The Story of Detroit Tigers

The Story of Detroit Tigers — page 5
6 T i g e r s CLAWING INTO EXISTENCE amed after the French word for strait Detroit Michigan is just that a city on a river connecting two larger bodies of water Settled in 1701 on the Detroit River between Lake Huron and Lake Erie by French officer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac Detroit grew to a population of 1,000 by the late 1700s During pre-Civil War times Detroit was an important hub in the underground railroad network that transported southern slaves to freedom in the North From the late 1800s onward Detroit rose in population due to its location as a gateway to the expanding West and to the automobile boom of the 20th century Detroit jumped into major league baseball in 1881 with a National League NL team called the Wolverines That club lasted only eight seasons as the city then still relatively small struggled to draw and retain talented players But in 1901 three years before the new Ford Motor Company would really put Detroit on the map a new club from N