Fifty Years Ago

This year is the 50th anniversary of the Detroit Tigers 1968 World Championship season. So the logical question is, what does this have to do with New York-Penn League? Answer: six players on the rosters of the the Tigers and St. Louis Cardinals (World Series opponent) played in the New York-Penn League. Here's the list:

Detroit Tigers

Dick McAuliffe, 1957 Erie Sailors
Dick Tracewski, 1954 Hornell Dodgers
John Hiller, 1963 Jamestown Tigers
Jim Rooker, 1962 Jamestown Tigers (did not play in the World Series)

St. Louis Cardinals

Julian Javier, 1957 Jamestown Falcons
Pete Mikkelsen, 1958-59 Auburn Yankees (did not play in the World Series)

One of the best books written about the '68 Tigers is George Cantor's The Tigers of '68: Baseball's Last Real Champions. Originally published in 1997 (paperback edition in 2014), it is an in-depth view of the Tiger's 1968 season. From the book's dust cover:

"They had two future Hall of Famers, the last pitcher to win thirty games, and a supporting cast of the most peculiar individuals ever to play in the majors. But more than that, the 1968 Tigers symbolize a lost era in baseball.

"It was a time before runaway salaries and designated hitters. Before divisional playoffs and drug suspensions. Before teams measured their well being by the number of corporate boxes in their ballpark and the cable contract in their pocket. It was the last season of baseball's most colorful and nostalgic period.....

"The '68 Tigers occupy a special place in the history of the city of Detroit. They've joined the predecessors of 1935 as an almost mythic unit--more than a baseball team. The belief has passed into Detroit folklore. Many people swear, as Willie Horton says, that they were 'put here by God to save the city.' The Tigers of '68 will help you understand why."

See you at the ballpark.

Photo credit: Taylor Publishing Company

NY-Penn League News is not affiliated in any way with Minor League Baseball, the New York-Penn League, or any of its teams.