Although there were other teams that had represented the city of Detroit playing professional baseball prior to 1901, the Detroit Tigers were the first to play Major League Baseball, when they became part of the American League. On April 25, 1901 they played their first game against Milwaukee. Trailing in the ninth inning 13 - 4, they engineered a 14 - 13 comeback win when left-handed batting Frank "Pop" Dillon came up with a double that plated 2 runs.

In 1905, the greatest player in Tiger history and arguably of all time was acquired by the Detroiters, Tyrus Raymond Cobb.http://www.cmgww.com/baseball/cobb/ Known as Ty, he played 22 years with Detroit before moving on and retiring 2 years later, still a .300 hitter. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1936.

Through the years the Tigers have played at Bennett Park 1901 - 1911, an L-shaped ballpark constructed on the corner of Michigan Ave. and Trumbull. A new park was built over the winter months on this same location and named, Navin Field 1912 - 1937. This park was modified and named Briggs Stadium 1938 - 1960. At the end of the season it was renamed to Tiger Stadium and housed the team from 1961 to 1999. The Tigers moved into their new stadium, Comerica Park for the beginning of the 2000 season. The stadium had been built in downtown Detroit, a block off of Woodward Ave, leaving the old home-site vacant before finally being demolished.http://www.youtube.com/v/JFphW81HpOE&hl=en_US&fs=1&

Through the years the Tigers have gone on to win 4 World Championships and 10 American league pennants. The team also lists 20 players and 6 managers as Hall of Fame members.http://detroit.tigers.mlb.com/det/history/hall_of_famers.jsp

The team has also won 100 or more games on 5 occasions, 1915 – 100, 1934 – 101, 1961 – 101, 1968 – 103, and in 1984 when they won the most in franchise history, 104.http://detroit.tigers.mlb.com/det/history/year_by_year_results.jsp

Each year the Tigers have special days with give-aways. Some of the most popular are the honoring of the Negro leagues Detroit Stars, Polish day and Latina day. They also have glove, bobble-head and schedule give-aways.

1901 Detroit Tiger Uniformhttp://exhibits.baseballhalloffame.org/dressed_to_the_nines/images/al_1901_detroit.gif During their first season as the Detroit Tigers, the lettering on the uniforms was block style and read from left to right across the front of the jersey, on both the road and home uniforms. Player’s names were not printed on the back of the uniform jersey. Fans recognized players by their faces or their mannerisms, by batting stances or be their hitting positions in the lineups. Those fans not as up to date on the team relied on those around them, or on a variety of other means.

1905http://exhibits.baseballhalloffame.org/dressed_to_the_nines/images/al_1905_detroit.gif The Tigers modified their road uniforms to be the exact opposites of their home uniforms. The home collar was white, while the road uniform collar was dark as was the team logo, which in 1994 had progressed from block lettering to the use of the English D. The road uniform also included dark shirts and pants, while those used at home remained white.

1927 Detroit Tiger Uniformhttp://exhibits.baseballhalloffame.org/dressed_to_the_nines/images/al_1927_detroit.gif This turned out to be an experimental year for the Tigers. They replaced the English D on their jersey fronts with a Tiger Head. They also added an orange strip to their socks. These changes lasted only one season. In 1928 they added the Tiger head to the back of the jersey, but this change was short-lived.

2010 Detroit Tiger Uniform The modern Tigers road jersey displays the city name diagonally across the chest with the players name and number both visible on the back.http://product.images.fansedge.com/32-07/32-07649-F.jpg The home jersey presents the English D on the left chest, with the players name and number present on the back.http://product.images.fansedge.com/51-00/51-00553-F.jpg

1901 thru 2010 Uniform History - http://exhibits.baseballhalloffame.org/dressed_to_the_nines/uniforms.asp?league=AL&city=Detroit&lowYear=1901&highYear=2010&sort=year&increment=9 The progression of the Detroit Tigers baseball uniform has been a series of style changes. Beginning with 1901 and progressing through the 2000s, you will be able to see modifications and subtle changes made to both the home and road jerseys. You can track color changes and styles from their inaugural season in the American League to the 2008 season. Early in the history of the franchise, the modifications to the jersey are easily recognizable.

To see these and many other changes to baseball, visit the Baseball Hall of Fame.http://baseballhall.org/