» April 17, 1955: Al Kaline of the Tigers hits 3 HRs in Briggs Stadium, including 2 in the 6th inning to drive in 6 runs. The Tigers rout the A's 16-0, behind Steve Gromek's pitching.

» September 2, 1955: Whitey Ford and Mickey Mantle celebrate Billy Martin's return from the army; Ford throws 6 innings of no-hit ball against Washington before Carlos Paula spoils it in the 7th with Washington's only hit. The Yanks win 4-2 as Mantle hits his 36th HR, a 3-run shot. Mantle is 10 HRs ahead of rivals Al Kaline and Ted Williams. New York stays a half game behind the White Sox, who beat the 3rd-place Indians. Billy Martin will hit .300 in September, and New York will go on a 17-6 tear to win the pennant by 3 games.

» September 25, 1955: Detroit OF Al Kaline becomes the youngest batting champ in history, as he takes the AL crown at age 20.

» June 21, 1958: Frank Lary pitches his 3rd straight shutout, beating the Yankees Duke Maas, 1–0. Al Kaline throws out Maas at the plate and hits his 7th home run to extend his hitting streak to 18 games.

» June 14, 1959: At New York, the Tigers sweep a pair from New York, 3–2 and 8–2. Charlie Maxwell unleashes his Sunday punch in the opener, hitting a 3-run homer in the 8th. It is his 14th homer, eight of which have come on Sunday. Lary wins his 3rd of the year against the Yankees. Paul Foytack is the winner in game 2. Al Kaline has three hits in each game.

» June 18, 1959: At Baltimore, Chico Carrasquel drives in two urns in both the 8th and 9th innings to give the Birds, a 6–7 win over the Tigers. Tiger star Al Kaline, hitting .357, fractures his shoulder and will be out of action.

» April 19, 1960: Opening Day in Cleveland takes on added drama as Rocky Colavito makes his debut with the Tigers. He is hitless in six ABs and strikes out four times. Detroit's Frank Lary and Cleveland's Gary Bell each pitch 10 shutout innings. The Tigers score twice in the 11th, but Jim Piersall's 2-run single off Jim Bunning ties the game. In the 15th, as the major-league record for the longest Opening Day game is tied, Al Kaline's 2-run single gives Detroit a 4–2 win.

» June 20, 1961: Al Kaline plays 3B for the first time in his career. His two hits and two RBIs lead the Tigers to a 5–4 win over the Senators. Kaline will return to the OF and play 3B just once more in his career, in 1965.

» August 28, 1961: At Washington, Rocky Colavito and Al Kaline belt 1st-inning homers as Detroit wins, 7–3 to cut New York's lead to one 1/2 games. Rocky now has 39 homers and 120 RBIs. Jake Wood hits a 6th inning grand slam to complete the scoring for Detroit.

» September 16, 1961: At Detroit, Roger Maris connects for #57, off Frank Lary, to stay a game ahead of Ruth's 1927 pace. But Lary wins his 21st, 10–4, over Ralph Terry, with help from Norm Cash, who belts a homer, his 37th, and a triple. Al Kaline adds four hits and a sac fly.

» May 26, 1962: In New York, Al Kaline suffers a broken right collarbone while making a diving, game-saving catch off Elston Howard's bat to seal Detroit's 2–1 win against the Yankees. He will be out until June 23rd.

» August 23, 1962: Steve Boros matches the American League record for most errors in an inning by a 3B with 4, but Detroit beats Cleveland 8–5, as Al Kaline hits two home runs.

» November 7, 1963: C Elston Howard becomes the first black ever voted American League MVP. New York's Howard tops Detroit's Al Kaline 248 to 148.

» June 20, 1965: In the opener of two in Kansas City, the Tigers rally from an 8-run deficit in the 2nd inning to win 12–8. Al Kaline collects his 1,000 RBI with a 2-run single. Detroit loses the 2nd game to snap their 8-game win streak.

» August 26, 1966: Detroit's Earl Wilson, winner of six straight, hits an 8th inning homer to give himself a 5–3 lead over New York. But the Yankees, batting against reliever Hank Aguirre in the 9th, tally one run on a Clete Boyer single, and win it, 6–5, when Mickey Mantle clouts a pinch homer over a leaping Al Kaline in RF. The win still leaves New York (57–72) in last place.

» June 27, 1967: Detroit RF Al Kaline breaks his hand jamming his bat into the bat rack after striking out against Sam McDowell, as the 2nd-place Tigers lose to Cleveland 8–1. Kaline will miss 28 games.

» May 18, 1968: Frank Howard ties the American League record with a home run in his 6th consecutive game to lead Washington to an 8–4 win over Detroit. His 10 home runs in the six games are the most of all the record holders. Howard's 10 home runs (in 20 at bats) are also the most ever in one week (Sunday through Saturday). Earl Wilson will stop him tomorrow. For Detroit, Al Kaline belts a pinch-HR off Steve Jones. It is Kaline's 307th home run, surpassing Hank Greenberg's 306 in a Tiger uniform.

» May 25, 1968: Detroit OF Al Kaline is hit by the A's Lew Krausse's pitch and suffers a broken arm. He will be out until June 30th. The Tigers win, 2–1, behind Denny McLain, who scores the game's first run in the 8th. The A's run in the 9th is unearned.

» July 7, 1968: Denny McLain, the major leagues' winningest pitcher with 16, helps Detroit take a nine 1/2 game lead in the A.L. at the All-Star break, as the Tigers sweep the A's 5–4 and 7–6. McLain wins the opener when Willie Horton clubs a 3-run homer, and Al Kaline matches that in the nitecap.

» August 25, 1968: The Tigers, ahead 5–0, fail to score with two on in the 4th inning when the Yanks bring in Rocky Colavito. The 35-year-old slugger retires Al Kaline and Willie Horton and tosses two 2/3 innings of scoreless relief to earn the win. In Rocky's only other appearance, in 1958, he also faced Kaline, and the victory by a non-pitcher will be the last this century. Bill Robinson and Bobby Cox crash successive homers to tie the score and, after a walk, Rocky comes around to score the winning run. In the 8th, Yankees reliever Lindy McDaniel ties the American League record for consecutive batters retired by setting down the first Tiger he faces, giving him 32 straight batters retired over four appearances. New York sweeps, winning 6–5 and then topping Mickey Lolich, 5–4. The four losses in New York leaves the Tigers just five ahead of the Orioles.

» October 2, 1968: For the first time in history, two soon-to-be-named MVPs oppose each other. St. Louis' Bob Gibson is nearly untouchable with a World Series-record 17 strikeouts and a 4–0 win over Denny McLain. Detroit manager Mayo Smith moves Gold Glove CF Mickey Stanley to SS, improving his offense by opening a spot for Al Kaline.

» October 7, 1968: Mickey Lolich saves Detroit, 5–3 with an unlikely assist from Lou Brock. On 2B in the 5th, Brock tries to score standing up on Julian Javier's single and is gunned down by Willie Horton's throw. Al Kaline's bases-loaded single off Joe Hoerner in the 7th scores two for the winning margin. Jose Feliciano's modern rendition of the National Anthem before the game stirs controversy.

» August 17, 1969: The Tigers tie a club record with six homers, and Denny McLain wins his 19th, beating the A's at Oakland, 9–4. Al Kaline homers in the 7th and 9th off relievers, but the first three Bengal homers come off starter Catfish Hunter.

» May 30, 1970: Detroit's Les Cain walks the first three batters, gives up a single and then newly acquired Roberto Pena smacks an inside-the-park grand slam to help the Brewers beat Detroit, 9–7. Jim Northrup and Al Kaline collide going after Pena's ball.

» May 23, 1971: With 53,337 on hand Mickey Lolich and Les Cain, with three innings from Joe Niekro, notch shutouts as the Tigers sweep a doubleheader from the Senators 5–0 and 11–0. The loser in the opener is Denny McLain, making his first appearance in Detroit since being traded. Al Kaline and Norm Cash each hit 2-run homers off Denny, with Cash adding another pair, one with the sacks full, in the nitecap.

» June 27, 1972: Mickey Lolich is staked to 4–0 lead when the Tigers hit three consecutive first-inning home runs against New York's Wade Blasingame, making his American League debut. Tony Taylor leads off with a walk before Aurelio Rodriguez, Al Kaline, and Willie Horton wade in with homers to finish Blasingame. Lolich, pitching on two days rest, notches his 12th, winning 5–2. Bobby Murcer's home run accounts for one of the Yank runs.

» October 3, 1972: The Tigers clinch the AL East as Woodie Fryman beats Luis Tiant 3–1 for his 10th win. Chuck Seelbach picks up his 14th save and Al Kaline singles in the winning run for Detroit. Tiant hits a single in the game; not until Roger Clemens singles in 1996 will another Sox pitcher get a hit in the same game he pitches. Fryman also singles, off Tiant; not till interleague play in 1997 will another Tiger pitcher get a base hit.

» October 7, 1972: Oakland defeats Detroit in the opening game of the AL Championship Series. The Tigers take a 2–1 lead in the 11th inning, but the A's come back with two runs in the bottom of the frame. The winning run is scored on Al Kaline's throwing error.

» April 19, 1973: Al Kaline, 38, steals home on a double steal with Willie Horton as the Tigers defeat Boston 11–7.

» July 29, 1974: Detroit hits four home runs in the first inning in an 8–2 win over the Indians. Al Kaline, Bill Freehan, and Mickey Stanley hit consecutive home runs off Fritz Peterson, and Ed Brinkman adds another, though not consecutive, off Steve Kline.

» September 24, 1974: Al Kaline doubles off Dave McNally for his 3,000th career hit, as the Tigers beat the Orioles 5–4.

» January 9, 1980: Al Kaline and Duke Snider are elected to the Hall of Fame by the BBWAA. Kaline is the 10th player to be elected in his first year of eligibility, while Snider is making his 11th appearance on the ballot.

» August 3, 1980: Al Kaline, Duke Snider, Chuck Klein, and Tom Yawkey are inducted into baseball's Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.