Detroit's Greatest Treasure--It's People
Ethnic Groups and Religious Practices
The Irish
Detroiters, Irish settlers who came to America when the potato famine ravaged Ireland in the early 1800s. Many of them - from County Cork in Ireland - settled on the west side of Detroit, between First and Sixteenth streets, and Grand River Avenue and the river.
Detroit and Baseball
As with many American cities, baseball goes back further in Detroit than any other sport. It began gaining ground after soldiers returned from the Civil War, and only 40 year later (in 1901) the Detroit Tigers played their first baseball game. In 1901, the Tigers were only a club team, but club teams like these were part of the American League, a precursor to today's MLB. In many ways these club teams were just as big a deal as the major league baseball to come. The American League had branches in many big cities of the time (Chicago, New York, Detroit, etc.) This was the beginning of corporatised sports. Proof that somethings never change, there were scandals in Detroit baseball history as early as 1912, when Ty Cobb was permanently banned from baseball partly because he wouldn't sign a contract with the Detroit club team because they would not pay him the $15,000 annual salary he demanded, and partly because he attacked a spectator. The case between the American Leage and the Detoroit branch went to federal court where the American Leage won and business returned to normal without Ty Cobb. On a more pleasant note, Herman A. "Germany" Schaefer was a crowd pleaser of a baseball player. With average stats, he wasn't known for incredible home runs or triple plays, but he was known for his clumsy antics on the field and for stealing first base. In fact, he is the reason that runners can no longer steal first base. Because of his "performances" on the field, Schaefer became known as "The Prince." One of his most notable performances occurred on June 24, 1906 when he announced to the crowd that he was going to "hit the ball into the left field bleachers" and which point he proceeded to do just that. Some of his other antics include wearing a stick on mustache to bat and coming out of the dugout wearing a full-length raincoat during a game when it started to rain. The Prince played for the Detroit Tigers from 1905 to 1909
Herman A. "Germany" "Prince" Schaefer
Ty Cobb
Immigrants in Detroit
The Polish community in Hammanck Detroit has had significant influence over Detroit. The Polish holiday "Fat Tuesday" is celebrated in Detroit becasue of this community. Many German immigrants and immigrants from other European countries have started companies in Detroit, such as Germack Pistachios. Other important businessmen in Detroit were immigrants and others sill had positions in Detroit government. Needless to say, immigrants had a vast influence on the economy, politics and culture of Detroit.