PHOTO GALLERY
DETROIT - The Wayne State University baseball program will feature a “new” addition to its field this coming season, as a scoreboard from historic Tiger Stadium was installed on the Green Monster left-field wall at WSU on Wednesday morning.
A landmark in Detroit for nearly 100 years, Tiger Stadium was demolished this year almost a decade after the Detroit Tigers opened Comerica Park. Many valuable remnants of the stadium were preserved by the
Detroit Historical Society, which had possession of the scoreboard until its relocation to Wayne State.
Tiger Stadium first opened on April 20, 1912, at the corner of Michigan Avenue and Trumbull Boulevard, less than two miles south of the WSU athletic campus.
The scoreboard, installed in 1961, was originally placed at the 440 mark directly at center field, according to the Detroit Historical Society. It was later moved to far left field after many players complained that it was in the batter’s line of sight towards the pitcher.
The City of Detroit and the Detroit Historical Society salvaged over 200 pieces of Tiger Stadium for preservation purposes in October 2007. The DHS and Wayne State Athletics were in discussions over the last 10 months regarding plans for the loan, transport, and installation of the scoreboard at WSU.
The Wayne State University baseball program is entering its 70th season this spring. The facility underwent a substantial renovation in the summer of 2003 to create a replica of Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox, around the perimeter of the outfield. Fenway, ironically, officially opened the same day as Tiger Stadium.