Detroit the Unconquerable

It had taken three and a half decades, but the Detroit Tigers were finally crowned the best team in baseball in 1935. Coming on the heels of their hugely disappointing loss in the World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals the year before, the Tigers emerged victorious in a thrilling six-game October showdown against a talented Chicago Cubs team.

It was Detroit's first World Series championship. For a city suffering from the Great Depression, it couldn't have come at a better time.

The team was led by player-manager Mickey Cochrane, and featured an offense fueled by Hank Greenberg, Charlie Gehringer, and Goose Goslin (dubber the "G-Men"). On the mound were Lynwood Thomas "Schoolboy" Rowe, Tommy Bridges, Elden Auker, and General Crowder. With 93 victories that summer, the Tigers outpaced the New York Yankees by three games, taking their fifth American League title in club history.

To commemorate the 80th anniversary of this great team, the Society for American Baseball Research is proud to present the 1935 Detroit Tigers in all their glory. With contributions from over 35 members of the SABR BioProject, this book is a delightful account of one of the most significant teams in sports history.

"Navin Field was packed, and when we won Detroit really came alive. As a team we were like a bunch of brothers. Hank, Charlie, Billy, Goose, Schoolboy, Tommy...all of them. I think of those guys often. It was a wonderful time of my life." -Elden Auker

Contents:

Introduction by Scott Ferkovich

Sleeping Giant: Detroit in the 1930s by Gary Gillette

The Babe's Loss Was Detroit's Gain: The Cochrane Trade by John Milner

The 1935 Season in Review by Greg Erion

THE OWNER: Frank Navin by Marc Okkonen & David Jones

THE PLAYERS

Elden Auker by Robert H. Schaefer

Tommy Bridges by Rob Neyer

Flea Clifton by Kent Ailsworth

Mickey Cochrane by Charles Bevis

General Crowder by Gregory H. Wolf

Carl Fischer by Jeff Bower

Pete Fox by Gerald Nechal

Charlie Gehringer by Ruth Sadler

Goose Goslin by Cort Vitty

Hank Greenberg by Scott Ferkovich

Clyde Hatter by Frank Schaffer

Ray Hayworth by Chuck Ailsworth

Chief Hogsett by Rory Costello

Roxie Lawson by Alan Cohen

Firpo Marberry by Mark Armour

Chet Morgan by Greg Erion

Marv Owen by Mark Armour

Frank Reiber by Gregg Omoth

Billy Rogell by Raymond Buzenski

Schoolboy Rowe by Gregory H. Wolf

Heinie Schuble by Rodney Johnson

Hugh Shelley by Scott Dominiak

Vic Sorrell by Gregory H. Wolf

Joe Sullivan by Gregory H. Wolf

Gee Walker by David Raglin

Hub Walker by Gregory H. Wolf

Jo-Jo White by Kent Ailsworth

THE COACHES
Del Baker by Rob Neyer

Cy Perkins by C. Paul Rogers III

The Corner of Michigan and Trumbull by Scott Ferkovich

By the Numbers by Dan Fields

"Good Afternoon, Boys and Girls" The Tigers on the Radio in 1935 by Matthew Bohn

A Mechanical Man, a Hammer, a Goose, and Black Mike: The 1935 Tigers in the Hall of Fame by Doug Lehman

July 8, 1935: American League All-Stars 4, National League All-Stars 1 by Chuck Ailsworth

Detroit: "City of Champions" by Larry & Rob Hilliard

World Series Opponents: The 1935 Chicago Cubs by Gregory H. Wolf

"I Thought I Never Would Get There" The 1935 World Series by Scott Ferkovich