On April 20, 1938, the Detroit Tigers opened its new season with a 20,000-seat expansion at Navin Field, pushing stadium capacity to more than 53,000 seats. The remodeled field was renamed after the Tigers’ owner, Walter O. Briggs, Sr. Eventually in 1961, it would become Tiger Stadium.
Outside View, Navin Field, Detroit, Michigan
Inside View, Navin Field, Detroit, Michigan
The Detroit Lions played there as well. Beginning in 1938, the Detroit Lions started playing their games at Briggs Stadium. They remained there until 1975, when the team moved to the Pontiac Silverdome.
Source: Jim Wohlenhaus, “April 20, 1912: Frank Navin’s field of dreams opens in Detroit”, SABR : Society for American Baseball Research.
This article appeared in “Tigers By The Tale: Great Games at Michigan and Trumbull” (SABR, 2016), edited by Scott Ferkovich. To read more articles from this book, click here.