Major League Baseball’s Detroit Tigers have called Lakeland, Florida, its spring home since 1934. That accounts for the longest relationship any Major League Baseball team has had with a spring training city.
The Tigers trained at Henley Field until 1967, and its top Class A affiliate Lakeland Tigers, members of the Florida State League called Henley home since 1963. In 1967, the Tigers moved into Joker Marchant Stadium, the whole complex becoming known as Tigertown. It was less than a half mile away from Henley Field.
The Tigers still call Tigertown home today. It underwent renovations in 2002, forcing the Detroit Tigers and the Lakeland Tigers to find a different home for the 2002 season. Tigers' spring training and the Lakeland Tigers' regular season that year were held back at Henley Field. For the following season, the teams were back at Joker Marchant Stadium.
The naming of the Lakeland Tigers is far from unique. As is popular with some teams in the Florida State League, the Tigers took the name of its MLB club. Similar examples of this include the Palm Beach Cardinals, St. Lucie Mets, and the Tampa Yankees. In 2007, the Lakeland Tigers changed its name to the Lakeland Flying Tigers. This might puzzle some people, because who has ever seen a tiger fly? It turns out the Tigers dipped into their creative side with the name change.
Tigertown is located on the site of a former World War II flight school, the Lodwick School of Aeronautics. Of the cadets that attended this school, some later flew with the 1st American Volunteer Group (AVG) of the Chinese Air Force, better known as the “Flying Tigers.” The Tigers decided to pay homage to the history of the land on which (the complex was built and create a connection with the major league team. So, in 2007, the team changed its name to the Lakeland Flying Tigers.
One notable MLB player who spent some time in Lakeland, prior to the name change, was Detroit starting pitcher Justin Verlander. He is the only pitcher in baseball history to throw a no-hitter, earn rookie of the year honors, start a World Series game and be selected as an all-star in his first two full seasons. Another well known player is star centerfielder Curtis Granderson, who the Detroit Tigers traded to the New York Yankees in December of 2009. Other players who passed through Lakeland include Brennan Boesch, who is with the parent team and current Detroit Tigers Manager Jim Leyland. He played for and managed Lakeland.
For more team information visit the Flying Tigers Website.
Nick Virgintino - My name is Nick Virgintino, I am from Long Island, NY. Currently studying communications at Queens College, focus on marketing, ...
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