When was briggs stadium built

A string of spotlights is mounted under the right-field overhang to illuminate the warning track, which is shadowed from the normal light standards. When slugging teams came to visit, Manager Ty Cobb had the groundskeepers put in temporary bleachers in the outfield so that long drives would be only ground-rule doubles. Double-decked from first to third base in winter of Capacity increased in winter of by double-decking the right-field stands, and in the winter of by double-decking both the left-field stands and the center-field bleachers.

In the s and s there was a marker on the second deck in right field. In and the center field distance was only feet. The notches just left and right of dead center were closer than , at feet. Second-to-last classic old ballpark to put in lights, in before Wrigley Field. Norm Cash cleared the roof four times in 13 months in and , including twice in three days in July Mickey Tettleton did it twice in a week in , and Mickey Mantle managed to do it three times as a visiting player.

Hosted the , and All-Star games. Babe Ruth hit his th career homer here on July 13, before there was an upper deck. The ball cleared the right-field stands and rolled several hundred feet down a street. For Yankee Stadium scenes, a special green paint was applied to the infield seats, and a partial third deck and Bronx skyline were added digitally in post-production.

After filming, the green paint was washed off with a high-pressure water hose, revealing their original blue color. He now had the entire square block bounded by Michigan Avenue to the south, Trumbull Avenue to the east, National Avenue to the west, and Cherry Street to the north, all to himself. Navin Field as it looked in bore little resemblance to the ballpark that eventually became Tiger Stadium. The multiple expansions that resulted in the familiar double-decked, fully-enclosed classic were still far in the future.

At Navin Field, the stands behind the infield were roofed and single-decked. Beyond first and third base, covered pavilions extended as far as the outfield fences.

The only seating beyond the foul poles was the single-decked bleacher section in faraway right-center. A giant, hand-operated scoreboard in left field kept patrons informed of out-of-town scores.

The inaugural game had been scheduled for April 18, , but rain resulted in a postponement until the 20th. The estimated crowd at the contest was 26,, although the official paid total was 24, Fittingly, Ty Cobb scored the first run at the ballpark on a steal of home in the first inning. The Tigers defeated Cleveland, , in 11 innings. Cobb also hit the first home run at Navin Field, a shot into the bleachers in right-center on April 25, which won the game for the home team.

Detroit was growing dramatically, thanks to the automobile industry. Within 10 years, that number had more than doubled, to , Frank Navin realized his ballpark would need more seating to accommodate potential new customers. It underwent its first expansion after the season. The infield stands were double-decked, although the covered pavilions beyond first and third base remained unchanged. An elevator carried the knights of the keyboard to a press box on the roof behind home plate.

Seating capacity was increased to roughly 30, Additional fans could be squeezed in, however, behind a roped-off area between the right-center field bleachers and the right-field corner. The ballpark was slowly starting to resemble the grand stadium it would eventually become. Louis Browns. Tyson, chief announcer of WWJ[,] will occupy a place in the press stand at all the home games of the Tigers this season.

A microphone for the use of the announcer will be placed in the press stands and in various parts of the field there will be concealed for the picking up of crowd noises to lend realistic atmosphere to the game as heard by the listeners in their homes.

In the new owners of a struggling four-year-old franchise in Portsmouth, Ohio, called the Spartans decided to pack their bags and move the team to Detroit. They played football, in something called the National Football League. They arranged to play their home games at University of Detroit Stadium, and changed their name to the Detroit Lions. Frank Navin died in , and Walter O. Briggs wanted to put his own stamp on an expansion of Navin Field.

He had a vision to build what he considered the finest baseball palace in the land. Again, Osborn Engineering was given the job of undertaking the renovation. The double-decked grandstand was extended down the first-base line to the right-field foul pole. Briggs wanted to build seating beyond the right-field wall as well, but it seemed an impossible task, given that it abutted hard against Trumbull Avenue.

Osborn saved the day by moving the right-field fence 42 feet closer to home plate. That helped a little bit, but not as much as Briggs had in mind. In the end, he told Osborn to build a double-decked grandstand in right, but to increase the width of the upper deck by 10 feet in either direction. Simply put, the upper deck would have an overhang extending 10 feet closer to home plate than the first row of the lower deck. This short porch in right field would over time become one of the signature features of the stadium.

Lazy fly balls turned into homers as they benefited from the added 10 feet of the overhang. Since the new distance to right field was now feet, the first row of the overhang was a mere feet from home plate. A new press box was also built on the roof of the second deck. Navin Field now had an official capacity of 36, Yet another round of expansion took place over the winter of , as the ballpark was fully enclosed and double-decked.

A gap between the double decks in right and left field was filled with two decks of bleachers with the scoreboard placed on top. With this expansion, Briggs Stadium was now enclosed and had a capacity of 54,, making it one of baseballs largest stadiums. Dimensions were ft. Professional football made its debut at Tiger Stadium in Between and the Detroit Lions played at the University of Detroit Stadium, a 25, seat facility. After the season the Lions decided to move to Tiger Stadium.

The team played their first game here on September 9, when they beat Pittsburgh. Other than laying out the gridiron on the field, little had to be done for football to be played at Tiger Stadium.

The football gridiron ran parallel to the third base line for baseball. Both teams shared the same sideline that was in the outfield. The Lions played at Tiger Stadium between until and until By the s the Lions wanted their own stadium. A new dome stadium was built in Pontiac, the Silverdome, where the Lions moved to in Tiger Stadium was the home to many other events other than the Lions and Tigers including boxing matches and concerts.

Fire broke out at Tiger Stadium in and destroyed the press box. All of the original green wooden seats were replaced by new orange and blue plastic seats, a new video scoreboard replaced the old hand operated one in centerfield, and a new press box with two luxury suites were hung from the second deck.