Sunday, October 12, 2014

October 12 Happy Birthday to Former Tigers or Detroit Wolverines

Derrick White played one season as a Tiger in 1995.  Derrick started his major league experience as a Montreal Expo in 1993.  He was a first baseman for 17 games and hit .224.  That would be his career high.  He was released by the Expos in 1994 as he was only hitting .212 in AAA level ball.  The Marlins signed and released him and then the Tigers signed him for the 1995 season.  He had 48 at bats in 39 games for the Tigers and hit .188.  At the end of the season the Tigers released him.  He went on to play for the Cubs  and Rockies in 1998 and added one more hit to his career total to bring it up to 21 hits as a major leaguer with a .181 career batting average.  Derrick was still playing with the Tigers as late as 2009 but in the Mexican League for the Tigres de Quintana Roo.

Bobo Osborne was a Tiger first baseman for five seasons.  But never a Tiger starter.  He was always a back up.  He first appeared in the majors in 1957 when he got in 11 games as a Tiger back up.   He always showed good power in the majors and a decent average.   In 1957 he got four hits in those 11 games for a .148 average.  After spending most of 1958 in the minors Bobo got to the Tigers for two games in 1958 but did not get hit in his two at bats.  1959 saw him have his most production as a major leaguer to date when he got in 86 games and hit .191.  But that did not keep in the bigs.  He spent 1960 in AAA Denver and hit .342.  So for 1961 he was back in Detroit.  He hit .215 up in Detroit in 93 at bats.   But he was still not cutting it.  The Tigers gave him another try in 1962 and he hit .230 in 74 at bats.  A career high.  In May of 1963 the Tiges traded Bobo to the Senators for Wayne Comer.   He was the starting first baseman for Washington that year and hit .212 with 12 homers.  But he never played in the majors again.  His totals in the majors were 17 homers and a .206 average.

Doc Daugherty had spent three years in the Tigers farm system before 1951.  He was a .250 hitter in the minors as a shortstop.  In 1951 he was up with the Tiges in April the Tigers were playing the White Sox and were down 2-3 in the top of the ninth in Chicago.  Billy Pierce was taking it to the Tigers and he had already got Johnny Lippon to ground out and Neil Berry to fly out.  That brought up Virgil Trucks who was pitching in relief.  But Red Rolfe must have had a hunch.  He called on Doc Daugherty to make his major league debut as a pinch hitter for Virgil with the Tigers down to their last at bat.  Doc came in and struck out.  The White Sox won and Doc never appeared in another major league game.

Al Unser was a wartime Tiger.  He had been in the minors since 1933 and was 29 years old when he finally made the majors in 1942.  He got in 4 games that season and had three hits in eight at bats.  In 1943 he got into 38 games as a Tiger back up catcher and hit .248.  He was 31 in 1944 when he was up with the Tigers in 11 games and hit .120 in 25 at bats.  In 1945 he played with the Cincinnati Reds and hit. 265 in 67 games.  But that was not a great year for him as he was second in the league in errors for catchers while in only 67 games.   Al continued to play and manage in the minors until 1962 at the age of 49.  He was father of major leaguer Del Unser.

Rick Ferrell was signed by the Tigers in 1926 and was also a Tiger executive for years.  He was a Hall of Fame catcher after getting out of the Tigers farm system by filing a grievance with Commissioner Landis and becoming a free agent.  He signed with the Browns and also played for the Senators and Red Sox and even played with his brother to become one of the few brother batteries in major league history.  After his playing career he joined the Tigers again but as a coach from 1950 through 1954.  He was also a scout, scouting director, GM, and Vice President with the Tigers until he retired in 1992. 

Frank Ringo was a utility player for the Detroit Wolverines in 1885.  He had been in the majors with the Philadelphia Quakers and Athletics in 1883 and 1884 before joining the Wolverines.  He hit below .200 both years in Philly.  For Detroit he played 17 games as a third baseman and a catcher and hit a career high .246.  But Frank did not stay with the Wolverines and finished the season with the Pittsburgh Allegheny’s.  He was back with Pittsburgh in 1886 but did not stay the year with them and jumped to the Kansas City Cowboys to finish the season.  He was there again in 1887 and then in the minors with the St, Paul Apostles in 1888.  Frank did not play in the 1889 season.  He committed suicide in April of 1889 in Kansas City at the age of 28 of a morphine overdose. 

Chub Collins played his last season in the majors in 1885 as a Detroit Wolverine.  He was a Canadian born and raised in Dundas Ontario.  He had played 1884 with the Buffalo Bisons and Indianapolis Hoosiers.  He hit .199 that season.  In 1885 with the Wolverines he hit .182 in 14 games on a Detroit team that was 41-67 for the season and finished in 6th place in the National League.  After his playing days Chub returned to his home town of Dundas Ontario and became mayor. 


Charlie Morton played on the 1885 Detroit Wolverines with Chub Collins and Frank Ringo.

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