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Wire to Wire: Inside the 1984 Detroit Tigers Championship Season

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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.

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

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.

I remember the '84 and the '68 seasons, and I was old enough during both to get caught up in the fervor of the pennant drives and the subsequent world series. 1968 was more emotional, by far, but Mr. Cantor rekindles not only memories but gives us the nuances behind the box scores. It was great to go back in time and remember how the team was put together and that fantastic start. Wow, 35 and 5. While nothing will ever replace the raw emotion of 1968, 1984 was a very good year, and the book is a must read for any true Tiger fan.

The 1984 season was not only the greatest in Tiger's history but one of the greatest by any baseball team in history. It was done at a time when expansion had not yet watered down the talent of the league and free agency had yet to tear teams apart. The 35 - 5 start by the Tigers that year was one of the greatest accomplishments by a team in any sport. An .875 winning percentage through 40 games! The highlight would be Jack Morris' no-hitter against the White Sox and would just grow from there as the Tigers led the AL East from start to finish, then swept the Royals and blased the Padres in five games to win the world series.

It was a team that had it all with great starting pitching from Morris, Dan Petry, and Milt Wilcox. Great relivers with Aurelio Lopez and the 1984 Cy Young and MVP Willie Hernandez. They hit with power and average with the likes of Kirk Gibson, Lance Parrish, and Darrel Evans and hit for average with Lou Whitaker, Alan Trammell and Chet Lemon. They had great defense as well.

"Bless you Boys" became the rallying cry for fans that year thanks to former sportscaster Al Ackerman. He even got then President Ronald Regan to say it. What a season..the battles with Toronto were legendary. And of course there was game five of the World Series and Gibson's epic three-run homer off ace reliever Goose Gossage to cement the series win. What a season!