A City on Fire: The Story of the '68 Detroit Tigers

This informative documentary takes a look at the 1968 Detroit Tigers and the team's effect on a torn and divided city after the explosive race rioting of 1967. Sporting only three blacks on the team the Tigers winning the World Series helps blacks and whites find common ground in putting their differences in the past. In 1968 Detroit was the nation's fifth most populous city and learning how to heal itself. Baseball fans and historians alike will find this hour documentary interesting.

having lived in Michigan all of my life I am very familiar with the 1968 Tigers. They are perhaps the most loved team in sports history here. While others may be loved and revered this team is the one that is never forgotten and always mentioned when a sports franchise wins another championship. It was a come back team from a city trying to recover from some very bad riots the year before. Those of us in Michigan can remember 1967 very well. Even those of us out in the suburbs had a curfew during those trying times. many of us also remember the Tigers were eliminated from contention on the last day of the year in 1967.The next year was magic. In most of their games they came from behind to win late in the game and then became only the third team to come from a 3-1 deficit to win the World series over the favored and defending champion St. Louis Cardinals and their Hall-of-Fame laden line-up. I remember seeing on TV people black and white hugging and celebrating the Tigers victory, when a year earlier they might not have had anything to do with each other or been at each others throats. It might be a story only those who lived here can understand or empathize with. But, it is our story, and for one year, a baseball team made us forget our troubles during some very turbulent times.I knew many kids who like me lived in the suburbs who wanted to be like Willie Horton, Earl Wilson or Gates Brown and years later I knew many black people who wanted to be like Al Kaline,Norm Cash, Denny McLain or Mickey Lolich. These players are still loved, admired, and respected not only for winning, but because they too were part of the community. Most had mid-western and Michigan roots and still do. For outsiders, this is a chance to see what and why this team means so much to so many people in Michigan and Detroit.To this day, the Tiger of 1968 are still special. This story tells you why.

My family are lifelong Tiger fans, and I recently saw about 3/4 of this documentary on TV. It was so cool to see all of my heroes (Freehan, Kaline, Lolich, Stanely) in action and to hear their thoughts about the season and what was going on in the country at that time. The film makers have done a great job of relating the game to the cultural climate in Detroit at the time, and I highly recommend the movie to all, not just Tiger or baseball fans. I would love to see the whole thing, and I have been searching for a copy with no luck ever since. Does anyone have one they can copy for me? I'll make it worth your while...

thanks, JunkyT