Tuesday, April 23, 2019

Hamtramck celebrates the centennial of the Negro League Detroit Stars

The Detroit Stars, pictured with team president Tenny Blount, in 1920.

Joined by the family of Norman “Turkey” Stearnes, the Friends of Historic Hamtramck Stadium celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Detroit Stars Saturday with the opening of a new photo exhibit called Black Baseball in Detroit.

“Detroit Black baseball history effectively began when Rube Foster, often called the Father of Black Baseball,’ founded the Detroit Stars in 1919,” said Friends founder and president Gary Gillette. “A year later, the Stars became charter members of the first major Negro League, the Negro National League.

One hundred years after the Stars’ first game, the Friends of Historic Hamtramck Stadium (FHHS) are gearing up to bring the history of Black Baseball in Michigan to the attention of everyone who cares about the history of the African-American community in Detroit.

To that end, FHHS is planning a Detroit Stars Centennial Conference August 8-10.

“Even though the Negro Leagues’ era has long passed,” Gillette said, “it is long past time that the accomplishments of Turkey Stearnes and the rest of these great African-American athletes were moved out of the shadows into the limelight.

Longtime baseball coach and FHHS vice president Mike Wilson was also on hand to honor the Stars centennial and discuss plans to restore the home of the Detroit Stars. 

The one thing that continues to resonate with me is how folks have consistently sought to preserve the history, landscape, and citizenry of the Hamtramck community, said Wilson, a Hamtramck native.

I’m honored to help coordinate the sports clinics and try to accommodate all cultures and backgrounds through baseball, softball, soccer, and cricket.

Friends of Historic Hamtramck Stadium's Mike Wilson helps open the new Black Baseball photo exhibit at the Hamtramck Historical Museum Saturday, April 20. (Photo by Dave Mesrey)


Rosilyn Stearnes Brown, daughter of Hall of Famer Turkey Stearnes, came to pay homage to Detroit's and Hamtramcks history of Negro League baseball and to lend her support to the restoration of Hamtramck Stadium.

I hope we can generate the funds needed to complete this project by also renovating the grandstand so that people will want to come and participate in all of the activities, she said. This is one of only five stadiums left in the country where my dad and his teammates played, so this is the least we can do to keep their legacy alive. A small price to pay for such a deserving group of men.

The Friends of Historic Hamtramck Stadium, along with the family of Norman “Turkey” Stearnes, celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Detroit Stars at the Hamtramck Historical Museum. (Photo by Jason Roche) 

“Today was a historical day because of the centennial anniversary of the Detroit Stars, said Stearnes daughter Joyce Stearnes Thompson. 

Now that the plan is in place to restore Hamtramck Stadium's playing field, Thompson is hopeful that the plan for the grandstand will soon come to fruition.

It's my hope that some affluent person with a heart of gold will help us renovate the grandstand, she said. Since I never had the opportunity to see my father play, this would be a dream come true.

Tom Derry, founder of the Hamtramck Stadium Grounds Crew, says he's excited to begin his group's third year of maintaining the historic site.

In the coming months, we'll restore the pitching mound where Satchel Paige used to twirl, the home plate area where Josh Gibson once caught, and the base paths that Cool Papa Bell once raced around.

And we’ll continue to take care of the outfield that was home to the great Turkey Stearnes.

While the grandstand has yet to be restored, Derry says people can bring chairs down to the field and catch some vintage base ball" action this summer. 

We’ll even grill up some hot dogs, and serve up peanuts and cold drinks, he said. "We’ll help make this a park that everyone can enjoy.