Sports
Mickey Cochrane
1903–1962 · baseball catcher and manager
Hall of Fame catcher who, as player-manager, led the Tigers to pennants in 1934 and 1935 and Detroit's first World Series title.
- Born
Bridgewater, Massachusetts- Died
Lake Forest, Illinois
aged 59- Birth name
- Gordon Stanley Cochrane
- Also known as
- Black Mike
- Detroit years
- 1934–1938
- Field
- Sports
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
In December 1933 Frank Navin, short of money and of fans, bought catcher Mickey Cochrane from the cash-strapped Philadelphia Athletics and made him player-manager. The effect in Depression-era Detroit was immediate. Picked by many to finish fourth or fifth, the 1934 Tigers won 101 games and the club's first pennant in 25 years, and Cochrane was named the league's Most Valuable Player. In 1935 he led them back to the World Series and scored the winning run in the ninth inning of Game 6 against the Chicago Cubs, giving Detroit its first undisputed world championship. Crowds packed Navin Field again, and within months the Lions and Red Wings also won titles, earning Detroit the name "City of Champions". In May 1937 a pitch fractured his skull and ended his playing career; he managed into 1938. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1947.
Highlights
- Tigers player-manager 1934–1938
- Won pennants in 1934 and 1935 and the 1935 World Series
- 1934 American League MVP
- Scored the Series-winning run in Game 6, 1935
- Elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1947
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 · 1934–1938
Tiger Stadium site (Navin Field), now The Corner Ballpark
Demolished · 1912–1999
Home field of his pennant winners and site of the 1935 World Series clincher; demolished in 2008–2009.