Tiger Stadium

On July 19, 1968, Tom Matchick — a light-hitting infielder — hit a fly ball to right field against Baltimore. Frank Robinson appeared ready to make the catch. Then the ball settled into the right-field overhang for a game-winning home run.

The Corner

The overhang was the park's signature feature. The double-decked right-field grandstand carried an upper deck that jutted ten feet closer to home plate than the lower deck below it, putting that first row just 315 feet from home. A ball that looked like an out could land in the seats.

Tiger Stadium opened on April 20, 1912, as Navin Field — the same day Fenway Park debuted in Boston. Owner Frank Navin placed home plate at the corner of Michigan and National Avenues so the batter would not look into the sun. The main entrance at 2121 Trumbull Avenue greeted fans with a view from the right-field corner. Osborn Engineering of Cleveland, which also designed the original Yankee Stadium, drew the plans.

A 125-foot flagpole stood in play to the left of dead center field. Outfielders occasionally had to chase balls behind it.

The park was renamed Tiger Stadium in 1961, though many Detroiters simply called it The Corner. Over its years it hosted the World Series in 1934, 1935, 1940, 1945, 1968, and 1984, and the All-Star Game in 1941, 1951, and 1971.

The Last Afternoon

The Tigers played their final game at Michigan and Trumbull on September 27, 1999, beating the Kansas City Royals 8-2 before a crowd of 43,356. In the eighth inning, Robert Fick hit a grand slam that struck the right-field roof and bounced back to the field. Todd Jones struck out Carlos Beltran for the final out as flashbulbs popped through the stadium, closing 88 years of baseball at the corner.

Reporting: SABR, Ballpark Digest, Historic Detroit. Park data: MLB StatsAPI and Retrosheet, via the Fever engine.