The Detroit Tigers have tried out a number of equally bizarre logos over the years. There was the outline of a red tiger that looked more like a tabby in 1901, the franchise’s first year. There was the dark orange, anxious-looking tiger head with wide eyes and anatomically confusing teeth in 1927 that lasted just one season. There was the open-mouthed beige tiger head in 1934, with cheeks so massive it looked like there were three baseballs stuffed into each side, and the seemingly deranged, whiskered version introduced in 1961, but luckily neither of those made the uniform. In 1994 Detroit chose to go with a modern, full-bodied tiger with huge paws penetrating through a large D. That logo survived 11 seasons.
Every time, the new logo failed. And every time the franchise found its way back to the ol’ reliable: the Old English D. It was first used in 1904 when the franchise was just three years old. True to form, Detroit went through several versions (two of which can be seen on the cap and jersey of the Tigers’ current set), and it’s been rendered alternately in blue, orange and white. But thankfully the Tigers brass has never
completely abandoned it.
In every permutation, the D says a lot: toughness and tradition. The city of Detroit and its baseball team have both in spades. When you see the D, you don’t think of Dallas or Denver or Durham, all notable cities in their own right. You think of Detroit. And you think of the greats who have worn it. Ty Cobb, one of the absolute best to ever play the game, wore that D in the 1910s. Hank Greenberg, who smacked more than 300 home runs for the Tigers, wore it in the ’30s. And Miguel Cabrera, the first player to hit for the Triple Crown in 45 years, wears it today. Why the franchise would ever move away from it is beyond comprehension.
The one thing the Detroit Tigers have always gotten right is the home uniform, which is nearly identical today to the one introduced by owner Frank Navin in 1934. A patch here and a patch there has been incorporated, such as the wartime stars-and-stripes worn in the 1940s, but otherwise they’ve kept it simple: white pants; white jersey with navy piping and a navy D on the left side of the buttons; and navy socks, belt and cap. While it fussed constantly with the logo, the franchise has always had the sense to keep the uniform intact. Some things you just can’t screw up.
