Just five miles north of Detroit\u2019s Comerica Park \u2014 home of the Tigers \u2014 sits a relic of baseball history. The pitcher\u2019s mound is barely detectable, the base paths are long gone, and all is silent but the chattering birds making nests in the roof of the 87-year-old grandstand.<\/p>\n
But almost 90 years ago, this neighborhood ballpark was buzzing. Baseball fans came by the thousands to cheer on the Detroit Stars, the city\u2019s Negro League team. Crowds roared after plays from Hall of Famers Norman \u201cTurkey\u201d Stearnes, \u201cCool Papa\u201d Bell, and \u201cSmokey Joe\u201d Robinson.<\/p>\n
While the past of the place is quietly stated on a nearby historical marker, today, Hamtramck Stadium is preparing to extend its legacy. The old ballpark already lives on as a rare piece of Negro League baseball history, but soon, it will also become a modern, multi-use sports field in one of Detroit\u2019s most diverse neighborhoods.<\/p>\n
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About eight years ago, Gary Gillette, baseball author, historian, and chair of the Detroit chapter of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR)*, learned that Hamtramck Stadium was under threat of demolition. Having researched the ballpark\u2019s history, Gary knew how special it was as just one of five remaining Negro League home ballparks in the country.<\/p>\n
\u201cI went to the mayor of Hamtramck and said, \u2018I can\u2019t tell you what to do with your park and your grandstand and your field, but I would say that you should know the history there before you do anything irrevocable, like demolishing it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Beginning in 1930, 17 years before Jackie Robinson and the integration of baseball, Hamtramck Stadium was intermittently home to a handful of official Negro League teams. From 1930-31 and in 1933, the stadium was home to the Detroit Stars of the Negro National League. In 1932, it was the home of the Detroit Wolves of the Negro East-West League. Another iteration of the Detroit Stars took over in 1937.<\/p>\n
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For the next five decades, the stadium lived on as a multi-use sports venue hosting a variety of events, including football games, boxing matches, and even midget car races**. The stadium\u2019s association with the Negro Leagues, however, ended before the \u201940s.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter \u201937 there was no major team [in Detroit],\u201d Gary says. \u201cThere was still a lot of black baseball played. Top-level, semi-pro black clubs were playing in Detroit, including one that got a visit from Jackie Robinson in 1947. He played on the north side of Detroit in October \u201947 after the World Series ended.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Though baseball stadiums of the \u201930s commonly hosted a variety of sporting events, Hamtramck Stadium also played a vital role as a gathering place for the city\u2019s diverse population.<\/p>\n
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A newspaper advertisement for the Opening American Negro League game at Hamtramck Stadium.<\/p>\n
\u201cHamtramck in the \u201930s was actually a pretty well-integrated community, unlike most of Detroit,\u201d Gary says. \u201cI\u2019m not saying that there was no racial tension, the collaboration and cooperation between the African-American and Polish-American communities back then was better than the cooperation and collaboration between the African-American community and any other white ethnic group.\u201d<\/p>\n
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An image from the 1935 Detroit baseball team, when it was still called the Detroit Cubs. Photo Courtesy of Burton Collection at the Detroit Public Library.<\/p>\n
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