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The 1968 Tigers - losing our heroes

No $8 beers here... just a place to discuss your favorite Sports Teams, classic & current events in the world of sports, and share your Sports knowledge!
MichMash
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Re: The 1968 Tigers - losing our heroes

Unread post by MichMash »

matt1 wrote: Fri Aug 11, 2023 8:51 am I thought that Mickey Stanley died a few years back.
My own research on the ol' interwebs turned up no mention of an obituary for Mitchell Jack "Mickey" Stanley. Baseball-Reference.com does not list a date of death for him, so I'm operating on the assumption that he still walks among us. I would imagine that, considering his standing in Tigers lore, Stanley's passing would be thoroughly noted in Detroit media, and there's no mention of his death anywhere that I can find.

Interesting thing I've noticed about the '68 Tigers: Who do you think was the highest-paid player on that team? Kaline? Cash? Lolich? Freehan?

Nope, it was none other than future-HOF'er Eddie Mathews. His 1968 salary was listed as $75,000, which outpaced Al Kaline's $70,000 salary by $5,000. For that money, the Tigers got 31 games and 52 at-bats all season from Mathews. He appeared in two games in the WS, pinch-hitting in game 1 and starting at third base in game 4, a 10-1 loss. In that game, he went 1-for-2 with a walk in his last game as an MLB player.
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moldyoldie
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Re: The 1968 Tigers - losing our heroes

Unread post by moldyoldie »

MichMash wrote: Fri Aug 11, 2023 12:20 pm Interesting thing I've noticed about the '68 Tigers: Who do you think was the highest-paid player on that team? Kaline? Cash? Lolich? Freehan?

Nope, it was none other than future-HOF'er Eddie Mathews. His 1968 salary was listed as $75,000, which outpaced Al Kaline's $70,000 salary by $5,000. For that money, the Tigers got 31 games and 52 at-bats all season from Mathews. He appeared in two games in the WS, pinch-hitting in game 1 and starting at third base in game 4, a 10-1 loss. In that game, he went 1-for-2 with a walk in his last game as an MLB player.
To think Kaline once turned down $100,000 because he didn't think he was worth it. :rolleyes I believe Denny McLain signed for $65,000 following his 31-6 season. Multi-year contracts were unheard of under the Tigers' Fetzer/Campbell regime, and perhaps throughout MLB at the time.
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paul8539
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Re: The 1968 Tigers - losing our heroes

Unread post by paul8539 »

I thought that Don Wert died quite a few years ago also.
MichMash
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Re: The 1968 Tigers - losing our heroes

Unread post by MichMash »

paul8539 wrote: Tue Aug 15, 2023 9:45 pm I thought that Don Wert died quite a few years ago also.
He must still be alive, at least as of two weeks ago. His birthday is July 29, 1938, and his hometown paper in Lancaster, Pennsylvania published an item in its sports section that day noting that he was turning 85 years old.

https://lancasteronline.com/sports/mlb/ ... 857d0.html
MichMash
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Re: The 1968 Tigers - losing our heroes

Unread post by MichMash »

The Tigers are marketing the game on Saturday, Sept. 9 vs the White Sox as a 55th Anniversary Celebration of the 1968 WS champs.

From an email I received from the team:

"55th Anniversary of the 1968 World Series Championship
Join us in honoring the 55th anniversary of the Detroit Tigers 1968 World Series Championship! Three members of the famed 1968 team will sign autographs pregame on the Main Concourse from 4:45-5:15 PM."

There is an image in the Tigers' email showing three Tigers alumni appearing to be sitting on the dugout bench in their replica '68 jerseys (I tried to copy it from the email and upload it here, but I am having trouble making it work). No jersey numbers are visible, but Willie Horton is the player on the left, and I am pretty sure that Don Wert is on the right (his face is pretty recognizable among the surviving players). But I am unsure who the third player is (might be Tracewski). Hopefully Bally Sports features them at some point during their telecast.
MichMash
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Re: The 1968 Tigers - losing our heroes

Unread post by MichMash »

The Tigers hosted six 1968 alumni at last Saturday's game: Willie Horton, Mickey Stanley, Jon Warden, John Hiller, Denny McLain and Mickey Lolich. The team uploaded a photo to their Facebook page on Saturday, showing the six players in a Comerica Park suite around a table that held the 1968 WS trophy.

Mickey Lolich was seated in a wheelchair, unfortunately. John Hiller, conversely, looked like he was ready to go an inning or two.
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moldyoldie
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Re: The 1968 Tigers - losing our heroes

Unread post by moldyoldie »

MichMash wrote: Mon Sep 11, 2023 1:07 pm The Tigers hosted six 1968 alumni at last Saturday's game: Willie Horton, Mickey Stanley, Jon Warden, John Hiller, Denny McLain and Mickey Lolich. The team uploaded a photo to their Facebook page on Saturday, showing the six players in a Comerica Park suite around a table that held the 1968 WS trophy.

Mickey Lolich was seated in a wheelchair, unfortunately. John Hiller, conversely, looked like he was ready to go an inning or two.
I saw that picture, I didn't even recognize Lolich! I recognized Hiller right off.
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matt1
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Re: The 1968 Tigers - losing our heroes

Unread post by matt1 »

Wayne Comer has died at 79 years old. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayne_Comer
MichMash
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Re: The 1968 Tigers - losing our heroes

Unread post by MichMash »

https://www.whsv.com/2023/10/04/former- ... omer-dies/

A more in-depth story about Comer's passing from a media outlet near his hometown.
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Rate This
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Re: The 1968 Tigers - losing our heroes

Unread post by Rate This »

matt1 wrote: Wed Oct 04, 2023 12:52 pm Wayne Comer has died at 79 years old. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayne_Comer
Another touching sports tribute you'll see only at 11.
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MichMash
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Re: The 1968 Tigers - losing our heroes

Unread post by MichMash »

Bumping to account for the passing of Donald Ralph Wert yesterday at the age of 86, covered better by others elsewhere in this forum. And now only eight remain.
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Honeyman
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Re: The 1968 Tigers - losing our heroes

Unread post by Honeyman »

I was looking for this thread when I posted about Don. I'll leave this here for the list below.
Honeyman wrote: Mon Aug 26, 2024 12:15 pm https://www.fox43.com/article/news/loca ... a62798fe4f

Another 68 Tiger lost.

Here's the list:

Gates Brown - D Sep 27, 2013
Les Cain - 76 years old
Dave Campbell - 82 years old
Norm Cash - D Oct 11, 1986
Bob Christian - D Feb 20, 1974
Wayne Comer - D Oct 4, 2023
Pat Dobson - D Nov 22, 2006
Roy Face - 96 years old
Bill Freehan - D Aug 19, 2021
Lenny Green - D Jan 6, 2019
John Hiller - 81 years old
Willie Horton - 81 years old
Al Kaline - D Apr 6, 2020
Fred Lasher - D Feb 27, 2022
Mickey Lolich - 83 years old
Tom Matchick - D Jan 4, 2022
Eddie Mathews - D Feb 18, 2001
Dick McAuliffe - D May 13, 2016
Denny McLain - 80 years old
Don McMahon - D July 22, 1987
Jim Northrup - D Jun 8, 20 11
Ray Oyler - D Jan 26, 1981
Daryl Patterson - 80 years old
Jim Price - D Aug 7, 2023
Dennis Ribant - D Apr 24, 2023
Jim Rooker - 81 years old
Joe Sparma - D May 14, 1986
Mickey Stanley - 82 years old
Dick Tracewski - 89 years old
Jon Warden - 77 years old
Don Wert - D Aug 25, 2024
Earl Wilson - D Apr 23, 2005
John Wyatt - D Apr 6, 1998
Mayo Smith Manager - D Nov 24, 1977
Tony Cuccinello 3rd Base Coach - D Sep 21, 1995
Wally Moses Hitting/1st Base Coach - D Oct 10, 1990
Hal Naragon Bullpen Coach - D Aug 31, 2019
Johnny Sain Pitching Coach - D Nov 7, 2006
Julio Moreno Batting Practice Pitcher - D Jan 2, 1987
Ray Herbert Batting Practice Pitcher - D Dec 20, 2022
Bill Behm Trainer - D Sep 28, 2012
John Fetzer Owner - D Feb 20, 1991
Jim Campbell General Manager - D Oct 31, 1995
George Kell WJBK TV - D Mar 24, 2009
Larry Osterman WJBK TV - 89 years old
Ernie Harwell WJR Radio - D May 4, 2010
Ray Lane WJR Radio - 94 years old
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Bobbert
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Re: The 1968 Tigers - losing our heroes

Unread post by Bobbert »

With Don Wert's passing this week and the '84 Tiger reunion on Saturday, it's obvious that championships create a lot of great memories and emotional attachments.

The Cabrera/Verlander/Leyland Tigers will never be venerated like the '68 and '84 teams because they didn't win a championship, despite five reasonable chances (2006, 2011-2014). The young fans who discovered baseball during that era will have some good memories, but not as good as they could have had.
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