Walter Briggs Sr.
Walter O. Briggs Sr. | |
---|---|
Born | Walter Owen Briggs February 27, 1877 Miami Beach, Florida, U.S. |
Burial place | Holy Sepulchre Cemetery |
Occupation | Automobile body manufacturer |
Known for | Owner of the Detroit Tigers |
Children | 3, including Walter Jr. and Jane |
Walter Owen Briggs Sr. (February 27, 1877 – January 17, 1952) was an American
Biography
Briggs was born on February 27, 1877, in
After the death of Tigers' part-owner Bill Yawkey in 1919, surviving partner Frank Navin arranged for Briggs and industrialist John Kelsey to buy a 25 percent stake in the club.[citation needed] Briggs had long chafed at not being able to see the Tigers play the Chicago Cubs in the 1908 World Series; he saw his stake in the Tigers as a way to ensure he would never have to worry about getting a seat to a game again.[4] In 1927, Briggs bought Kelsey's stake to become a full partner with Navin, though he stayed in the background while Navin was alive. After Navin died in 1935, Briggs became the sole owner of the franchise.[5]
As owner, among Briggs' first actions was completing major renovation and expansion plans to Navin Field, then seating 23,000. He double-decked the grandstand and converted the park into a bowl. It reopened in 1938 as Briggs Stadium, with a seating capacity of 58,000.[6] The stadium was later renamed Tiger Stadium.
Briggs was noted for fielding a well-paid team that won two
Briggs died at age 74 in Miami Beach, Florida, on January 17, 1952.[1] He was interred at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Southfield, Michigan.
Legacy
His son, Walter Briggs Jr., briefly inherited the Tigers before a court forced him to sell the team in 1956.[12]
His daughter, Jane Briggs Hart was known as an aviator and in the 1960s, became one of the Mercury 13, women who qualified physically in the same tests as those used for male astronauts. She died in 2015.[13]
In a 2017 op-ed for the Detroit Free Press, Briggs' great-grandson, Harvey Briggs, publicly apologized for Walter's racism in his capacity as Tigers' owner. Harvey wrote that for all the good his great-grandfather might have done for Detroit, "I cannot overlook one fact. He was a racist." Harvey added that his opposition to Donald Trump came from the need to acknowledge his family's racist past.[4]
See also
- Detroit Tigers/Managers and ownership
Notes
- ^ New York Times. January 18, 1952. Retrieved August 17, 2014.
- ^ Coachbuilt. Retrieved August 17, 2014.
Walter O. Briggs was born in Ypsilanti, Michigan on February 27, 1877 to Rodney D. Briggs and Ada (Warner) Briggs. ...
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on April 30, 2008. Retrieved February 24, 2008.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ a b c Harvey Briggs (August 22, 2017). "Great grandson of former Tigers owner: Turning a racist legacy into one of hope". Detroit Free Press.
- ISBN 9781582612225.
- ^ Tiger Stadium at BallparksOfBaseball.com
- ^ Walter Briggs Sr. obituary at TheDeadBallEra.com
- ^ detnews.com | Michigan History
- ^ Holmes, Dan (April 29, 2012). "Mansion of former Tiger owner on the market for less than $500k". Vintage Detroit. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
- ^ Couch, Graham (August 10, 2008). "Tigers notes: Ozzie Virgil blazed trail for today's Latin American players". MLive. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
- ^ Austin, Dan (January 28, 2015). "The day the Detroit Tigers gave up their color barrier". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
- Time magazine. May 6, 1957. Archived from the originalon October 19, 2011. Retrieved August 17, 2014.
Tossed out at home: the Detroit Tigers' Walter ("Spike") Briggs Jr. A man with a tiger by the tail ever since he inherited the team from his father, Spike tried hard not to let go. When the courts ordered him to sell, he talked the new owners into keeping him on as executive vice president and general manager, but last week his resignation was 'accepted.' Said Spike: 'It was a semi-force play.'
- ^ Jane Briggs Hart collection, Bentley Library, University of Michigan