Sports
Jim Northrup
1939–2011 · baseball player, outfielder
Michigan-born Tigers outfielder whose grand slam and Game 7 triple were key blows in the 1968 World Series.
- Born
Breckenridge, Michigan- Died
Holly, Michigan
aged 71- Birth name
- James Thomas Northrup
- Also known as
- The Silver Fox
- Detroit years
- 1964–1974, later years
- Field
- Sports
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Northrup grew up in mid-Michigan, and as a boy he and his father made a seven-hour drive to Detroit once a year to see the Tigers play. After starring at Alma College he signed with Detroit and joined the team in 1964, nicknamed "the Silver Fox" for his prematurely gray hair. In 1968 he played all three outfield spots, filling in for an injured Al Kaline, and hit five grand slams in the regular season. In the World Series, after manager Mayo Smith moved Mickey Stanley to shortstop, Northrup played center field; he hit a grand slam in Game 6 and in the seventh inning of Game 7 drove a two-run triple over Curt Flood's head that decided the championship. He played for Detroit until 1974 and later worked as a Tigers television analyst, remaining a fixture of the Detroit sports scene until his death in Holly, Michigan, in 2011.
Highlights
- Grand slam in Game 6 of the 1968 World Series
- Game-winning two-run triple in Game 7 of the 1968 Series
- Five grand slams during the 1968 season
- Played for the Tigers 1964–1974
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 1
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Played here · 1964–1974
Tiger Stadium (site)
Demolished · 1912–1999
The ballpark he visited as a boy and later played in; demolished in 2008–2009.