wigeon

April 13th, 2009 at 6:54 PM ^

I loved the Bird when I was a kid. Everyone on my block talked to the ball and hand-groomed the mound. I'll never forget his All-Star start and how psyched a bunch of us 11 year old knuckleheads were. Saw him pitch twice in person later that summer. Sad. Marilyn Chambers also dead at 54. Not really a bummer.

Joined: 07/05/2008

MGoPoints: 7081

Blue boy johnson

April 13th, 2009 at 7:05 PM ^

The Bird was great, I think you had to be here in 76 to truly understand the effect he had on this area every 5th day. Great memories of Tiger Stadium, also it was the Bi-Centennial and the whole damn country was Red White and Blue.

Joined: 03/15/2009

MGoPoints: 6669

Tater

April 14th, 2009 at 8:08 AM ^

I saw the Bird pitch once; I sat in the bleachers for $1.50. It was the most electric atmosphere I ever experienced in Tiger Stadium. I remember being in old 12-lane Washtenaw Lanes when he came in and bowled a few games. He was decent, and of course he had a crowd around him. It was about a week or two before the most intense part of the "mania" started. He was a very nice, genuine, down-to-earth guy. You wouldn't have known that he was a celebrity. Actually, now that I think of it, he might not have realized that he was a celebrity yet. Anyway, the news is sad. I am glad that he got to enjoy the fruits of his labor for almost thirty years, though. He used baseball to buy himself a farm and a gas station because that was what he wanted. He was a success.

Joined: 08/13/2008

MGoPoints: 30584

Blue Durham

April 13th, 2009 at 8:17 PM ^

passed away just before the Nationals game today (I'm from the Philly area). He was also the voice for NFL films and a variety of sports-based commercials.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 6082

rabidwolverinefan09

April 13th, 2009 at 8:40 PM ^

It's kind of ironic for me to be back in town and read that the bird passed away. I was born in Grand Rapids and lived in Detroit til '79. I've been in town for the last week for the holiday and this certainly came as a shock. My mother was a Tigers fan and I can still remember a ball game we went to at the old tiger stadium and Fidrych was one of her favorite players. RIP!!!

Joined: 04/13/2009

MGoPoints: 2

sammylittle

April 13th, 2009 at 8:41 PM ^

My dad took me to see the Bird when I was 6 in 1976. That is my first true sports memory. I loved walking into Tiger Stadium and seeing that beautiful grass as a kid. I had been a huge Ron Leflore fan (wearing his #8 during my first year of Little League), but the Bird was my hero that season. The Bird was as quirky and good as promised during that game. He was tremendous for that one amazing season.

Joined: 09/29/2008

MGoPoints: 7824

Roanman

April 14th, 2009 at 9:59 AM ^

I was in school the summer of 76. And because sports were always significantly more important to me than my performance in the classroom, I saw many of The Bird's home starts, including the Monday night game against the Yankees. I would mostly sit in the bleachers on an almost direct line through the pitcher to the catcher so I could call balls and strikes. The Bird handcuffed the Yankees all night long, throwing strike after strike after strike; low and inside, low and outside, all for weak ground balls. I believe the game only went for an hour and 51 minutes. The place went ape shit crazy, nobody would leave until the Bird came out. I will never forget it. Rest in peace Bird.

Joined: 07/08/2008

MGoPoints: 1445

blue edmore

April 14th, 2009 at 6:57 PM ^

I was 14 in 1976. My parents announced they were getting a divorce that spring, and that summer was really going to suck, and I needed a diversion or two to get me through it all. Fidrych WAS that diversion. I will never forget going to Tiger Stadium with my grandfather on a Saturday afternoon and beating Cleveland (I believe), in front of about 48,000 or so. It was electric there, and so was he. I only wish I could have a chance to meet him in person and tell him all of this. Thanks, Bird.

Joined: 07/01/2008

MGoPoints: 4