Sports
Ron LeFlore
born 1948 · baseball player, center fielder
East-side Detroiter who went from Jackson State Prison to center field at Tiger Stadium in 1974, a story told in the TV film One in a Million.
- Born
Detroit, Michigan
age 78- Birth name
- Ronald LeFlore
- Detroit years
- 1948–1979
- Field
- Sports
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
LeFlore grew up on Detroit's east side, attended Eastern High School and got into trouble early; he played no organized baseball as a youth and had been to Tiger Stadium perhaps once, in the upper bleachers with his father. While serving time in Jackson State Prison for armed robbery he began playing on the prison team and showed astonishing speed. A fellow inmate persuaded his friend Jimmy Butsicaris, co-owner of the Lindell AC, the downtown bar favored by Detroit athletes, to ask Tigers manager Billy Martin to take a look. Martin arranged a day parole and a tryout at Tiger Stadium in 1973, and LeFlore signed. He was in the majors by 1974, made the All-Star team in 1976, put together a 30-game hitting streak that year and became one of the fastest base stealers of his era. His life story became the 1978 TV movie One in a Million.
Highlights
- Signed after a 1973 tryout arranged while he was on day parole
- Played for the Tigers 1974–1979
- 1976 All-Star and a 30-game hitting streak
- 455 career stolen bases
- Subject of the 1978 TV film One in a Million: The Ron LeFlore Story
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 2
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 · 1973–1979
Tiger Stadium
Demolished · 1912–1999
Site of his 1973 tryout and his Tigers career; demolished in 2008–2009.
Related place · 1973
Lindell AC
Closed · 1949–2002
The famous sports bar whose co-owner helped arrange LeFlore's tryout; it opened in 1949, moved to Cass and Michigan in 1963 and closed in 2002.