Remembering Mark ‘The Bird’ Fidrych: Appeared in 1983 Felch baseball tourney
Jason Julian meets former Detroit Tigers stars John Hiller (left) and Mark (The Bird) Fidrych.
Jason Julian meets former Detroit Tigers stars John Hiller (left) and Mark (The Bird) Fidrych.
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IRON MOUNTAIN -- The 1983 Upper Peninsula Hardball Championship in Felch will be best remembered by the appearance of former Detroit Tigers great Mark "The Bird" Fidrych.
More than 10,000 fans flocked to Felch Memorial Field to see the eccentric Bird, who would talk to the ball and groom the mound with his hands.
Fidrych pitched one game, a three-hit, five-inning effort against Hancock. He played left field for the Rangers in their other victories over Bonduel and Freedom.
John Hiller, another former Tigers great now living in the area, tossed a four-hit shutout at Bonduel.
The Rangers roster had big-time hitters in Dave Bray, Mike Caruso, Mark Dixon, Bruce (Hubba Hubba) Murray, Gus Murray and Doug Schupp at the plate. John Bray, added to the Felch roster for the tourney, cracked a couple of home runs against Bonduel.
Felch and Ionia met in the finals, with rain washing out the game in the second inning. They were declared co-champions.
The expected 16-team tournament started Friday, with the Quinnesec and Kingsford fields also used. The field dropped to 15 when the Green Bay Blue Ribbons dropped out. It was down to 14 when Quinnesec beat the Channing Railroaders in the opener Friday.
However, the Blue Ribbons exit affected the pitching plans of the Rawlings All-Stars of Channing. Managed by softball great "Crafty Carl" Lemin, the All-Stars had Todder Lindeman, Danny Olson and Mike Ferguson lined up to pitch.
"Todd says his arm feels strong," Ferguson was quoted at the time.
Three Blue Ribbons pitchers then joined the All-Stars for the tournament. That bumped Lindeman from pitching to catching, according to The Daily News in September 1983.
The All-Stars knocked off Dollar Bay and Traverse City before falling to Ionia in the semifinals. Rod Bloom homered in a five-hit tourney for the All-Stars. Mark Cambray added a home run and two doubles.
Paul Wilmet, a former New York Mets minor leaguer, tossed a four-hitter with 10 strikeouts in beating Traverse City.
Rusty Staub and Willie Horton represented the 1976 Tigers in "The Bird," Major League Baseball Network's documentary on Fidrych's life. Breitung Township's Hiller also played a role in his life.
"Mark was definitely one that we all stopped what we were doing to watch," Hiller said in Doug Wilson's book "The Bird: The Life and Legacy of Mark Fidrych."
"Part was what he did, but also part was that he pitched so well."
Tigers manager Ralph Houk, realizing Hiller's stabilizing influence, assigned the relief ace a locker next to Fidrych.
"He gets more mail in three days that I got in my whole career," joked Hiller, who was often unable to reach his locker with the media swarming to Fidrych.
In his amazing rookie season of 1976, Fidrych posted a 19-9 record with a league-best 2.34 ERA. He had 29 starts and 24 complete games.
"Babe Ruth didn't cause that much excitement in his brightest day," said longtime baseball player, manager and executive Paul Richards.
During a winning streak of eight straight games, Fidrych went in the distance in seven. Hiller got the save in a June 20 game at Bloomington, Minn., as Fidrych pitched into the eighth.
In a July 24 game at Cleveland, Hiller took over for Fidrych in the fifth inning and got the win. Hiller's 1976 season shows a 12-8 record with 2.38 ERA and 13 saves in 56 appearances.
Injuries would shorten Fidrych's baseball career.
"Mark Fidrych was one of baseball's all-time good guys and continued doing charity work until his premature death while working on his truck seven years ago," noted Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe.