D’Addona: Chet Lemon recalls special bond of 1984 Tigers, 35 years later
From SABR member Dan D’Addona at the Holland Sentinel on July 10, 2019:
Thirty-five years ago, a 35-5 start propelled the Tigers into a season of the ages.
Chet Lemon was an integral part of that start and special 1984 season in Detroit.
Last week, he got to share memories with his teammates in Detroit for the 35th anniversary reunion at Comerica Park. On Wednesday, he was sharing memories with fans at Fifth Third Ballpark as the West Michigan Whitecaps’ guest for the Tiger Wednesday series.
“We will have a bond for the rest of our lives. It was such a great feeling coming back. We got a chance to have our anniversary and see all the guys. It brought back so many memories.” Lemon said. “Bless You Boys — every day we picked up a paper and they were talking about that. Our fans were great and that helped us. In 1983, we were just behind Baltimore, so we were determined (in 1984). We were ready to go.”
The 35-5 start is what separates the 1984 team from others in history, but it took a while for that to really sink in for the players.
Read the full article here: https://www.hollandsentinel.com/sports/20190710/chet-lemon-recalls-special-bond-of-1984-tigers-35-years-later
- Related link: Read more stories from SABR’s Detroit Tigers 1984: What A Start! What A Finish! at the SABR BioProject
Originally published: July 12, 2019. Last Updated: July 12, 2019.