Heather Nabozny (born 1970) is an American groundskeeper. She has been the head groundskeeper of the Detroit Tigers' Comerica Park since it opened in 2000, becoming the first female head groundskeeper in the history of Major League Baseball. [1] [2]
On September 5, 2014 Nabozny badly injured her leg as the Comerica Park grounds crew attempted to cover the field during a severe storm during a game between the Tigers and San Francisco Giants. [3] She underwent surgery on her knee and managed her grounds crew's preparation for the American League Division Series between the Tigers and Baltimore Orioles one month after her injury with her leg in a cast. [4]
Nabozny was born in Milford, Michigan. [5] Her father Louis, who worked 30 years at Ford Motor Company, started a lawn care business when she was 10. [5] She used to work for her father during the summer. [2] [5] She grew up as a Tigers fan and attended games at Tiger Stadium with her father. [2]
She studied sports turf-management at the Michigan State University [2] and graduated in 1993. [5] She started her career with the Toronto Blue Jays at their spring training complex in Dunedin, Florida. [5] She was named head groundskeeper for the Detroit Tigers prior to the 1999 season, the Tigers' last at Tiger Stadium. She was the youngest head groundskeeper in Major League Baseball at the time at 28 years of age.
Mark Steven Fidrych, nicknamed "the Bird", was an American professional baseball pitcher who played five seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Detroit Tigers.
Comerica Park is a baseball stadium located in Downtown Detroit. It has been the ballpark of Major League Baseball's Detroit Tigers since 2000, when the team left Tiger Stadium.
Tiger Stadium, previously known as Navin Field and Briggs Stadium, was a multi-use stadium located in the Corktown neighborhood of Detroit, Michigan, United States. The stadium was nicknamed "The Corner" for its location at the intersection of Michigan and Trumbull Avenues. It hosted the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1912 to 1999, as well as the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL) from 1938 to 1974. Tiger Stadium was declared a State of Michigan Historic Site in 1975 and has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1989.
William Earnest Harwell was an American sportscaster, known for his long career calling play-by-play of Major League Baseball games. For 55 seasons, 42 of them with the Detroit Tigers, Harwell broadcast the action on radio and/or television. In January 2009, the American Sportscasters Association ranked him 16th on its list of Top 50 Sportscasters of All Time.
Comerica Incorporated is an American financial services company, headquartered in Dallas, Texas. It is the parent of Comerica Bank, a regional commercial bank with 413 branches in the U.S. states of Texas, Michigan, California, Florida and Arizona. Comerica is among the largest U.S. financial holding companies, with offices in a number of U.S. cities.
Magglio José Ordóñez Delgado is a Venezuelan former professional baseball right fielder. He played for the Chicago White Sox (1997–2004) and Detroit Tigers (2005–2011). Ordóñez is 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m) tall and weighs 215 lb (98 kg). Having posted a career .309 batting average over 15 seasons, Ordóñez retired from the major leagues as a Tiger on June 3, 2012, in a ceremony at Comerica Park prior to the afternoon game.
Michael Ilitch Sr., also known as Mr. I, was an American entrepreneur and restaurateur who served as the founder and owner of the international fast food franchise Little Caesars Pizza. He also owned the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League and Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball.
Ilitch Holdings, Inc. is an American holding company established in 1999 to provide all companies owned by Mike and Marian Ilitch with professional and technical services. Its privately held businesses include Little Caesars Pizza, the National Hockey League (NHL) Detroit Red Wings, the Major League Baseball (MLB) Detroit Tigers, Olympia Entertainment, Olympia Development, Olympia Parking, Blue Line Foodservice Distribution, Champion Foods, 313 Presents, the Little Caesars Pizza Kit Fundraising Program, Hockeytown Cafe, and a variety of venues within these entities. Ilitch Holdings subsidiaries manage Detroit's Fox Theatre, City Theatre, Comerica Park, Pine Knob Music Theatre, Michigan Lottery Amphitheater, Meadow Brook Amphitheater, and Little Caesars Arena, which replaced Joe Louis Arena after closing in July 2017.
Paul Lewis Emmel is an American retired Major League Baseball (MLB) umpire. He worked in the National League in 1999, and throughout both major leagues from 2000 to 2023. Emmel was named a crew chief in 2017 and wore uniform number 50.
Herbie Redmond, known variously as "Herbie the Hoofer," "Short Dog," and "Herbie the Love Bug," was the Detroit Tigers' dancing groundskeeper who was one of the most colorful and popular characters in Detroit baseball in the 1970s and 1980s. Born in Birmingham, Alabama, Redmond served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War and worked as a forklift operator for Ford Motor Company before joining the Tiger Stadium grounds crew in 1969.
The 1999 Detroit Tigers season was the team's 121st season and—after nearly a century of baseball at the corner of Michigan and Trumbull Avenues—its 88th and final season at Tiger Stadium. The team had a record of 69–92 and finished in third place of the American League Central, 27+1⁄2 games behind the Cleveland Indians. On September 27, 1999, Robert Fick had the final hit of the final game at Tiger Stadium, a rooftop grand slam, which was the stadium's 11,111th home run. In the 2000 season, the Tigers moved to Comerica Park.
The 2000 Detroit Tigers season was the team's 100th season and its first season at Comerica Park, after playing at Tiger Stadium since 1912, at the corner of Michigan Avenue and Trumbull Avenue.
Roger Bossard is the head groundskeeper at Guaranteed Rate Field, home of the Chicago White Sox.
Andrew Lee Dirks is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He attended Haven High School in Haven, Kansas, and was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in 2008. Dirks made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut with the Tigers in 2011. He played all three outfield positions in his three seasons in the major leagues.
John McHale, Jr. is a Major League Baseball executive, who works as the league's Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Executive Vice President of Administration.
Charley Marcuse is a former hot dog vendor at Tiger Stadium and Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan. He became known for his distinctive yell while selling hot dogs as well as his refusal to serve ketchup with them, responding "There is no ketchup in baseball!" when asked. He received national recognition after he was temporarily banned in 2004. He was fired permanently in 2013.
George Toma is an American groundskeeper who specializes in working on sports facilities. Toma is one of the few surviving people to have attended every Super Bowl game, from 1967 to 2023.
The Corner Ballpark is a multi-purpose sports stadium located in the Corktown neighborhood of Detroit. Built on the former site of Tiger Stadium, the stadium opened in 2018 and is the home of the Detroit Police Athletic League. It is also home to numerous youth, college, amateur, and semi-professional sports teams and has also hosted several concerts during the spring and summer.
