Aug 8, 2007 Memories of Tiger Stadium Finish By Doug Kurtis :: Views- 619
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If plans move forward on the auction of Tiger Stadium memorabilia, we should soon be standing in line to grab our own little piece of nostalgia.


(In front of Tiger Stadium 1999 - Photo by John Collier/Detroit Free Press)

For me, those memories started back in the 1960's as a pre teen boy. My best friend's father worked as a trouble shooter in the stadium. We would arrive before batting practice and wander all over the ball park. During the game ushers would move us around to available empty seats. We probably sat in every section of the stadium. It was exciting stuff, especially when outfielders like Charlie Maxwell of Paw Paw, Michigan would toss us a baseball.

Years later I would remember my first experience running on the field. Race director Emily Gale managed to arrange for one of the Emily and Pooh courses to run a loop inside the park. Her imagination encouraged thousands of people to participate in running.

When I took over the Free Press Flagstar Bank Marathon in 1999, my first goal was to rearrange the course so we could start and finish near the same place. As I worked on securing the Ambassador Bridge, I also looked at the possibility of starting and finishing from Tiger Stadium. Several meetings were held with former Tiger's President John McHale Jr. and Free Press publisher Heath Meriwether to analyze the possibility of using the stadium after the final game was played in October.

We also had to get approval from the City of Detroit because they owned the stadium while the Tiger organization was responsible for its operations.

Dewey Ames from the marathon and the Tiger organization made things work well within the confines of the stadium. On the field we planned for runners to come in from the center field batting cage area and finish at first base. They would be able to cross home plate as they walked through the finish chute, off the field and into the hospitality area. Spectators would have several sections from which to watch the finishers as well as look at the runners on the electronic scoreboard.

The Bridge, the Detroit Windsor Tunnel and the stadium were the sparks the event needed after several years of stagnant participation. Attendance rose to its highest level since 1984.

Before sunrise, on the morning of the event, the lights on the field made me think of the movie Field of Dreams as the legendary baseball heroes walked from the corn fields onto the baseball diamond. It was a mystical moment and you could sense there was something different about this year's marathon.

As runners crossed the finish line I witnessed a few continuing to run through the chute and then sliding across home plate. Others tried to evade the watchful eye of security and scooped up dirt from the infield into a tiny bag for safe keeping.

We never returned to Tiger Stadium but I feel fortunate that we created something that runners will never forget.

This year the Detroit Free Press Flagstar Bank Marathon celebrates its 30th anniversary. There won't be pieces of the stadium to bring home but runners will have their own nostalgia to tell family and friends after they cross the finish line.

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Doug Kurtis can be reached by clicking here!

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