April 20, 1912: Two of baseball's legendary ballparks open: Fenway Park in Boston, and Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Given their respective historical natures, I've decided to do separate entries for each.
The Detroit Tigers had debuted in 1901, as a charter team in the American League, at Bennett Park. After the 1911 season, that park was torn down, and a new one put on the site. Originally, it was named Navin Field, for team owner Frank Navin.
The opponent for the inaugural game was the Cleveland Naps, named for their manager, 2nd baseman and star slugger, Napoleon "Nap" Lajoie. Mayor William B. Thompson threw out the first ball to Charley Bennett. Bennett had been a catcher for the Detroit Wolverines of the National League, but had lost his legs in a railroad accident. As a result, when the previous Detroit ballpark opened in 1896, it was named Bennett Park in his honor. He continued to attend games at Navin Field until his death in 1927.
As with the Fenway opener, this game went back and forth: The Naps scored a run in the 1st, and the Tigers answered with 2. In the 3rd, the Naps scored 2, and the Tigers 1, tying it back up. The Naps scored 2 in the 5th, but the Tigers came through with 2 in the 8th.
This game also went to the 11th inning. The Naps loaded the bases, but the Tigers got out of it. Despite having pitched all the way, Tiger manager Donie Bush let George Mullin bat for himself, and he singled home Bush himself with the winning run. Detroit 6, Cleveland 5. Unlike at Fenway, both starting pitchers at the Navin Field lid-lifter went the distance: Mullin won it for Detroit, and Vean Gregg lost it for Cleveland.
Ty Cobb went 2-for-4 with an RBI for the Tigers that day. Shoeless Joe Jackson played for the Naps, going 1-for-4. Lajoie left Cleveland after the 1914 season, and the team was renamed the Cleveland Indians. They kept that name through the 2021 season, and have been renamed the Cleveland Guardians.
In 1927, Walter Briggs became half-owner of the team. Navin died right after the 1935 World Series win, and Briggs became sole owner. In 1938, he extended the ballpark's upper deck all the way around it, into what became its most familiar configuration, and renamed it for himself: Briggs Stadium. He died in 1952, and his son Walter Jr., a.k.a. Spike Briggs, and his 3 daughters feuded over control of the team.
In 1956, radio executive John Fetzer bought the team from the Briggs family, and in 1961, he bought out the other owners. This allowed him to renovate the ballpark, and he renamed it Tiger Stadium. He oversaw the 1968 World Series win. In 1972, he was offered a chance to join the Detroit Lions in playing in the suburban Silverdome, but refused.
He sold the team to Domino's Pizza founder Tom Monaghan in 1983, and, while the Tigers won the World Series in 1984, his determination to replace Tiger Stadium led to its closing. He couldn't make a deal, and, in 1992, sold the team to his pizza competitor, Mike Ilitch, founder of Little Caesars, and owner of the NHL's Detroit Red Wings, Mike Ilitch. It was Ilitch who made the deal to build Comerica Park, downtown.
As set up for the 1971 All-Star Game
The Tigers won Pennants in 1934, 1935, 1940, 1945, 1968 and 1984. They won the World Series in 1935, 1945, 1968 and 1984. The Detroit Lions played at Tiger Stadium from 1938 to 1974, winning NFL Championships in 1952, 1953 and 1957. The ballpark also hosted some notable prizefights and concerts.
Toward the end. Note the 4 World Series banners in right field.
It closed on September 27, 1999, with an 8-2 Tiger win over the Kansas City Royals. Replaced by Comerica Park, it was demolished in 2008. In 2018, the Corner Ballpark opened on the site, and serves as the headquarters of the Detroit branch of the Police Athletic League.
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April 20, 1912 was a Saturday. A full slate of games was played in what we would now call Major League Baseball. As stated, this included the opener at Fenway Park in Boston, which the Boston Red Sox won, 7-6 in 12 innings, over the New York Highlanders, who changed their name to the Yankees the next season.
In addition to the preceding:
* The New York Giants beat the Brooklyn Dodgers, 4-3 at the Polo Grounds.
* The Boston Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-1 at Baker Bowl in Philadelphia.
* The Philadelphia Athletics beat the Washington Senators, 6-3 at National Park in Washington. (It was renamed Griffith Stadium in 1922.)
* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-0 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Honus Wagner went 1-for-5.
* The Chicago Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds, 5-4 in 10 innings at West Side Park in Chicago.
* And the Chicago White Sox and the St. Louis Browns played 15 scoreless innings at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis, before the game was called due to darkness.
Although it was a Saturday, Arsenal, then still known as Woolwich Arsenal, did not play. They may have had a game that was pushed back by very cold weather or unplayable grounds. Two days later, on the Monday, they beat Blackburn Rovers, 5-1 at the Manor Ground in Plumstead, Southeast London.
This was the day of the FA Cup Final, at the Crystal Palace stadium in South London. Barnsley F.C., of Yorkshire, played West Bromwich Albion, of the Birmingham area, to a 0-0 tie. A replay was held 4 days later, at Bramall Lane in Sheffield, and that nearly went a full 120 minutes without scoring, before Barnsley won it, 1-0.
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