''Tiger Town'' is a 1983 American

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

and is the first television film produced for the

Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compan ...

. It was awarded a

CableACE Award The CableACE Award (earlier known as the ACE Awards; ACE was an acronym for "Award for Cable Excellence") is a defunct award that was given by what was then the National Cable Television Association from 1978 to 1997 to honor excellence in Amer ...

in 1984 for Best Dramatic Film. The film stars

Roy Scheider Roy Richard Scheider (; November 10, 1932 – February 10, 2008) was an American actor and amateur boxer. Described by AllMovie as "one of the most unique and distinguished of all Hollywood actors", he gained fame for his leading and supporting ...

as Billy Young, an aging

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

player for the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

, and

Justin Henry Justin Henry (born May 25, 1971) is an American actor and businessman, known for playing the object of the titular custody battle in the 1979 film ''Kramer vs. Kramer'', a debut role that earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supp ...

as Alex, a young fan who believes in him. ''Tiger Town'' originally aired October 9, 1983 on the

. The film was written and directed by Detroit native Alan Shapiro and executive produced by Susan B. Landau. It was subsequently aired on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

's '' Disney Sunday Movie'', and had a limited theatrical release in the Detroit area in June 1984, which (coincidentally) was during Tigers’ best season in franchise history. Most of the film was shot on location at Tiger Stadium and in the city of

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

. One notable goof in the film shows Alex racing his bicycle across a bridge over the

Detroit River The Detroit River flows west and south for from Lake St. Clair to Lake Erie as a strait in the Great Lakes system. The river divides the metropolitan areas of Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario, Windsor, Ontario—an area collectively refe ...

on the way to the stadium. The bridge is the one leading from the Detroit mainland to

Belle Isle Park Belle Isle Park, known simply as Belle Isle (), is a island park in Detroit, Michigan, developed in the late 19th century. It consists of Belle Isle, an island in the Detroit River, as well as several surrounding islets. The U.S.-Canada border ...

, an island park where there is no residential area.

Plot description

Alex (Henry) and his father (

Ron McLarty Ronald William McLarty (April 26, 1947 – February 8, 2020) was an American actor, playwright, and novelist. He also worked as an audiobook narrator, in which role he recorded over 100 titles and received many Audie Awards. McLarty appeare ...

) are devoted Detroit Tigers fans, even now as they are struggling. Alex's favorite player is aging star Billy Young (Scheider), who is having a sub-par season, which is also his last. His only remaining wish is to play in the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

before retiring. Alex's father dies unexpectedly, but not before he tells Alex that he should always believe. Consequently, Alex decides to visit every Tiger home game. Every time Young comes to the plate, Alex closes his eyes and wishes hard, and Young ends up hitting a home run. Thanks to Young's rejuvenated play, the Tigers start winning again. But there is a price. Alex, who now believes that if he doesn't go to the games, the team will lose (explaining the Tigers' pitiful road trips); finds himself the subject of ridicule by classmates, since he often sneaks out of school early to watch the Tigers play. Nevertheless, thanks to Billy Young, the Tigers claw their way back into the pennant race. The final game of the season, against the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

, would decide the pennant. Alex has his ticket and school lets out early so kids can watch the game, but as Alex leaves school, he is detained by a gang of bullies who take his ticket and his money. Only when Alex gets his principal's attention is he released and forced to run all the way to Tiger Stadium. Bribing a little girl for her bike and hanging onto the back of a city bus gets Alex to the stadium in time for the ninth inning, where Young is up and the Tigers are trailing. Young makes contact with the ball just as Alex gets to the front of the stadium aisle, and Young ends up clearing the bases, giving the Tigers the

American League East The American League East is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. MLB consists of an East, Central, and West division for each of its two 15-team leagues, the American League (AL) and National League (NL). This division was created before ...

title and securing a chance to play in the

American League Championship Series The American League Championship Series (ALCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the two winners of the American ...

, thus one step closer to Young's wish to play in the World Series. In real life, the Tigers would win the World Series the very next year (1984).

Cameos

Several Detroit broadcasters and celebrities appear as themselves in the movie. Tigers manager

Sparky Anderson George Lee "Sparky" Anderson (February 22, 1934 – November 4, 2010) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) player, coach, and manager. He managed the National League's Cincinnati Reds to the 1975 and 1976 championships, then added a third t ...

appears frequently in the movie. Mary Wilson, a former Supreme, sings the national anthem before the final game. Also appearing are

Ernie Harwell William Earnest Harwell (January 25, 1918 – May 4, 2010) 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 called the actio ...

, the legendary play-by-play radio voice of the Tigers; Detroit sportscaster Ray Lane, as Ernie's partner; and then-

WDIV WDIV-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Detroit, Michigan, United States, affiliated with NBC. It serves as the flagship broadcast property of the Graham Media Group subsidiary of Graham Holdings Company. WDIV-TV maintains studio faciliti ...

sportscaster Al Ackerman — who would help coin the rally cry “Bless You Boys” for the 1984 season. Harwell and Lane were paired in the radio booth calling games on WJR radio from 1967 to 1972. Ackerman was a sports anchor for Detroit's

WXYZ-TV WXYZ-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Detroit, Detroit, Michigan, United States, affiliated with American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It is owned by the E. W. Scripps Company alongside Independent station (North America), independent st ...

and

WDIV-TV WDIV-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Detroit, Michigan, United States, affiliated with NBC. It serves as the flagship broadcast property of the Graham Media Group subsidiary of Graham Holdings Company. WDIV-TV maintains studio faciliti ...

in the 1970s and 1980s.

References

External links

*
''Tiger Town''
from iReport.com {{Disney Channel Movies 1983 films 1983 television films 1980s sports drama films American baseball films American sports drama films CableACE Award winners Detroit Tigers Disney Channel original films Films set in Detroit Films shot in Detroit 1983 drama films 1980s American films