Sports
Bill Freehan
1941–2021 · baseball catcher
Detroit-born catcher who spent his entire 15-year career with the Tigers, an 11-time All-Star who caught the final out of the 1968 World Series.
- Born
Detroit, Michigan- Died
Walloon Lake, Michigan
aged 79- Birth name
- William Ashley Freehan
- Detroit years
- 1941–1955, 1961–1976
- Field
- Sports
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Freehan was born in Detroit and grew up in suburban Royal Oak until he was fourteen, when his family moved to Florida. He went on to play baseball and football at the University of Michigan and signed with his hometown Tigers in 1961. By the mid-1960s he was the best catcher in the American League, and he never played for another club. In 1968 he finished second in the MVP voting while handling a staff that included Denny McLain and Mickey Lolich, and in Game 7 of the World Series he caught Tim McCarver's foul pop for the final out, then embraced Lolich in one of the most famous photographs in Detroit sports. His eleven All-Star selections are the most of any player not in the Hall of Fame. He later coached at Michigan and died in northern Michigan in 2021.
Highlights
- Played his entire career with the Tigers, 1961–1976
- 11-time All-Star, a record for a player not in the Hall of Fame
- Runner-up for the 1968 American League MVP
- Caught the final out of the 1968 World Series
- Five Gold Glove Awards
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 · 1961–1976
Tiger Stadium (site)
Demolished · 1912–1999
His home park for his whole career; demolished in 2008–2009.