Sports
Charlie Bennett
1854–1927 · baseball catcher
Star catcher of the 1880s Detroit Wolverines who lost both legs in a train accident; the Tigers' first ballpark, Bennett Park, was named for him.
- Born
New Castle, Pennsylvania- Died
Detroit, Michigan
aged 72- Birth name
- Charles Wesley Bennett
- Also known as
- Our Catcher
- Detroit years
- 1876–1927
- Field
- Sports
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Bennett first played in Detroit in 1876 for the Aetnas, a local club, and returned in 1881 when the Detroit Wolverines joined the National League. He caught for them in every one of their eight seasons at Recreation Park, near today's Detroit Medical Center, and was the franchise's most popular player, a key man on the 1887 team that won the pennant and a championship series against the St. Louis Browns. He later won three pennants with Boston. In January 1894, while hunting in Kansas, he slipped under a moving train and lost both legs. Detroit did not forget him: in 1896 the new ballpark at Michigan and Trumbull was named Bennett Park, and for three decades he caught the ceremonial first pitch at the Tigers' home opener. He lived in Detroit until his death in 1927 and is buried at Woodmere Cemetery.
Highlights
- Caught for the Detroit Wolverines in all eight National League seasons, 1881–1888
- Member of the 1887 champion Wolverines
- Bennett Park (1896–1911), the Tigers' first home, was named for him
- Caught the ceremonial first pitch at Tigers openers for decades
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 3
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 · 1881–1888
Recreation Park (site) and historical marker
Demolished · 1879–1894
Home of the Detroit Wolverines; a historical marker stands at the south entrance of the Brush Mall on the Detroit Medical Center campus, in what was left field.
Memorial · 1896–1911
Bennett Park (site)
Demolished · 1896–1911
The Tigers' first ballpark, named in his honor; replaced by Navin Field (later Tiger Stadium) on the same corner.
Buried here · 1927
Woodmere Cemetery
Bennett was buried here after his death in 1927.