'Mr. Tiger' Al Kaline dies at age 85

Al Kaline spent 22 years playing for the Detroit Tigers, then went on to be a broadcaster for the team and a special assistant to the general manager. He died Monday. (April 6, 2020)

[gordonzill]

I'm 72 now, and 1968, because of the the Tigers and Al Kaline, was the best year of my life.

[Amick]

Probably along with Billy Williams, the most underrated outstanding star, at least of his era.

[chiefpontiac]

So long Mr. Tiger. My favorite sports team of all time. I'll be there at the corner of Michigan and Trumbull to join all of the past Tigers one of these days.

[Whofan]

I live in Boston, and don't know any of you, but this TV tribute to Al Kaline, my childhood idol, was the best I could find today. So I used it as the video supplement at the bottom of a facebook post I just wrote which I thought I would repost here - just in case it interests any of you to know how much Al meant to someone who grew up in upstate New York, lives now in Boston, has never been to Detroit, but will never forget Al Kaline and what he somehow meant to me when I was young. Thanks - my facebook post begins here:

So here's a really different kind of post from me. Those of you who know me would probably never expect me to post about sports, but my childhood sports hero, Al Kaline, died today, and I wanted to pay tribute to him and say a few things about hero worship.


I grew up in the 1950s and 1960s in upstate New York, where I came up with the idea that I resented New York City because it got more attention than we did upstate. So, as an avid young baseball fan, I adopted as my favorite baseball team the Detroit Tigers, in part because they seemed to be able to beat the Yankees a lot (during the regular season, although, sadly, the Yankees almost always won the pennant).


I had an old tube radio on which I listened to WJR from Detroit, which came in just loudly enough, as Ernie Harwell called the games. Soon the Tigers' star outfielder, Al Kaline, became my hero.


At least once a year my father would take me on the 200-mile trip down to Yankee Stadium to see the Tigers play the Yankees. I loved watching Kaline, who was excellent, strong and graceful, whether at bat, on the bases or in the field.


I also loved taking the special trip with my father, of course. One memory of him that I recalled, when giving his eulogy a while back, was the note he wrote for my 8th grade teacher one spring day: "Please excuse Tom for missing school yesterday. He had to visit his sick aunt in Yankee Stadium."


Over time, I learned that Kaline, from all reports, was, like my father, a pretty good guy, friendly and unassuming. The difference between my feelings for Kaline and for my father - between hero worship and real love - has been a fascinating theme to me over the years. In college, I saw professors as useful mentors while virtually idolizing rock and rollers like Pete Townshend and Ray Davies, an attitude that extended well into my adulthood, with, I would say, both positive and negative effects on my own development as an individual. In more recent decades, I've tried, increasingly, to live my life focused more on the people with whom I actually interact, with real friends, than with stars and superstars of any kind.


But Al Kaline was my first hero, and I am convinced there is something positive, especially for a young person, about having people to look up to, whether from close up or from afar. So RIP, Al - and here's how a Michigan TV station summarized Al Kaline's life and career today: (then I included a link to this video).

[clydeb]

I was a Yankee fan as a kid but Al Kaline was a star I watched and admired as a young fan. R.I.P. Mr. Tiger.

[anthonywirth]

I can not write something I'm to heart broken. Detroit Tigers baseball will not be the same. RIP Mr Kaline

[yourroyalhighness]

Rest In Peace, Mr. Tiger. I hope that Mr. Padre (Tony Gwynn) and Mr. Cub (Ernie Banks) were there to greet you along with many other baseball immortals.

[spxcesplxsh]

I’m so sad I’m a tigers fan and this just hurt

[TruthSpeaker]

Watch the Tiger theme going on through this riddle of the elites.. 2022 is the year of the Tiger, tigers played one another this year’s college bowl (LSU/Clemson) - Tiger woods, and that Tiger Netflix show.. it’s all part of the riddle.. you don’t believe me ? It is. Sorry for his death, most likely a murder though, to go along with the Gematria and the riddle.