Tiger Stadium likely to be demolished...

Here's another Shibe photo. I had meant to put it with the first posting, but I think I duplicated it twice:

http://www.ballparksofbaseball.com/shibe/shibedemo710.jpg

Plus an exterior shot:

http://www.ballparksofbaseball.com/shibe/shibedemo712.jpg

And an interesting part of Polo Grounds history. A staircase that led to Coogan's Bluff (called the John T. Brush staircase after the Giants owner) still stands, but is blocked off because it's falling apart.

(Scroll down about halfway)

http://www.forgotten-ny.com/STREET%20SCENES/155thstreet/155.html

 

Outstanding find, Baron.

Is there any cooler name for a physical feature associated with a ballpark than Coogan's Bluff?

It's interesting that the spot where the stadium was actually located, Coogan's Hollow, below the bluff, is generally never referred to as such.

 

There also was a NY Times article that I had read about a few days earlier on the stairway. It took me a while to find it again:

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/19/a-stairway-to-sports-history-from-the-polo-grounds/

 

I understand the sentimentality, but the amount of money that would be needed for upkeep on a structure that old pretty much makes saving it a non-issue.

Unless there's some firm plan that will assure its almost constant use, it doesn't add up.

 

Wonder if there's heritage money available for something like that staircase, given its history and the fact that it may well be the only physical remnant of the Polo Grounds, with the exception of the Grant Memorial.

EDITED because I thought Smasher's comment was referring to the money needed to refurbish the Coogan's Bluff staircase, when he was actually probably referring to Tiger Stadium. Sorry!

 

The OTSC plan wasn't to keep the entire structure standing, Smasher. Yeah, that's just too expensive for the upkeep without a major league team playing home games there every summer.

The plan was to keep just the parts that date to 1923 -- when it was Navin Field -- which is the entrance portion of the stadium at Michigan and Cochran avenues and the field as greenspace and a youth athletic park (fyi, that neighborhood does not have its own Little League; there's nowhere to play.)

The rest of the structure, the upper deck and the far infield/outfield stands, was either already torn up or was to be removed in the renovation to a mixed-use facility.

The entrance portion, which is the lower and upper grandstands behind home plate, was to be renovated into interior space (meeting halls, office space, banquet rooms), while the main deck was to be used as spectator areas for events/games on the field.

It was a feasible plan, provided all the funding fell into place -- especially since the city of Detroit doesn't have the money to do anything with the site anyway. It's just going to sit vacant now. What a waste.

 

It's wonderful that parts of Braves Field and Forbes Field survive and have been incorporated into new structures owned by universities, meaning they'll remain the public eye for many years to come.

 

The story (and photo!, retouched for legibility) of the long-lost -- then found -- plaque:

http://www.baseballreliquary.org/EddieGrantPlaque.htm

A mystery to baseball scholars for many decades.

 

There's a neat story that suggests the Giants, world championship-free since 1954, were cursed when they moved out west because they refused an opportunity to take a new Grant Memorial plaque with them. Supposedly, they felt the memorial belonged more to the stadium than to the franchise itself.

 

Great story Buck. Only question. Where is the Grant plaque now?

And speaking of plaques, I find it cool that the Indians found the Ray Chapman plaque a little while ago and had it cleaned and displayed:

http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/baseball/20070329-1410-bba-indians-discoveredplaque.html

And there's still a small wall down the first baseline and the Indians' clubhouse at League Park still standing. A portion of the first base stands were taken down in 2002 because it was too dangerous. The field is still there, and there's talk of putting a small museum there.

 

Yea, someone on the Council thought it was just an eyesore, because it had been neglected so much.

So apparently an open field is less of an eyesore than retaining a part of history.

You're exactly right, the city has no plan for this property at all. Hell, they probably don't even have the money to pay for the demo.

Apparently, it's more important to not collect taxes on houses that have been standing for almost 100 years.

 

Well, that page says the Baseball Reliquary acquired the plaque from that cop's family in New Jersey. So I suspect Terry Cannon -- founder of the avant-garde Reliquary -- has it stored safely somewhere in SoCal.

The Pasadena library exhibits some of the Reliquary's items periodically -- I haven't seen the Grant plaque, but it might have gone out before -- and they go out on loan from time to time, too. Next month, the Reliquary will hold its Shrine of the Eternals induction ceremony there, which is always a fun time.