It had taken three and a half decades, but the Detroit Tigers were finally crowned the best team in baseball in 1935. Coming on the heels of their hugely disappointing loss in the World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals the year before, the Tigers emerged victorious in a thrilling six-game October showdown against a talented Chicago Cubs team.
It was Detroit’s first World Series championship. For a city suffering from the Great Depression, it couldn’t have come at a better time.
The team was led by player-manager Mickey Cochrane, and featured an offense fueled by Hank Greenberg, Charlie Gehringer, and Goose Goslin (dubber the G-Men ). On the mound were Lynwood Thomas Schoolboy Rowe, Tommy Bridges, Elden Auker, and General Crowder. With 93 victories that summer, the Tigers outpaced the New York Yankees by three games, taking their fifth American League title in club history.
To commemorate the 80th anniversary of this great team, the Society for American Baseball Research is proud to present the 1935 Detroit Tigers in all their glory. With contributions from over 35 members of the SABR BioProject, this book is a delightful account of one of the most significant teams in sports history.
Navin Field was packed, and when we won Detroit really came alive. As a team we were like a bunch of brothers. Hank, Charlie, Billy, Goose, Schoolboy, Tommy…all of them. I think of those guys often. It was a wonderful time of my life. -Elden Auker
Contents:
Introduction by Scott Ferkovich Sleeping Giant: Detroit in the 1930s by Gary Gillette The Babe’s Loss Was Detroit’s Gain: The Cochrane Trade by John Milner The 1935 Season in Review by Greg Erion
THE OWNER: Frank Navin by Marc Okkonen & David Jones
THE PLAYERS Elden Auker by Robert H. Schaefer
Tommy Bridges by Rob Neyer Flea Clifton by Kent Ailsworth
Mickey Cochrane by Charles Bevis
General Crowder by Gregory H. Wolf Carl Fischer by Jeff Bower
Pete Fox by Gerald Nechal
Charlie Gehringer by Ruth Sadler
Goose Goslin by Cort Vitty
Hank Greenberg by Scott Ferkovich
Clyde Hatter by Frank Schaffer
Ray Hayworth by Chuck Ailsworth Chief Hogsett by Rory Costello
Roxie Lawson by Alan Cohen
Firpo Marberry by Mark Armour
Chet Morgan by Greg Erion
Marv Owen by Mark Armour
Frank Reiber by Gregg Omoth
Billy Rogell by Raymond Buzenski Schoolboy Rowe by Gregory H. Wolf Heinie Schuble by Rodney Johnson
Hugh Shelley by Scott Dominiak
Vic Sorrell by Gregory H. Wolf
Joe Sullivan by Gregory H. Wolf
Gee Walker by David Raglin
Hub Walker by Gregory H. Wolf Jo-Jo White by Kent Ailsworth THE COACHES Del Baker by Rob Neyer Cy Perkins by C. Paul Rogers III The Corner of Michigan and Trumbull by Scott Ferkovich By the Numbers by Dan Fields
Good Afternoon, Boys and Girls The Tigers on the Radio in 1935 by Matthew Bohn A Mechanical Man, a Hammer, a Goose, and Black Mike: The 1935 Tigers in the Hall of Fame by Doug Lehman July 8, 1935: American League All-Stars 4, National League All-Stars 1 by Chuck Ailsworth Detroit: City of Champions by Larry & Rob Hilliard World Series Opponents: The 1935 Chicago Cubs by Gregory H. Wolf
I Thought I Never Would Get There The 1935 World Series by Scott Ferkovich
