A City on Fire: The Story of the '68 Detroit Tigers (TV 2002)

Writers:

Armen Keteyian, Jeff Sarokin

Stars:

Gene Cunningham, Martha Reeves, Joe Lapointe

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gene Cunningham	...	Himself (Students Org. Against Racism 1964-67 / Detroit Resident)
Martha Reeves	...	Herself (Martha and the Vandellas 1962-1972)
Joe Lapointe	...	Himself (Usher, Tiger Stadium 1967-1969)
Herb Boyd	...	Himself (Detroit Resident 1942-1985 / Instructor, Wayne State University 1965-1977)
Jim Northrup	...	Himself (Detroit Tigers 1964-1974)
Thomas Sugrue	...	Himself (Detroit Resident 1962-1980 / Author, The Origins of the Urban Crisis)
Damon Keith	...	Himself (Michigan Civil Rights Committee 1964-1967) (as Hon. Damon Keith)
Isaiah McKinnon	...	Himself (Detroit Police Officer 1965-1984)
Gates Brown	...	Himself (Detroit Tigers 1963-1975)
John Conyers	...	Himself (as Rep. John Conyers Jr.)
William Serrin	...	Himself (Reporter, Detroit Free Press 1966-1977)
Neal Shine	...	Himself (City Editor, Detroit Free Press 1965-1971)
George Cantor	...	Himself (Sportswriter, Detroit Free Press 1966-1969 / Author, The Tigers of '68)
Jerry Lewis	...	Himself (Detroit Resident)
Willie Horton	...	Himself (Detroit Tigers 1963-1977)

Storyline

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Plot Keywords:

1960s | detroit tigers | detroit michigan | race | world series | 

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Genres:

Documentary | Sport

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Certificate:

TV-G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 July 2002 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Black Canyon Productions, Clear Channel Entertainment Television, HBO Sports

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Color:

Color

User Reviews

A Love Story to Motown's Boys of Summer

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.