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Queen of Diamonds: The Tiger Stadium Story
Book by Michael Betzold, Ethan Casey, Casey, Ethan
- GenresSports
341 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1991
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 7, 2026
This was a book that went from a solid 3 star and slowly worked its way to a 2 star book for me. The author is a very passionate fan of the Tigers and is even more passionate about old Tigers Stadium. I wanted to read this because I'm a Tigers fan, and this was a Casey Award candidate for best baseball. I was sure this was going to be a book that I would enjoy. I was wrong.
The book started off fine with a well researched history of Tigers Stadium and all its previous incarnations as Navin Field and Briggs Stadium. The stadium on the corner of Michigan and Trumbull had become a place where the people of Detroit could root on the Tigers and have the closest seats to the field than any other ballpark in Major League Baseball. It was a classic like Fenway Park and Wrigley Field.
Unfortunately, Tiger Stadium days were numbered due to the politics of Detroit at the time (late 80s, early 90s). The mayor Coleman Young wanted to revitalize Detroit with a new baseball stadium. The Tigers' ownership led by Bill Monaghan was along for the ride, and the fans of the Tigers and the stadium were at the mercy of both.
The book gets bogged down from all the back and forth for those wanting to keep Tigers Stadium and those who wanted to get rid of it. It also got very redundant with the same details over and over. I had to skim through the heavy detail sections, which seemed to happen about midway through the book. The book actually reads about 290 pages. I think it could have been a better read at 225 or so.⭐️⭐️
The book was published in 1992. The Tigers played their last game at Tigers Stadium in 1999. They've played at Comerica Ballpark in the heart of Detroit since. It's a fine ballpark.
The book started off fine with a well researched history of Tigers Stadium and all its previous incarnations as Navin Field and Briggs Stadium. The stadium on the corner of Michigan and Trumbull had become a place where the people of Detroit could root on the Tigers and have the closest seats to the field than any other ballpark in Major League Baseball. It was a classic like Fenway Park and Wrigley Field.
Unfortunately, Tiger Stadium days were numbered due to the politics of Detroit at the time (late 80s, early 90s). The mayor Coleman Young wanted to revitalize Detroit with a new baseball stadium. The Tigers' ownership led by Bill Monaghan was along for the ride, and the fans of the Tigers and the stadium were at the mercy of both.
The book gets bogged down from all the back and forth for those wanting to keep Tigers Stadium and those who wanted to get rid of it. It also got very redundant with the same details over and over. I had to skim through the heavy detail sections, which seemed to happen about midway through the book. The book actually reads about 290 pages. I think it could have been a better read at 225 or so.⭐️⭐️
The book was published in 1992. The Tigers played their last game at Tigers Stadium in 1999. They've played at Comerica Ballpark in the heart of Detroit since. It's a fine ballpark.
June 20, 2025
This is my second time reading, “Queen of Diamonds.” The first quarter of the book is a fantastic history lesson on Tiger Stadium and baseball at the corner of Michigan and Trumbull.
The remainder details the Tigers and/or the city of Detroit’s desire for a new ballpark, starting with a failed plan for a domed stadium along the Detroit riverfront in the 1970s and then into the early 90s.
It’s fascinating reading this book with 30+ years in the rear view. The Tigers ultimately did move into a new park in 2000, but one that more resembles what the author called the, “fake antique” of Baltimore’s then brand-new Oriole Park at Camden Yards, vs the SkyDome clone the city and organization seemed to want to build at the time. There’s no question that Tiger Stadium was a far superior ballpark to its predecessor. But, when you step outside of a Tigers game in 2025, you look around at a vibrant, energized downtown Detroit and know that Comerica Park anchored that turnaround, it’s hard to say the team and the city got it wrong.
The Tiger Stadium Fan Club’s fight to save the Stadium was a noble cause, but their renovation plan seems downright silly by modern standards. Things like putting Luxury Boxes at the very top of Tiger Stadium (or better yet, no luxury boxes at all!), were simply not practical or reasonable ideas which is probably why the team would never give the “Cochrane Plan” any consideration. The Fan Club comes across so entitled, you almost come away from the book happy the Tigers tore the old park down.
The remainder details the Tigers and/or the city of Detroit’s desire for a new ballpark, starting with a failed plan for a domed stadium along the Detroit riverfront in the 1970s and then into the early 90s.
It’s fascinating reading this book with 30+ years in the rear view. The Tigers ultimately did move into a new park in 2000, but one that more resembles what the author called the, “fake antique” of Baltimore’s then brand-new Oriole Park at Camden Yards, vs the SkyDome clone the city and organization seemed to want to build at the time. There’s no question that Tiger Stadium was a far superior ballpark to its predecessor. But, when you step outside of a Tigers game in 2025, you look around at a vibrant, energized downtown Detroit and know that Comerica Park anchored that turnaround, it’s hard to say the team and the city got it wrong.
The Tiger Stadium Fan Club’s fight to save the Stadium was a noble cause, but their renovation plan seems downright silly by modern standards. Things like putting Luxury Boxes at the very top of Tiger Stadium (or better yet, no luxury boxes at all!), were simply not practical or reasonable ideas which is probably why the team would never give the “Cochrane Plan” any consideration. The Fan Club comes across so entitled, you almost come away from the book happy the Tigers tore the old park down.
April 6, 2008
This book makes the case for saving Tiger Stadium. Obviously it didn't work. Though I agreed with their cause, the polemics is a little heavy-handed. A slightly more neutral tone might have made a better book. For a history of Tiger Stadium, I would recommend A Place for Summer
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews