There's no video evidence or official measurement of his monumental feat, but Negro League star Josh Gibson allegedly smacked a home run580 feetout of Yankee Stadium on June 3, 1937. Another outfield oddity was a ledge that fielders used to jump onto to try to snare balls headed for the seats. In his first season wearing the Old English D, Big Daddy hit 51 homers. Teams had to stand on the same sideline in right field. In virtually every other field of endeavor in which physical performance can be measured, there are no Ruthian equivalents. The field ran from the first base line, across the infield to the left-center-field fence. He handled things so well with the media, fans, and his teammates.. Although the ballpark suffered little damage, the citys name was sullied. Detroit Outfielder Cullenbines Skills Were Ahead of His Time, Jon Warden made the most of his one season with Tigers, The longest home runs hit at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. 0 jvploeg ANSWERS: 8 Anon ( http://www.ballparks.com/baseball/american/tigers.htm) Babe Ruth Reggie Jackson Norm Cash Harmon Killebrew Frank Howard Cecil Fielder Mark McGwire Is all I can find. MLB Network'sBob Costas credits it above as the Guinness Book of World Records holder for longest home run. It all came down to the last game of the year at Yankee Stadium on Oct. 3. Oh yeah, that's not even Fielder's entry. It seemed like Rusty Staub hit more than his fair share of those, and Dave Bergman too. "I was sitting on a changeup, because he only threw like 88," Dunn recalled to Cincinnati Enquirer's C. Trent Rosecrans a year later. New Salt Lake Bees ballpark Whether because of overinflated estimations or technical questions of eligibility for a list of MLB home runs, these notable exceptions missed the cut: Joey Meyer, a minor league first baseman for theDenver Zephyrs, hit a long ball onJune 3, 1987, which reportedly went a staggering 582 feet. A former football player, Gibby was sort of like a tight end without the shoulder pads in the outfield for Detroit. he powered a torrid drive that crashed against the roof facade in deep left-center field at Tiger Stadium. Recently got a blank jersey stitched at Vintage Detroit and the finished product looks awesome! As I mentioned above, a list that includes significant home runs at Tiger Stadium has to include Charlie Maxwell hitting 4 HRS in 4 consecutive at bats on May 3, 1959 in a double header against the Yankees. Dave Kingman hit one entirely out of Wrigley Field onApril 14, 1976. That guy went on to hit 51 home runs in 1990, the 11th player in history to reach the 50-homer milestone. One of baseball's most unheralded sluggers, Jim Thome retired with the quietest 612 home runs and .956 OPS ever. Copyright 2023 August Publications. The first time, though, was in 1977, when Jason Thompson clubbed one out, literally seconds after my dad told me I think Thompson is gonna crush one out of the stadium. Off-field problems derailed his path to superstardom, but his Montreal moonshot serves as a reminder of his off-the-charts power. Tiger Stadium saw gigantic home runs, like the one Babe Ruth hit that witnesses swore traveled 600 feet as it soared over the right field grandstands. Non-Baseball Events Held at Tiger Stadium The year 1938 was significant in the ballparks history. Prince Fielder hit a home run there during batting practice when he was a 12-year old and his dad was playing for the Tigers. As reported by the New York Times' Joseph Durso, physics professorBob Moore said the ball would have carried 525 feet if not for hitting the lights. Thirty years after arriving in the Motor City, Fielder remembershis time in Detroit fondly. Unlike the 1971 All Star game blast when his Famous homer hit the light tower in right center and came back onto the field, his 1984 blast TOTALLY cleared the roof and left the stadium. Over 40 scorching-hot games, Hill hit .333/.378/.735 with 16 homers for the eventual World Series champions. Privacy Policy There should be no doubt about the authentication of these conclusions. MLB.com also provides fans with a stable of Club beat reporters and award-winning national columnists, the largest contingent of baseball reporters under one roof, that deliver over 100 original articles every day. I would have believed 1,484 feet.". Send a Message. While there's no definitive list of longest All-Star Game home runs, it's safe to say Reggie Jackson's 1971 blast would top it. Some of Susmans work has appeared in a Baseball Digest article on Mantles homers. With the OPEN sign light I though well came all this way just aswell give it a try and am I glad I did. That much is known. This would put him in the feasible discussion for the longest round-tripper ever. Baseball commissioner Judge Landis ordered Medwick off the field for his own safety. There was a huge outcry from traditionalists that the ballpark needed be saved as a historical monument (it had been placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989). If he hit that one, he might have hit it right out of Tiger Stadium.. I don't live nearby so the ability to have it shipped for $10 was well worth the cost. After the Tigers defeated the As, 14-4, in a slugfest that featured seven homers, Stewart told reporters that it was the longest homer he had ever given up. In the Lions glory years of the 1950s, Detroit was considered one of the toughest venues in the league to play. The roof might have stopped it from clearing Detroit altogether. One of them came n Thanksgiving Day in 1962 when they sacked Green Bays Bart Starr 10 times en route to a 26-14 win the lone Packer loss of the season. On September 10, 1960, with two out and two on in the seventh, Mickey worked the count to 2-0. Most of those blasts, too, were prodigious, so the Tigers took a chance and signed Fielder. Ironically, the visitors that day were the Minnesota Vikings, who rolled to an easy victory. Minute Maid Park upgrades This was their first stop and they sold out the place in record time. It was a rarity. I saw Frank Howard hit his homer over the left field wall in Tiger stadium. Some of Gibson's home runs were pretty darn big (including a couple in the World Series) but one of Gibson's most memorable home runs came in June of 1983 when he hit a moon shot that cleared the roof of Tiger Stadium.if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[336,280],'detroitsportsnation_com-medrectangle-4','ezslot_0',695,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-detroitsportsnation_com-medrectangle-4-0'); We sure miss Gibby playing for the Tigers and we REALLY miss Tiger Stadium!if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[336,280],'detroitsportsnation_com-banner-1','ezslot_5',898,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-detroitsportsnation_com-banner-1-0'); Disclaimer: This page may contain affiliate links. I also saw Reggie Jackson with the As strike out about 3 times late in the 1969 season at Tiger Stadium. It was said the lights at the ballpark were so bright that it could light up a city of 10,000 people. Killabrew was in 62. On a 2-1 count, Fielder launched a fastball into the night as the ball carried down the line and smashed into the facing of the third deck for his 50th home run. Watched Harmons HR shot go over the left field stands-right over the top of me-I was working as a stand-boy out in left field and got a break to go out and and watch part of the gamemy only comment was WOW! I didn't need steroids," Fielder said. In 1977, a fire wiped out the press box. A hearty hack on May 20, 1978 which went further than any ball ever hit at Montreal Stadium. Field of Dreams ballpark (Dyersville, IA) In the 1970s, Ken Berry, an excellent flychaser, forgot about this one day and ran flush into the pole while chasing a shot by Detroit OF Willie Horton. Longest Home Run Ever Hit. , we can still make definitive evaluations of the approximate landing points of all of his 714 career home runs. Im here to drive home runs. Can Anyone find any more? 1969 i attended my first game at Tiger Stadium the next day, Self correction. A doctor who was sitting in the stands tore from his seat, broke past an official and ran to help Hughes. Jenkinson's findings serve as the basis for the used mark of 530 feet. Contact Us Must have been 1977 or 1978. I was in desperate need because of a upcoming event to make purchase I could get same day while searching for the item I quickly realized there wasn't just limited availability of the item but very limited locations in Metro Detroit i could purchase the item. 15. I saw Jason Rooftop Thompson hit one out of Tiger Stadium over right center field off of Dick Tidrow of the Yankees. 2023 Ballparks Many legends hit homers at the corner of Michigan and Trumbull, from Ty Cobb to The Babe to Joe DiMaggio to Hank Aaron to Ken Griffey Jr. So take any urban legends about someone's 600-foot homer with a grain of salt. The baseball traveled past the flag pole located in deep center field, over the head of Charles Chick Shorten, over the lower deck, which undoubtedly had only a smattering of fans, and out onto the street. There had been occasional Monday night games played in the league over the years. Robert Fick hit a grand-slam homer to help Detroit to an 8-2 win over Kansas City. The previous year, the Tigers finished with the worst record in baseball (59-103) and were desperate to find a power-hitting first baseman. This is not a replacement for the newsletter, but rather a real-time notification system! Frank Robinson appeared poised to make the catch only to see the ball drop in the first row of the overhang for a game winning home run, one of just four Matchick hit in six big league seasons. Enter your email address to subscribe to Ballpark Digest and receive notifications of new posts by email immediately when a new story is posted. Our motto is simple: We enjoy doing cool things and are overjoyed we can make a living doing so. Discussion of suicide or self-harm is not tolerated and will result in an immediate ban. Oh yeah, that's not even Fielder's entry. In the years he played for his hometown team, Kirk Gibson frequently displayed his power. Mike, I was at that game in 1996 when Delgado hit that blast, sitting the Box Seats in the upper deck in right. As a lifelong Tigers fan, I have been fortunate enough to see two players clear the fence. As Sports Illustrated's Cliff Corcorannoted, Jenkinson also acknowledged The Bambino as owner of the three longest home runs ever hit in his book The Year Babe Ruth Hit 104 Home Runs. I was a little concerned it would let look as good as I hoped, but when I put it on, I loved it. Lou Gehrig said goodbye there. Please let us know when you find out. The ball went beyond the right-field roof above the 370-foot mark, through the light tower, deflecting off a pipe and disappeared from sight, Susman said. Fittingly, Ficks blast was the final hit of any kind at Tiger Stadium. The new owner gave the old ballpark one last shot, adding a plaza of souvenir and food stands in the old players parking lot. At the end of its life, it had the shortest right-field and longest center-field distance in major-league baseball. About Us Yet near the top sits a journeyman who belted 186 home runs over a career devoid of regular playing time. He retired with 536 home runs, sixth on the all-time list. Its unique dimensions allowed fans to get closer than usual to the ballgame. The 1971 All-Star Game was held at Tiger Stadium, a stadium that, according to Ballparks.com, saw 19 players hit 28 home runs that cleared the roof and left the parkliterally. Babe Ruth (60), Ted Williams (55), Jimmie Foxx (52), Mickey Mantle (42), Yogi Berra (37), Yaz (36). Comments. At seasons end, Fielder finished with 51 homers and 132 RBIs (both the most in the major leagues) and a .277 batting average, while the Tigers won 20 more games than in 1989 with a 79-83 record, good for third place in the AL East. Although other teams joined the rotation (Dallas came first and a third TV game was added in 2006), the Lions still host a Thanksgiving Day game every season. "I don't think anyone could ever be comfortable getting a statue, I mean that respectfully," Thome said during the unveiling ceremony, per. In the 1971 All-Star Game, Reggie Jackson hit a ball off a transformer in deep right-center field that left the bat so fast that all TV could catch was its return trip to earth. See More by this Creator. It was the 485th home run of his career. Later measurement revealed the ball traveled close to 600 feet. Although never as well known as Yankee Stadium, Fenway Park or Wrigley Field, Tiger Stadium held an unique place in the hearts of Detroiters, who have now seemed to come to terms with the fact it will be torn down, probably in September 2008. Before Susmans research, Mantles longest homer was thought to be the one he hit in 1953 in Washington, a drive measured at 565 feet. Mike Piazza, 496 Feet (1997) 2 of 16. New Marshall University ballpark Over the years, the distances gradually shortened down the lines. They checked it over and off I went. Hurry, offer ends 5/14/23.Use code: "MOM" at checkout! I did feel the pressure, said Fielder, who was thrilled that his mother, who had flown in from California, saw him hit No. Michigan native Rocky Roe was the home plate umpire. These were not temp help that knew nothing these were professionals who knew not just everything but were truly looking out for me. Crews, who recently moved into the LSU all-time Top 10 list for home runs, launched a three-run dinger - his 12th homer of the season - in the third inning to increase the Tigers' lead to. At the last game played at Tiger Stadium, on Sept. 27, 1999, Robert Fick delivered a dramatic eighth-inning grand slam on the first pitch he faced. I've been a Detroit Tigers fan since the 70s and recently found VDC, I ordered a home and road personalized player t and a Freehan 11 1968 player t and they are awesome shirts, I will definitely be ordering more from them. New Richmond Flying Squirrels ballpark On July 19, 1968, the Tigers trailed Baltimore 4-3 with one runner on and two out in the bottom of the ninth inning when Matchick, a .226 hitter, lofted a fly ball to right. Detroit Tigers all-time home run leaders as of October 2022 Number of home runs Al Kaline Norm Cash Miguel Cabrera Hank Greenberg Willie Horton Cecil Fielder Lou Whitaker Rudy York Lance. Strawberry hit another dinger during New York's Opening Day victory and matched his previous season's career high with 39 homers that year. After Giancarlo Stanton decimated a baseball during the World Baseball Classic, MLB Network informed viewers that the hulking outfielder torpedoed the ball 424 feet at an exit velocity of 117.3 miles per hour. As the team improved, so did the capacity of the ballpark, capping out at 14,000. In 1921, major league teams averaged 59 home runs. He actually did it twice that season, the first of two straight seasons he was an All-Star for the Tigers. Thank you so much, I can't wait to wear my jersey to a Wings game! Only four players have been confirmed to hit a ball over the left field roof at Tiger Stadium in Detroit: Cecil Fielder, Mark McGwire, Harmon Killebrew, and Frank Howard. Thats one of the reasons fans in Detroit were dumbfounded on July 18, when The Big Fella, a muscular slugger for the Yankees named Babe Ruth, did something no one had ever done before. It is believed to be the only time in the sports history this has occurred. (When the credits rolled at the end of the movie, it is duly listed that the role of Yankee Stadium was played by Tiger Stadium.). Historians generally agree the longest home run hit in the ballpark was probably achieved by Detroit 1B Norm Cash, who ripped a shot over the center field scoreboard in a 1962 game that landed on the roof of a parked taxicab. Only six batters hit as many as 20 homers that year. As ESPN's Home Run Trackerverifies, one moonshot onMay 11, 2000, went 500 feet with a116.7 mph exit velocity. Progressive Field renovations Ruths mammoth homer is the only ball to be confirmed to have left Navin Field/Briggs Stadium/Tiger Stadium in center field. (At age 89, Eldon Auker, a member of the 1934-35 AL champions, was the oldest returnee. We found a lumber yard worker named Sam Cameron, who has been a longtime dependable employee of the Brooks Lumber Yard, Susman said. There's no way to say for sure whether Reggie Jackson's homer at the 1971 All-Star Game is the longest in the history of the Midsummer Classic -- the game is over 80 years old, after all, and data is incomplete.Here's what we do know, though: 46 years to the day after Jackson's blast, it remains the only baseball in All-Star Game history to nearly turn out the lights. But why argue over semantics when we can watch some of MLB's best sluggers sock a few dingers? Awesome article Dan as usual! If not for hitting a transformer on Tiger Stadium's roof, the baseball would have experienced a further journey. July 3, 1999, the Cleveland Indians star sent a ball screaming an estimated 511 feet. One of the major highlights as a kid back then was that game and especially that Jackson blast that Curt Gowdy called for a national viewing audience. These were not temp help that knew nothing these were professionals who knew not just everything but were truly looking out for me. By the 1970s, the ballpark was beginning to show its age. I bet that was a great experience, seeing Killebrews home run. There was a one-year spike in attendance but the 1994 baseball strike wiped out a lot of good will earned. "ESPN's Stats & Info Group marks the landing point at 496 feet from home plate and 26 feet above field level.". What existed was simply a wall, and many players hit home runs over that wall and out of the stadium into Cherry Street, which paralleled the wall. Dismiss, Copyright 2022 Vintage Detroit Collection, Spinnaker Center, 44692 Helm St, Plymouth. The right field overhang frustrated many outfielders who were camped under a routine flyball only to see it land in the first row upstairs. See the article in its original context from. Tell us in the comments. Although only three strongmen (Frank Howard, Harmon Killebrew, Cecil Fielder) hit balls that went over the roof in left field, several folks shot the ball over the right-field roof. Monaghan sold the team to a pizza rival, Mike Ilitch, in 1992. Decades before these modern advances, historians were left to make questionable estimations or even use an actual tape measure. "It has been confirmed that the ball struck against the third house beyond Waveland Avenue, which is situated about 530 feet from home plate," Jenkinson wrote. I've been a Detroit Tigers fan since the 70s and recently found VDC, I ordered a home and road personalized player t and a Freehan 11 1968 player t and they are awesome shirts, I will definitely be ordering more from them. Back in 21, Navin Field did not yet have the upper deck in center field that would later be a haven for diehard fans. I highly recommend if you live within a 30 minute drive of this place and you are looking for authentic NBA NFL and MB items stop in and see them they also have a lot of very rare items which will make you stand out. 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Few sluggers were stronger in their prime, making him one of baseball's most feared batters despite his strikeout woes. From 1990 to 1991, Cecil Fielder accrued an MLB-best 95 home runs, including a soaring shot onto the Tiger Stadium roof in 1990. In 1967, the race riots that tore up the city of Detroit started less than two miles from the ballpark. He never played another game. The slam hit the right field roof and became the . Al Kaline takes aim at the seats in Tiger Stadium in the late 1950s. There were home runs that didnt seem to be home runs. The old ballpark at the corner of Michigan and Trumbull in Detroits Corktown district was one of the games most unusual ballparks. . A few players, very few, hit home runs into the bleachers in straightaway center field, an incredible 440 feet away. Cleveland, however, commemorated Thome's blast in 2014 by placing a statue of the franchise's all-time homer leader near the landing sight of Progressive Field's longest home run. But not so fast. Dr. Paul E. Susman, a clinical pyschologist in Skokie, Ill., and Mark Gallagher did the measuring and interviewing while Bob Schiewie, a mathematics expert, applied the Pythagorean Theorem to arrive at the distance of Mantles homer. I never saw anything like it, Sutton said, per Kelly. Little could they have anticipated how great and immediate would be the return on their investment. It was years later, after the Tigers began to field pennant-contending teams, that the tall, roofed, left-field stands were built (in order to accommodate increased attendance), and consequently the out-of-the-park left-field homers became more difficult, i.e., they became that rare feat now enjoyed by the three players mentioned. Since that time the company has grown from a single employee working out of a home to a diversified publishing firm featuring Websites, books and other merchandise. The right-field fence sat just 325 feet from home plate, and Jackson wasn't the only man to leave the stadium entirely.But Mr. October's blast -- off then-Pirates ace Dock Ellis, no less -- was gargantuan by any measure: According to Home Run Tracker's estimate, the ball traveled 532 feet or at least it would have, had the base of the light tower on the right-field roof not gotten in its way. Saw Herndons line shot to center. I seem to recall Big Frank Howard (Hondo) of the Washington Senators, blast one over the left field roof sometime between 1966 and 68 (I think). You are correct about Howard. 1 9 batters have hit home runs completely out of Tiger Stadium. I found it refreshing to be served by people who truly knew everything and who came across as glad i stopped in and only care about me getting the service beyond what i deserved. Some managers felt a line should be drawn on the pole and that any ball hit above the line would be a home run. William Jenkinson, who credited Ruth with setting distance high marks in every MLB ballpark, wrotethe Yankees icon "defies rational analysis": Amazingly, many of those records remain unequaled, which is to say thatRuthis a true athletic anachronism. In 1955, right field returned to its 325-foot status. They checked it over and off I went. Since that time, millions of baseball fans around the world have subscribed to MLB.TV, the live video streaming product that airs every game in HD to nearly 400 different devices.