Detroit Tigers (MLB, 1952)

 

1952 Regular Season
Tigers vs. Chicago White Sox
Tigers vs. New York Yankees

     The 1950s were not a successful decade for the Detroit Tigers. Having been pennant contenders for most of the 1930s and 1940s, the team slipped to mediocrity in the postwar era. Following an exciting 1950 season that saw the Tigers finish just 3 games behind the Yankees for the pennant, the team stumbled to fifth place with a 73-81 record in 1951. 

     While 1951 was a letdown, 1952 would see the Tigers hit rock bottom. Red Rolfe returned for his third season as manager, while Tigers legend Charlie Gehringer was named the new GM. Detroit got off to a miserable 23-49 start before Rolfe was fired, replaced by ex-Tigers pitcher Fred Hutchinson. Hutchinson fared little better, guiding the Tigers to a 27-55 mark. The Tigers finished in last place in the American league, with an ugly 50-104 record, the first time the franchise ever hit 100 losses. Attendance at Briggs Stadium dropped to 1,026,848, fifth best in the AL.

     As a team, Detroit batted .243 and hit just 103 home runs. The leading home run hitter was first baseman Walt Dropo. Dropo, acquired in June in a trade that sent George Kell to the Boston Red Sox, hit 23 home runs with 70 RBI. He also matched an American League record for having 15 hits in 4 games, as well as hitting safely in 12 consecutive at-bats. Despite playing in a hitter-friendly ballpark, there was quite a drop-off in home runs after Dropo, the next-highest being 17 by Vic Wertz. The top batting average (over 200 at bats) was Jerry Priddy, who hit .283 in 279 at bats.

     The pitching staff owned a league-worst 4.25 ERA. Ted Gray had the most wins on the staff, with a 12-17 record and 4.14 ERA in 35 games. Art Houtteman, who just two years earlier won 19 games, had an 8-20 record with a 4.36 ERA in 35 games. Future Hall of Famer Hal Newhouser, a holdover from the 1945 World Champs, was 9-9 with a 3.74 ERA in 25 games. Then there's Virgil Trucks, Newhouser's teammate on the 1945 Tigers. The 35-year old Trucks had a miserable 5-19 record, but a respectable 3.97 ERA in 35 games. Despite that ugly record, Trucks became just the third pitcher in major league history to throw two no-hitters in a season, beating both the Washington Senators and New York Yankees, 1-0. 

     The Tigers 50-104 record put them 45 games back of the New York Yankees. Detroit was even way back of the hapless St. Louis Browns, finishing 14 back of the Brownies. The Yankees won the AL pennant by 2 games over Cleveland, then defeated the Brooklyn Dodgers in 7 games to win their fourth-straight World Series championship.

     These two scorecards are the oldest Tiger programs/scorecards that I own, and the fifth oldest baseball programs/scorecards in my collection. I won both of them in a lot at Albrecht Auction in Vassar back in July. They are both in very good condition for their age. Both are 11 pages long, and are loaded with vintage advertisements. No pictures of Tiger players, but the opponents for these scorecards are the Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees. According to the one scorecard, the Tigers lost to the Sox, 6-3. No score was kept for the Yankees game, but considering how the season went, Detroit probably lost that one, too.

     Advertisements include Ned's (featuring a Motorola 17" TV for $199.95), Buddy's Television and Appliance, Paul's Auto Wash, WJBK 1490 AM (the radio home of the Tigers) and Krun-Chee Potato Chips. Car ads include the 1952 Lincoln, 1952 Mercury and Buick dealers. 

Aftermath: Despite the addition of young talent such as Al Kaline, Harvey Kuenn, Jim Bunning and Frank Lary, the Tigers would spend the rest of the 1950s in the middle of the pack of the American League. The team would win 101 games in 1961, but still fell 9 games back of the Yankees. Detroit would finally break through and win the pennant and World Series in 1968.

Reference:

1952 Detroit Tigers Statistics, from Baseball-Reference.com

California Angels (MLB, 1985)

1985 Yearbook:
California Angels Silver Anniversary Yearbook

      1985 was the 25th Anniversary of California Angels baseball.  The Angels joined the American League in 1961 as the junior circuit's first West Coast team. The franchise was owned by the legendary "Singing Cowboy", Gene Autry. Upon hearing that the American League was expanding to Los Angeles, Autry, who owned several radio stations by then, met with league officials to try and get broadcasting rights to the team. The officials were so impressed by Autry's pitch that they talked him into purchasing the franchise. 
     By 1985, Autry's California Angels were one of the top teams in the American League, having already won the AL West title in 1979 and 1982. Led by longtime manager Gene Mauch, they also had the oldest roster, with several players north of 30. Leading the way were two future Hall of Famers: first baseman Rod Carew and outfielder/designated hitter Reggie Jackson. Carew came to the team in 1979 after 12 years in Minnesota. Carew would collect his 3,000th hit and hit .280 in his final season. Reggie Jackson arrived via free agency in 1982 after a tumultuous five years with the New York Yankees. Still a dangerous hitter, Jackson hit .252 with 27 home runs for the Angels in 1985.
     As a team, the Halos batted .251 with 153 home runs, ninth overall in the league. Jackson led the team with 27 homers, and was joined by Ruppert Jones (who won the World Series with Detroit the previous year), Brian Downing and Doug DeCinces in the 20-homerun club. Utility player Juan Beniquez had the highest batting average at .304. Bobby Grich, one of the most popular Angels players at the time, hit .242 with 13 home runs, playing mostly at second base. Future Blue Jays star Devon White was a rookie with California in 1985, hitting .149 in 21 games. Veteran catcher Bob Boone, acquired from the Phillies in 1982, played 150 games behind the plate, hitting .248 with 5 home runs, at age 37. 
     The ace pitcher on the 1984 Angels staff was Mike Witt, who went 15-9 with a 3.56 ERA in 35 starts. The previous season, Witt made history by throwing the 11th perfect game in major league history, mowing down the Seattle Mariners on the last game of the year. Ron Romanick had the next-most wins, going 14-9 with a 4.11 ERA in 31 starts. Kim McCaskill (12-12) was the other Angels starter to win over 10 games, winning 12. Veteran Tommy John started the year with California, but was waived during the season after a 2-4 start. The team acquired 40-year old ace Don Sutton from Oakland during the season, and he went 2-2 in 5 starts. The team's closer was Donnie Moore, who saved 31 games with an excellent 1.92 ERA in 65 appearances.
     Despite the overall age of the lineup, the Angels battled the Kansas City Royals throughout the season. California would end up finishing 90-72, one game back of the eventual World Champion Royals. Fans came out in droves to watch the Halos, as the team drew 2,567,427 fans to Anaheim Stadium, best in the American League. 
     This is a yearbook commemorating the Angels' 25th Anniversary. It's 64 pages, mostly all of which are in color. Pages 5-8 feature the story of Gene Autry and his life from "Singing Cowboy" to Angels owner. The history of the team is next, on pages 11-21. All the players, manager Gene Mauch, and the coaching staff have color photos and bios from pages 25-56, with the starters having full page pictures and articles. Local advertisements include Disneyland, Farmer John Hot Dogs, the City of Anaheim, Chevron and Hughes Aircraft Company. 

Reference:
"1985 California Angels Statistics", from baseball-reference.com

Detroit Tigers (1971)

 

1971 Regular Season:
Tigers vs. New York Yankees

   The Detroit Tigers were looking to bounce back from a poor 1970 season, which saw the team drop to 4th in the American League East with a 79-83 record. That forgettable season cost manager Mayo Smith his job, causing him to remark that Detroit fans "wouldn't know a ballplayer from a Japanese aviator". General Manager Jim Campbell felt that his  veteran ballclub needed a manager to light a fire under them, and hired the combative Billy Martin, fresh off of being fired by the Minnesota Twins.
     Campbell made a blockbuster trade with the Washington Senators that offseason. The Senators, drawing poorly at home and desperate for star power, traded Ed Brinkman, Aurelio Rodriguez, Joe Coleman and Jim Hannan for former 30-game winner Denny McLain, Norm McRae, Don Wert and Elliot Maddox. The trade turned out to be a major steal for the Tigers. McLain's arm was shot and was becoming more trouble than he was worth. In fact, only Maddox did anything of significance after Detroit. The Tigers, on the other hand, solidified the right side of the infield with Rodriguez and Brinkman, while Joe Coleman gave them an excellent #2 starter behind ace Mickey Lolich. 

     Detroit rebounded in 1971, finishing the season with a 91-71 record, good enough for second place, 12 games back of the defending World Champion Baltimore Orioles. The team drew 1,591,073 at Tiger Stadium that year, second best in the American League.

     The Tigers were the third-best hitting team in the AL that year, with a .254 batting average. Future Hall of Famer Al Kaline led the starters in batting average, hitting .294 to go along with 15 home runs and 54 RBI.  Willie Horton was next in batting average, hitting .289, with 22 home runs and 72 RBI. "Stormin' Norman" Cash topped the team with 32 homers, to go along with a fine .283 average and 91 RBI. As a team, Detroit hit 179 home runs in 1971, tops in the league. 

     The Tigers had a pair of 20-game winners in the rotation that season. Mickey Lolich, a workhorse who pitched a ridiculous 376 innings, went 25-14 with a 2.92 ERA and 308 strikeouts. His new teammate, Joe Coleman, went 20-9 with a 3.15 ERA and 236 strikeouts in 286 innings of work. 23-year old Les Cain went 10-9 in 26 starts with a 4.35 ERA. The team's closer that year was Fred Scherman, who saved 20 games in 113 innings of work, sporting a fine 2.71 ERA. Other notable pitchers include Joe Niekro, who would end up pitching for 22 years, and Dean Chance, a 1964 Cy Young winner, who pitched out of the bullpen that season. As a group, the Tigers pitching staff had a 3.63 ERA, eighth in the American League.

     This is a 54-page program, mostly in black-and-white. It's from a game between the Tigers and New York Yankees. New  York would finish in fourth place with a 82-80 record, and were led by manager Ralph Houk, who would become Tigers manager in just three more years. Not too many articles, but there are color photos of such Tigers as Al Kaline, Bill Freehan, Willie Horton and Mickey Lolich, as well as newcomers Ed Brinkman and Aurelio Rodriguez. A picture from Billy Martin's press conference is included near the back of this program. Local advertisements include Daly Gourmet Restaurants, Stroh's, Elias Brothers Restaurants, Kay Bee Construction and the Sheraton Cadillac Hotel. Car advertisements include the 1971 Ford Pinto Runabout, Chevrolet Vega, and the Pontiac Formula Firebird. 

Reference:

"1971 Detroit Tigers Statistics", from Baseball-Reference.com

Detroit Tigers (1974)

1974 Regular Season:
Tigers vs. New York Yankees

      By 1974 the Detroit Tigers were a team in transition. After winning the World Series in 1968 and just missing another pennant in 1972, the stars of those teams were aging. They finished 12 games back of the Baltimore Orioles, and fiery manager Billy Martin was canned late in the season after ordering his pitchers to bean opponents. 
     The Tigers replaced Martin with ex-Yankees manager Ralph Houk. Houk would be charged with leading the team through lean seasons as the franchise began to rebuild. The 1974 Tigers finished 72-90, bringing up the rear in the American League East, 19 games back of Baltimore. Attendance slumped as well, as 1,243,080 fans came to Tiger Stadium, a decrease of about 500,000, but still good enough for third-highest in the league.
     Longtime catcher Bill Freehan, now also playing first base to protect his knees, led the team with a .297 batting average and 18 home runs. "Mr. Tiger" Al Kaline played the final season of his legendary career primarily as designated hitter or first baseman. Kaline hit .262 with 13 home runs and 64 RBI, and also got hit number 3,000 late in the season in Baltimore. Outfielder Willie Horton hit .298, but injuries limited him to 72 games. As a group, the 1974 Tigers hit .247, 10th in the American League.
     Pitching was similarly weak for Detroit, as the staff's 4.16 ERA was last in the league. Mickey Lolich was still piling up the innings, pitching 308 2/3 innings and making 41 starts. His record that season was 16-21 with a 4.15 ERA, with 202 strikeouts. Joe Coleman was the only pitcher in the rotation that season with an above .500 record, going 14-12 with a 4.32 ERA and 177 strikeouts. Lerrin LeGrow had a forgettable season, going 8-19 with a 4.66 ERA in 34 starts. The team's closer, John Hiller, had a fine season, going 17-14 (new record for relief wins) with a 2.64 ERA, 134 strikeouts and 13 saves, earning an invitation to the All-Star Game.

1974 Detroit Tigers Yearbook

     This is a 52-page program, mostly in black-and-white. I bought this from an antique store in Lakeport, near Port Huron. New manager Houk is introduced on page 3, and the 1974 Tigers roster is included on pages 19-21. There's also an article about Al Kaline's quest for
hit #3,000, being just 139 hits shy of that milestone at the beginning of the season.

     The program is from a Tuesday, July 2nd game against the New York Yankees. Ex-Tiger Pat Dobson took the loss, allowing 3 earned runs in 4 1/3 innings, while Luke picked up the win to improve to 4-0 on the year. The Tigers improved to 40-36 on the year, but would go 32-54 the rest of the way. 

     Local advertisements include Porterfield Wilson Pontiac Sales Service, AC Spark Plugs, Stroh's Beer, Vernors Ginger Ale, Altes Golden Lager Beer and Elias Brothers Restaurants. Car advertisements include the 1974 Pontiac Firebird Espirit, the Chevrolet Monte Carlo and the 1974 Ford lineup of cars (Mustang II, Maverick and Pinto).

Reference:

"1974 Detroit Tigers Statistics", from Baseball-Reference.com

     

Milwaukee Brewers (1985)

1985 Regular Season:
Brewers vs. Detroit Tigers

      The Milwaukee Brewers were in their 15th season of existence, and 14th in Milwaukee (the first season was in Seattle). Just three years removed from their first American League pennant, the Brewers were coming off a rough 1984 season, which saw them drop to 67-94 record, which buried them in the American League East cellar. The team replaced manager Rene Lachemann with a familiar face: George Bamberger, who managed the team from 1978-80, when he stepped down due to health issues. Harry Dalton returned as General Manager.
     1985 was not much better than last year, as Milwaukee finished 71-90, sixth place in the East and 28 games back of Toronto. The Brewers drew 1,360,265 to County Stadium, 10th in the American League. 
     The offense was decent that season, as the team batted .263, which was 7th in the American League. Paul Molitor (featured on the cover) led the team with a .297 batting average, 10 home runs and 48 RBI. Cecil Cooper led the team with a mere 15 home runs, though he hit .293 and drove in 99 runs. Robin Yount was right behind him with 15 runs and a .277 average. As a group, the Brewers hit a league-worst 101 homers. The "Harvey's Wallbangers" team of 1982 was a distant memory.
     As for pitching, the staff had a 4.39 ERA, ninth overall in the American League. Teddy Higuera led the team with a 15-8 record and 190 strikeouts in 212 1/3 innings pitched. In fact, he was the only pitcher in the rotation that had a winning record. The next-most wins came from Ray Burris, who went 9-13.  Danny Darwin led the team with a 3.80 ERA in 29 starts, but had an ugly 8-18 record. The team's closer, future Hall of Famer Rollie Fingers, finished his final season with a 1-6 record and 5.04 ERA, saving 17 games in 55 1/3 innings. 28-year old Bob Gibson saved 11 games and had a 3.90 ERA in 92 1/3 innings.
     Like the 1985 Braves program, I found this program at the Marlette Flea Market (same table, I think). It's 84 pages long, mostly in black-and-white with color ads. It's from a three-game series against the defending World Champion Detroit Tigers, played on August 12-14. Milwaukee took the first game, but Detroit took the next two and the series. 

     Since Milwaukee's a brewing town, there are plenty of beer ads. Miller Lite has an ad featuring Alexus Arguello and Billy Martin in one of those famous "Less Filling! Tastes Great!", Pabst Blue Ribbon is on page 45, Bud Light's on page 50, Budweiser on 77, and Old Style Pilsner is on the back cover. Local non-beer ads include Sentry Insurance, WILM Janitorial Service, Fanning Cadillac and Ned's Pizza. 

Reference:

"1985 Milwaukee Brewers Statistics", from Baseball-Reference.com 

Atlanta Braves (1985)

1985 Regular Season:
Braves vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

     1985 was the 20th season of Braves baseball in Atlanta, Georgia, and 114th overall. After winning the 1982 National League West crown, the team had slid back into mediocrity, leading to manager Joe Torre's dismissal after 1984. 
     1985 was even worse than the previous year, as the Braves dropped to fifth place in the NL West with a 66-96 record. Manager Eddie Haas was canned after a 50-71 start and was replaced by Bobby Wine. Attendance dropped by nearly 400,000, as the Braves drew 1,350,137 to Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, which ranked 9th in the National League.
      Atlanta was led by star centerfielder Dale Murphy, who batted an even .300 on the season, with 32 home runs and 111 RBI. Thanks to those numbers, Murphy took home the Silver Slugger award and led the National League in home runs. Power hitting first baseman Bob Horner was next in line with 27 home runs and 89 RBI, while batting .267 in 483 at bats. As a team, the Braves batted a mere .246 with 126 homers.
     Pitching was a weak spot for Atlanta that season, as the team had a league-worst 4.19 ERA. The only starter with a record above .500 was Rick Mahler, who went 17-15 with a 3.48 ERA and 107 strikeouts. The next best record in the rotation was 27-year old Steve Bedrosian, who had an ugly 7-15 record with 3.83 ERA, but did lead the team with 134 strikeouts. Pascual Perez had an ugly season, with a record of 1-13 and 6.14 ERA with 57 Ks. The closer that season was future Hall of Famer Bruce Sutter, who signed with the Braves after spending the last four seasons in St. Louis. Sutter saved 23 games, but sported a 7-7 record and 4.48 ERA, rather high for a closer. 
     This program is from a September series vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers. Talk about two teams going in opposite directions: the Braves were stumbling toward a 5th place finish, while the Dodgers were cruising to the NL West crown. It was a four-game series, and while the Braves barely lost the first game, 9-7, they were bombed in the next three, outscored 32-8 in the process. Ouch!
     I found this program in, of all places, at flea market in Marlette, Michigan. It's 78 pages long, mostly in black-and-white, though there are color ads. Dale Murphy is on the cover (pretty sure that's a printed signature), and is featured in an article on page 5. Apparently, Dale earned the most All-Star votes of any player in either league that year. Third baseman Ken Oberkfell is profiled on page 78, and ex-Brave (and then White Sox coach) Mike Lum is featured in a "Where Are They Now?" article. 
     Local advertisements include the Atlanta Hawks (Ted Turner owned both the Braves and Hawks), Oxford Building Services, Kuppenheimer Men's Clothiers, Coca-Cola (and the New Coke) and WSB AM 750 (the home of the Braves).

Aftermath: The Braves would continue to struggle through the rest of the 1980s, but would slowly start to build the lineup that would dominate the National League during the 1990s.

Reference:

"1985 Atlanta Braves Statistics", from Baseball-Reference.com

Detroit Tigers (1990)

1990 Detroit Tigers Yearbook

      An aging roster coupled with injuries and a depleted farm system caused the 1989 Detroit Tigers to collapse to a 59-103 record, then the second-most losses in franchise history. Manager Sparky Anderson took a leave of absence from the team when the constant losing began to take it's toll.

     The front office responded to that nightmare of a season by dipping into the free agent pool, signing infielder Tony Phillips from the defending champion Oakland Athletics, and outfielder Lloyd Moseby from the AL East champ Toronto Blue Jays. They signed another former Blue Jay who had spent the 1989 season in Japan: Cecil Fielder. Not much was made about that signing at the time, but Fielder would make his presence felt in a big way. 
     The new signings coupled with the remaining players from the 1984 and 1987 teams helped the Tigers climb back to respectability with a 79-83 record, 9 games back in the AL East. It began a trend for Tigers teams in that decade of being good to strong on offense, and weak on pitching. As a group, the Tigers hit .259 with 172 home runs. Leading the way was that minor signing from Japan, Cecil Fielder. Having only hit 34 homeruns in the majors prior to 1990, Cecil exploded on the scene in his first season as a Tiger. "Big Daddy" socked 51 homers that year, the first major leaguer since George Foster in 1979 to hit 50, and the first Tiger since Hank Greenberg in 1938 to reach that milestone. Cecil hit a solid .277 and also led the American League in RBI, with 132. Not bad for an insignificant signing!

     Alan Trammell led the team in batting average at .304, with 14 homeruns and 89 RBI. Phillips batted .251 while playing third base, hitting 8 homeruns. Right fielder Chet Lemon, in his final season with the Tigers hit .258, bouncing back from a poor 1989. 

     Pitching was a weak spot for the Tigers. Jack Morris led the team in both wins (15) and losses (18), with a 4.51 ERA in his last season in Detroit. Dan Petry had the rotation's best ERA, a mediocre 4.45. Detroit native Frank Tanana, the hero of the 1987 AL East championship team, was 9-8 with a 5.31 ERA in 29 starts. The team's closer, Mike Henneman, saved 22 games with a 3.05 ERA in 94 1/3 innings pitched. As a  group, Detroit's pitching staff had a mediocre 4.39 ERA

     This is a yearbook from the 1990 season that I bought at an antique store in Port Huron. It's 72 pages long, all in color. Each of the players and coaching staff have color photos, while pages 37-38 have a picture of Alan Trammell bunting. Tiger prospects, such as future third baseman Travis Fryman, all have half-page color photos. Pictures of events from last season as well as pictures of fans are located at the back of the yearbook.

     Advertisements include Schaefer Beer, Adray Appliances, WDIV 4 Detroit (NBC station and network TV home of the Tigers), The Designated Hatter and John Deere.

References:

"1990 Detroit Tigers Statistics", from baseball-reference.com