" Gandil was to fix the World Series. "Chick" had ties to underworld figures and pursuaded them that the games could be thrown. Motivated by a dislike of team owner Charles Comiskey, Chick Gandil was able to get the help of some teammates. Eddie Cicotte, Oscar "Happy" Felsch, Claude "Lefty" Williams, Charles "Swede" Risberg, and Fred McMullin were all involved. Buck Weaver refused to participate. "Shoeless" Joe Jackson was maintained his innocence, all involved have said that Shoeless Joe was never present at any of the meetings. New commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis suspended all eight White Sox from Major League Baseball for life (Buck Weaver was banned for not reporting it). To this day it is a hotly debated subject: Was "Shoeless" Joe Jackson in on the fix? Should he be inducted into the Hall Of Fame?
5/26/08
1917-1919
5/15/08
1915-1916
1915- The club posted a regular-season record of 100-54, Manager Hughie Jennings remembered the campaign as "the biggest disappointment" of his career after Babe Ruth's Red Sox won the pennant with 101 wins. The Tigers would fall a 2 1/2 games short of the AL Pennant.
The 1915 Detroit Tigers had what many consider the greatest outfield ever assembled. Ty Cobb-center, Sam Crawford-right, and Bobby Veach-left, finished a remarkable #1, #2, #3 in both RBIs and total bases. The Georgia Peach won his ninth straight batting title hitting .369 with 99 RBIs, 144 runs, and a major league record 96 stolen bases. Crawford hit .313 and drove in 112 runs, and Veach hit .299 with 112 RBIs. Shortstop Donie Bush led the American League in plate appearances with 703 and
was the American League leader in shortstop assists.
Tiger pitching was also pretty dominate as Hooks Dauss went 24-13, Harry Coveleski went 22-13, Jean Dubac (best remembered for his alleged role in the 1918 Chicago Black Sox scandal)17-12, and Bernie Boland 13-7.
The Detroit Tigers had 5 players that rank in the top 100 all time at their respective positions:
* Ty Cobb: 2nd best center fielder of all time
* Sam Crawford: 10th best right fielder of all time
* Bobby Veach: 33rd best left fielder of all time
* Donie Bush: 51st best shortstop of all time
* George Burns: 79th best first baseman of all time
1915 Detroit Tiger Photos:
1916- The Detroit Tigers followed up their impressive 1915 season with a solid 87-76 record finishing in 3rd place 4 games behind the Boston Red Sox. Ty Cobb hot .371 losing the batting title to Cleveland Indian Tris Speaker who hit .386. Cobb stole 68 bases and had 201 hits. Bobby Veach racked up 91 RBIs and Harry Coveleski went 21-11 with 108 strikeouts.
Despite hitting .371 Ty Cobb fails to win the batting crown, as the Tigers still put up a solid season finishing in 3rd place with an 87-67 record.
4/8/08
History:1881-1909
1881 to 1888-The Detroit Wolverines were the first major baseball team in the city. The Wolverines were in the National League, winning a pennant and World Series(exhibition) against the St. Louis Browns in 1887. They were relegated and disbanded after the 1888 season.
1894 to 1900-A charter club in the Western League was organized for the 1894 season. Owner George Vanderbeck decided in 1895 to build Bennet Park at the corner of Michigan and Trumbell Avenues (a place we would call home for 104 seasons). The first game at the corner took place on April 13, 1896, an exhibition against a semi-pro team called the Athletics. The team now being called the Tigers won 30-3. The first official Western League game at the corner was played on April 28, 1896 with the Tigers defeating the Columbus Senators 17-2.
April 24, 1901-The Tigers first official American League game at Bennet Park vs Milwaukee was postponed a day because of the unpredictable Michigan weather.
April 25, 1901-As 10,000 fans witnessed this historic day, Tiger Frank "Pop" Dillon hit a 2-run double to complete a huge 9th inning Tiger comeback in a 14-13 win.
August 30, 1905-Acquired for $700 (plus $50 for immediate delivery) and pitcher Eddie Cicotte, Tyrus Raymond Cobb played the first of 3,033 games (22 seasons) in a Tiger uniform. By the time he retired in 1923 the Georgia Peach had amassed more records (90) than anyone in baseball history.
1907-Tigers win first pennant with a record of 92-58. A loss to the Chicago Cubs in the World Series was a disappointing end to the season as the Tigers failed to score more than 1 run in any game but the first. 1907 was also significant as Frank Nevin and Hugh Jennings began their roles in turning the Tigers into perennial contenders.
Nevin who was started as a bookkeeper with the team in 1902 became team president after acquiring half ownership. He was regarded as the most powerful man in baseball.
Hugh Jennings was know as having an excellent eye for talent. He led the Tigers to three consecutive AL pennants and is remembered as one of the most colorful managers in baseball history.
1908-Tigers again win the American League Pennant. Another disappointing 5 game loss in The World Series to the same Chicago Cubs followed as Detroit was held to a .209 batting average.
1909-Tigers won the American League Pennant for a third time in a row with a record of 96-56. The World Series pitted the Tigers against Pittsburgh. The results were the same as the Tigers were waxed in the decisive game seven 8-0.
Ty Cobb won the triple crown as he led the major league in batting with a .377 average, hitting 9 home runs and finishing with 107 RBIs. He also led the league in steals (76) and hits (216). Cobb is the only player to ever win the quadruple crown.
Pitcher George Mullin led the league in wins (29) and winning percentage (.784). RF Sam "Wahoo Sam" Crawford also finished near the top of the American League with a .314 average, .452 slugging percentage, 97 RBIs, 35 doubles, 14 triples, 266 total bases, 6 home runs, 55 extra base hits, and 30 stolen bases. He was regarded as one of the great sluggers of the deadball era.
