Sports
Charlie Gehringer
1903–1993 · baseball player, second baseman
Michigan-born Hall of Fame second baseman who played his whole 19-year career with the Tigers; his No. 2 is retired and his statue stands at Comerica Park.
- Born
Fowlerville, Michigan- Died
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
aged 89- Birth name
- Charles Leonard Gehringer
- Also known as
- The Mechanical Man
- Detroit years
- 1924–1993
- Field
- Sports
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Gehringer grew up on a farm in Fowlerville, a small town in Livingston County, and was discovered after a year at the University of Michigan when Tigers outfielder Bobby Veach brought him to Navin Field for a tryout; player-manager Ty Cobb urged owner Frank Navin to sign him on the spot. He debuted in 1924 and played every one of his nineteen seasons in Detroit. So quiet and consistent that he was called "the Mechanical Man", he hit .320 for his career, topped 200 hits seven times and started at second base in the first six All-Star Games. With Hank Greenberg and Goose Goslin he formed the "G-Men" who carried Detroit to pennants in 1934 and 1935 and its first World Series title. In 1937 he won the batting title at .371 and the MVP award. He later served as the Tigers' general manager and lived in the Detroit suburbs until his death.
Highlights
- Played for the Tigers from 1924 to 1942
- 1937 American League MVP and batting champion (.371)
- Starting second baseman in the first six All-Star Games
- Elected to the Hall of Fame in 1949; No. 2 retired in 1983
- One of six Tigers legends with a statue at Comerica Park
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 · 1923–1942
Tiger Stadium site (Navin Field / Briggs Stadium), now The Corner Ballpark
Demolished · 1912–1999
Where he tried out in 1923 and played his entire career; demolished in 2008–2009, the field is now The Corner Ballpark.
Memorial · 2000–
Comerica Park
His statue is one of the six Tigers greats on the left-center-field concourse.
Buried here · 1993
Holy Sepulchre Cemetery
Entombed in the cemetery's mausoleum (Section 118W).