Missing the Bird

Detroit Stories

 

I’d like to share with you Zola System reader Pat Knopf’s thoughts on Mark Fydrich and the Detroit Tiger’s.  The following three paragraphs were meant to be a comment on the 4/15/2009 post The Bird is the Word.  However, Pat’s memory of the Bird made me smile.

 

Fydrich is already sorely missed.

 

I have been a very loyal fan of the Detroit Tigers ever since 1945 when the Tigers and Hank Greenberg brought fame to the Tigers.........they weren't always the Tigers, but anyway who cares .......the team belongs to DETROIT.  And then, I was just a little girl. 

Back in the 70's, my family (three boys and one girl) and my husband and I were living in Bainbridge, Ohio with WJR Radio broadcasting the Tiger games.  (I changed all the baseball fans on our street to root for the Tigers........we even had a street rendezvous for TIGER games.)    

Today I came across two photos that my husband took of Mark.  And memories of Mark came flooding back as if a dam had broken loose.    There were other photos taken that day but unfortunately whoever developed the film, kept the photos of Mark in uniform, taken with our sons as well as the negatives.  How we have these 2 photos is because they were taken at Cleveland stadium (that old football stadium, really) as Mark was walking outside the stadium, in Mark's own dress code (tee shirt and levis) and his curly hair and smile are so real........as if one could reach out and touch him.  He's just so alive in this photo!  He just never changed.  For all of Mark's following, he will always remain Mark who came to MO-TOWN for all the right reasons........"The Bird" who remained TRUE to himself.   

I cried when Mark died and I cried today upon seeing his photo.

 

 

 

 

.