Wire to Wire: Inside the 1984 Detroit Tigers Championship Season [Hardcover]

George Cantor (Author), Chet Lemon (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2004

Award-winning Detroit columnist George Cantor revisits the 1984 World Series Champion Detroit Tigers with unparalleled insight (since he lived it) and uncommon insight into what the season meant to a reeling city filled with delirious fans.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"If you wanted to play baseball for Sparky Anderson, you got down in the trenches and you fought. . . . Every guy on that team had a ‘oneness’ of mind."
—from the Foreword by Chet Lemon

From the Author

George Cantor was a sportswriter and news columnist in Detrit for more than 40 years. He was the beat writer for the Tigers in 1968 and covered the team again as a columnist in its 1984 season. The author of more than a dozen books on sports, travel, and history, he lives in West Bloomfield, Michigan.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Triumph Books (April 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572435046
• ISBN-13: 978-1572435049
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #919,356 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #44 in Books > Travel > United States > States > Michigan

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Hardly An In Depth Book, April 7, 2004

By 

C. W. Emblom "Bill Emblom" (Ishpeming, Michigan USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Wire to Wire: Inside the 1984 Detroit Tigers Championship Season (Hardcover)

George Cantor covered the 1968 Detroit Tigers as a baseball writer, and the 1984 Tigers as a general news writer and as a fan. I read the book in two sittings. The author covers the 1984 season through the first 146 pages, and the last 14 on the decline and fall of this storied franchise through the 1990's and the Randy Smith era as general manager, the mistakes made in building Comerica Park, the neglect of the farm system, and a comparison of the '68 and '84 Tigers. An interesting tidbit was General Manager Jim Campbell calling former owner John Fetzer and telling him he feels a mistake was made in selling the team to Tom Monagham who had more pressing concerns occupying his time than the Detroit Tigers. The final part of the book is over 60 pages of box scores of the first 40 games. It appears this was added to fill out the book. What is in the main text of the book is okay, but this is hardly a book that would compare with books written by David Halberstam that focus on a team of a particular year such as "The Summer of '49." I wanted this book to be a good one because I have been a fan of the Tigers since 1951, and thoroughly enjoyed both the Tigers' 1968 and 1984 championships. However, I have to admit to being disappointed. The cover is certainly eye catching, but this proves you can't judge a book by its cover.

3.0 out of 5 stars Bless You Boys, October 6, 2009

By 

R. Perry "baseball geek" (Troy, MI) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Wire to Wire: Inside the 1984 Detroit Tigers Championship Season (Hardcover)

This is a wonderful, albeit brief 162 page book ( 222 if you count the box scores) . George Cantor was a sportswriters and new columnist in Detroit for over 40 years. Reading this book, you can picture yourself observing his one on one conversation with each player and coach as they describe their different roles during the 1984 season. He explores the team chemistry with insightful interviews and commentary, beginning with spring training "anger" over the way the 1983 season ended. The Tigers felt they were the best team in 1983, they just ran out of games at the end of the season. From the get go, players seemed to be on a mission. At the end, Chapters 29-30 has a post 1984 commentary on the decline of the Tigers franchise during the 1990's.

Here's my summary of the chapters:

Chapter 1 - World Series, Game 5. Who can forget Gossage vs Gibby

Chapter 2 - Spring training 1984 , "anger " in the lockeroom

Chapter 3 - Bo Shembechler, Monaghan brings changes. I had almost forgotten the history surrounding Dominos pizza baron Tom Monaghan and his purchase of the team

back on October 4, 1983

Chapter 4,5 - Journeyman Darrell Evans; Detroit auto culture

Chapter 6 - Sparky Anderson , "my way or the highway"

Chapter 7- 10 Jack Morris, Aurelio Lopez, Dan Petry

Chapter 11-17 Willie Hernandez, Bergie, Tram, Rusty Kuntz, Ruppert Jones

Chapter 18- Milt Wilcox "gutting it out"

Chapter 19-20 Trixie, Who's better: '68 vs '84 Tigers

Chapter 21-23 Tommy Brookens, HoJo, Parrish, Grubb

Chapter 24-27 Paul Carey, Gibby, Tram, Padres

Chapter 29,30 Decline and fall of Tiger Franchise from 1985-2003

A must have for your Tigers library, but find yourself a good used copy. I never knew Sparky Anderson led the Cincinnati Reds to a pennant during his first season as a manager, he was only 36 years old at the time. He never really liked younger players. Good chapter on "Mount Morris", does Jack Morris belong in Cooperstown? Although many of the 68 Tigers remained in the Detroit area, by contrast, the only players from the 84 team that stuck around were Gibby, Rozema,Dan Petry, Milt Wilcox and Bergie

3.0 out of 5 stars Needed more of a human angle, August 26, 2008

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Tigger "Earthling" (United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Wire to Wire: Inside the 1984 Detroit Tigers Championship Season (Hardcover)

I can look on the Internet and see that the Tigers went 35-5 and read the stats. What I'd like to read about is the players' and fans' reactions to some of the things. What went on the in the Clubhouse when the Mariners swept the Tigers (I attended those games)? How did the the team react when their 8.5 game lead was cut to 3.5 in less than two weeks? What was it like in the Clubhouse after the Tigers swept in Toronto? I can read on the Internet that they had this winning streak and that losing streak and so on and this guy hit lots of homers and that guy struck out a lot but I really was expecting more of a human angle.