Detroit
Home
Click
on Logo

Yr

P

W

L

Yr

P

W

L

Yr

P

W

L

1960

6

71

83

1963

5

79

83

1967

2

91

71

Decade

1961

2

101

61

1964

4

85

77

1968

1

103

59

Click

1962

4

85

76

1965

4

89

73

1969

2

90

72

on Logo

1966

3

88

74

Titles:

Top Tigers Players of the Sixties

World Champs 1968 (Beat St. Louis)

Pitchers:

BallPark:

Denny McLain (22.16) - 74

Tiger Stadium (previously Navin Field and Briggs Stadium)

Mickey Lolich (14.16) - 62

Jim Bunning (16.72) - 43

Team Name:

Earl Wilson (11.55) - 35

Tigers

Hank Aguirre (17.43) - 34

Frank Lary (8.72) - 30

Owner:

Don Mossi (9.44) - 22

John Fetzer

Dave Wickersham (5.24) - 20

Joe Sparma (0.72) - 20

General Managers:

Phil Regan (-0.13) - 17

Rick Ferrell (1960-1962)

Terry Fox (8.04) - 11

Jim Campbell (1963-1969)

Fred Gladding (6.5) - 5

Managers:

Catchers:

Jimmie Dykes (1960)

Bill Freehan (24.87) - 68

Billy Hitchcock (1960)

Dick Brown (1.29) - 11

Joe Gordon (1960)

Bob Scheffing (1961-1963)

First Basemen:

Chuck Dressen (1964-1966)

Norm Cash (42.91) - 107

Bob Swift (1965-1966)

Bobo Osborne (0.55) - 0

Frank Skaff (1966)

Mayo Smith (1967-1969)

Second Basemen:

Dick McAulliffe (28.8) - 65

No Hitters:

Jake Wood (-0.14) - 18

None

Chuck Cottier (0) - 0

Hall of Famers:

ShortStop:

Rick Ferrell

Chico Fernandez (0.91) - 16

Jim Bunning

Ray Oyler (1.27) - 11

Al Kaline

Coot Veal (0.08) - 0

Rookie of the Year:

Third Base:

None

Don Wert (11.81) - 20

MVP:

Outfield:

Denny McLain (1968)

Al Kaline (48.67) - 110

Willie Horton (16.65) - 44

Cy Young:

Jim Northrup (15.17) - 39

Denny McLain (1968)

Rocco Colavito (17.29) - 35

Bill Bruton (8.3) - 34

Notable Events:

Mickey Stanley (9.79) - 20

Gates Brown (7.26) - 11

1960 - John Fetzer emerges as the sole owner of the Tigers. He had been

Don Demeter (2.97) - 11

one of a group of radio and television executives who had bought the club

from the Briggs family four years earlier. Fetzer has the resources to support a

Notable Events:

successful operation.

1963 - The Tigers select nineteen year old righthander Denny

1960 - Briggs Stadium is renamed Tiger Stadium

McLain from the White Sox as a first year waiver selection.

1960 - The Tigers are a stagnant ballclub on a mediocrity treadmill coming into the

1963 - Twenty Two year old lefthander Mickey Lolich is brought

decade. The 1960 roster shows that there is some hope, however. The lineup boasts

up from Syracuse.

three young sluggers, first baseman Norm Cash, 25, right fielder Rocky Colavito, 26

and centerfielder Al Kaline, 25. Kaline has been with the club since he was eighteen.

1963 - Willie Horton, slugging twenty four year old outfielder,

Meanwhile, the Tigers braintrust of President Bill DeWitt and General Manager Rick

joins the Tigers from Syracuse. He will spend the next fifteen

Ferrell perpetrated a couple of major thefts in getting Cash and Colavito. Cash was

years with Detroit including four all star appearances

picked up from Cleveland before the season in exchange for journeyman utility infielder

Steve Demeter. Colavito was obtained in a monumental deal, again with the Indians

1963 - Catcher Bill Freehan is a hard hitting twenty one year old

and their GM Frank Lane, for Harvey Kuenn. It was a no-brainer deal from Detroit's

rookie. He'll spend the next fifteen years as Detroit's starting

point of view and, from Cleveland's point of view, Lane had no brains. Cash would

catcher and as one of the top catchers in the game including

spend the next fifteen years in Detroit as their starting first baseman Colavito would be

eleven all star games.

with the Tigers four years before being dealt to Kansas City. On the pitching

side of the ledger, Detroit had three solid righthanders anchoring their rotation in the

1964 - Jim Northrup, 24, is a rookie. He will spend the next eleven

late Fifties: Frank Lary (30), Jim Bunning (28) and Paul Foytack (29). Foytack would

seasons as a starting outfielder in Detroit.

hurt his arm in 1960 and bounce back a bit in 1961. However, Lary and Bunning were

still getting better. The Tigers also had a couple of pretty good lefties on their roster

1964 - Twenty one year old centerfielder Mickey Stanley is brought

who had also been pilfered from Cleveland: Don Mossi (31) who was obtained for

up from Syracuse. He'll be the Tigers' starting center fielder

Billy Martin in 1959 and Hank Aguirre (29) who was picked up for Hal Woodeshick in

for the next fourteen years.

1958. Also on the roster was twenty year old second baseman Dick McAulliffe.

Dick would be Detroit's starting second baseman for the next thirteen years.

1967 - The Tigers finish second to the Red Sox by one game with

The Tigers didn't have a good season in 1960, but the pieces were falling into place.

the pennant race coming down to the final day.

Detroit has one of the more stable lineups in baseball history,

1961 - Detroit gains a whopping thirty victories, going from 71 wins to 101 wins.

probably the most stable, with catcher Freehan, first baseman Cash,

However, they only finish second, eight games behind the legendary 1961 Yankees

second baseman McAulliffe, third baseman Wert and outfielders

Lots of players had big years to account for the gain. Cash's liine was 41-132-.361.

Kaline, Horton, Stanley and Northrup.

Colavito's 45-140-.290. Kaliine hit .324. On the mound, Lary went 23-9, Bunning 17-11,

This is basically their lineup from 1965 thru 1974 (with a few tweaks,

and Mossi 15-7. The bullpen featured Terry Fox, 25, with a 1.41 ERA and

of course). At this stage of the game, this Detroit lineup is young

Phil Regan, 24, who went 10-7

and just starting to come into it's own

1962 -Detroit falls back down to earth, winning 85 games. A good, but not great team in

1968 - Denny McLain wins 31 games. No one has won thirty since.

the mid Sixties, they will average 85 wins over the next five years, not deviating much

It had been 34 years since Dizzy Dean had last won thirty in 1934.

from the norm during that period

McLain was a monster talent who tragically had the personality

of a purse snatcher.

1963 - Jim Campbell takes over for Rick Ferrell as GM. Ferrell had done all of the

legwork bringing in a great deal of talent into the organization.

1968 - Detroit wins the pennant with 103 wins and goes on to beat

Campbell picked it up from there by not screwing it up and tinkering with the

the Cardinals and a brilliant Bob Gibson in the World Series.

base of talent that had been assembled. He had the good sense to ride the wave.

Mickey Lolich is the hero of the series winning three games

Ferrell is moved upstairs to VP

including beating Gibson in game seven.

1969 - The Bengals drop back down to second place, still playing

at a high level with 90 wins. Most of the decline is the collapse

of the bullpen with Hiller and Dobson going from lights out to

lights on plus McLain comes back down to earth a bit from 31-5

to 24-9. The staff yields 103 more runs in '69 than in '68.