A pleasurable read for me as someone who grew up a huge Tigers fan and used to consider Tiger Stadium a cathedral. I went to plenty of games during that final season in 1999 myself including the last; I enjoyed reliving it through Tom Stanton’s diary.

It isn’t really a diary of the Tigers’ home season, it’s more a journey that Tom took that entwined family and baseball and the city of Detroit. I enjoy learning the past of my hometown and Stanton has a firm grip on it as seen in this book as well as “Terror in the City of Champions”.

This book definitely has a niche following and if you fall into that niche, as I do, you’ll love it.

Must read for any Tigers fan.

Nice book, aptly titled. Tiger Stadium, like any great, traditional old ballpark was as much about a ritual shared between fathers and sons as it was about baseball. Stanton captures this dimension of the stadium as well as many great stories about behind-the-scenes characters, history and the traditions that made the corner of Michigan and Trumbell so special for so many people.

read

Poignant recounting of attending every game at Tiger Stadium in its final season. But really about so much more: about relationships, loss, reuniting with family. Good read for non-sports people and sports fans. Stanton tells plenty of stories about famous Tigers, but also about non-famous ones, people who work at the stadium, and those who attend the games. But the real focus of the book, for me, was about family and relationships. Highly recommend for everyone!

Quotes:
"Most of the lessons we learn from our fathers come casually and naturally, not in grand speeches or insightful lectures or memorable demonstrations. We simply absorb their actions and behaviors and either embrace or reject them. From Dad I’ve learned that perseverance is more valuable than talent, that silence isn’t the same as weakness, and that family is always family."

"As adults we come to realize that we’re all too complex, too filled with contradictions and changing motivations, to be painted accurately through a series of anecdotes that by their very nature distort and exaggerate us. Just as TV highlights of yesterday’s ball game don’t capture its subtleties and nuances, a selection of moments can’t summarize a person’s life. The highlights never show the mundane, they show the memorable. We forget the ordinary times that better represent us."

"(on his father & uncle reconnecting after 27 years) As much as I enjoy their exchanges, I find what they don’t say just as telling. Where have you been all these years? Why didn’t you call? What happened? Did I do something to hurt you Why this long? …Would the answers really be worth the risk of insult or injury. …They’ve missed enough already. "

"Something sad happens to memories as our loved ones die off. Our pool of stories evaporates like salted water on a stove. We remember many, of course, and we add our own. But others are lost forever."

If you grew up listening to Ernie Harwell on the transistor under your pillow at night, or watching Al Kaline chase down a ball to the corner then peg a throw to the plate on a fly, or believing that the corner of Michigan and Trumball was a baseball mecca, then this book will make you smile a thousand times and cry two or three. If you are not a Tiger fan, it's a sweet read about the meaning of family and connections (but probably only 3 stars). Either way it's worth the time.

Every tiger Fan should read this book.

I lost my dad two years ago and I'm still struggling to put into words, not just what it feels like to lose your father, but what it feels like to look back on memories of him after he's gone. This book helped with a lot of that. My father loved baseball, though he was a Cardinal's fan. I, on the other hand, support the Tigers. Neither of us ever attended a major league game, but he would tell me all about what Molina did the night before, what Pujols would have done if he were still at Busch Stadium, how far McGwire could move the ball if the pitch was right. I heard my dad's voice throughout this book and I want to thank the author for that. It merged my love and grief for my father, with my love of the Tigers. I wish he was still here. I wish father's didn't have to die. Maybe just as impossible of a wish; I wish the Tigers would win the pennant again. Read this book if you love baseball. Read this book if you miss the glory days of childhood. Read this book if you love your father, past or present. Either way, just read this book.

Last season at Tiger Stadium a memoir.

The book was a walk down memory lane for me. At the age of 77 I actually lived this book. I can still see Al Kaline receiving a Silver Bat in a purple bag. He was true totality. I knew he was a class when he refused a salary of $100,000.00 because he didn’t feel he deserved it.
I loved the memories in the book of Cash, Horton, Lolich, Tram and the amazing Lou Whitaker (Lou belongs in the hall of fame and wasn’t voted in, horrible travesty!!).
The book was a very quick read and for us old folks it provided long lost memories!

A good book on the Detroit Tigers last year (1999) in Tiger Stadium. The author, Tom Stanton goes to all 81 games during the year, but the book is less on the play-by-play of those games and more about how each day conjures past memories of the ball park, mostly with his family. It's a quick read at around 240 pages with a lot of pictures. I read it in about two days. Tiger fans and baseball fans will enjoy. Book made me miss my Dad and I'm glad I was able to go the stadium once in 1993.

Nice memoir of a year spent going to every Tigers home game.