When Dr. Thomas Santarossa D.D.S. was 13-years old, American sports culture was different.
‘Everybody had a neighborhood park, little league, all that stuff,? Santarossa said. ‘It (baseball) was the sport’you could go anywhere and hear someone with a transistor radio on broadcasting the game. It was always on all day long.?
That passion was evident when kids would play against each other.
‘If you were a right handed hitter you were Willie Horton and if you were left-handed you were Norm Cash.?
And even better, the 1968 Detroit Tigers, the team Santarossa went to see with his father in game four of the World Series, were victorious over the St. Louis Cardinals. That year’s squad overcame a similar 3-1 deficit, yet Apollo 7 leaving the Earth nudged the Tigers? victory from the front page of the newspaper.
‘I grew up listening to Ernie Harwell and George Kell,? Santarossa said, comfortably resting back in his office chair, wearing his Detroit Tigers necktie.
‘I knew who was pitching when and their statistics and I could even tell you the batting order,? Santarossa said.
The lifelong love for the Tigers inspired Santarossa to decorate his office building in Clarkston with memorabilia, both old and new.
Posted around the corner from his office hangs a 1968 program, pennants, and the October 11, 1968 Detroit News sports page, pinned to the wall. The printed pages have gotten a bit yellow and the edges worn with time, but Santarossa still remembers that day (October 6,1968) with his father watching Denny McLain and Bob Gibson on the mound from behind home plate at Tiger Stadium. McLain, a 31-game winner in the regular season, took the loss as Detroit fell 10-1.
Later in life, Santarossa continued to watch the Tigers from the ballpark, as he and friends would travel to the ballpark for opening day. His favorite seats at the old Tiger Stadium were inside the right field porch. He enjoyed those seats because they were closer to the field than others, and fans could actually catch a fly ball that would have been in play because the seats were positioned to be an overhang on the field.
Santarossa was hoping to be able to take his children, four boys, to see the Tigers take on the Cardinals to try and relive his memories.
‘I remember watching it in school, it was a really big deal,? said Mary Anne Santarossa, Thomas? wife.
‘Now that he has kids, he’s remembering what it’s like’it’s exciting.?
The Tigers? 2006 season has been exciting for many sports fans in the metro area.
‘They brought baseball back to the city totally unexpected,? Santarossa said. ‘This town is a baseball town, regardless of what happens, baseball will be back.?
The team’s popularity has gotten families together around the TV to watch the games together, including the Santarossas.
‘I hope they can have the same kind of memories I had,? Santarossa said.
His son Steven, 11, enjoyed watching the games with his dad.
‘It’s fun watching them hit home runs and going around the bases’it’s amazing how they catch the outfield flies when they could nearly miss them,? Steven said.
Unfortunately, the Tigers? season ended before they could bring the World Series back to Detroit, but the old saying associated with the team, ‘Wait ’till next year,? finally has a positive connotation.