Has It Really Been 40 years Since ‘The Summer of The Bird’? [Video]

In 1976, the Detroit Tigers offered little in the way of competitiveness. In fact, they finished next to last in the American League East.

But a young kid from rural Massachusetts who liked to talk to the ball and groom the mound with his hands made it a summer Tiger fans will never forget.

One of the best summers of my life was 1976 when a mop top from Massachesetts made a crappy Tiger team exciting. He threw with a joy and a love for life rarely seen since.

Mark Fidrych barely made the team as a non-roster invitee in spring training, and he saw limited action, throwing only one inning in relief prior to that fateful day, May 15, 1976.

When the regularly scheduled starter came down with the flu, manager Ralph Houk gave 22-year-old Fidrych the ball, and the gangly, 6-3 175 pound rookie mowed down the Cleveland Indians, throwing six innings of no-hit ball en route to a 2-1 Tiger victory.

Not only did he stop the Tribe on just two hits, he instantly won fans over with his eccentric behavior. He appeared to talk to the baseball before throwing it, and often got down on his hands and knees to smooth out the dirt on the pitching mound.

By the time Fidrych went on a seven game winning streak, running his record to 9-1 by July 3, Tiger Stadium was selling out 54,000 seat Tiger Stadium every game he pitched, which lie in stark contrast to the less than 20-thousand fans who would show up on nights he wasn't pitching.

Nicknamed 'Big Bird' for his resemblence to the Sesame Street character, Fidrych was already a local hero, but when he mowed down the World Champion New York Yankees on national TV the night of June 28th, he became a national media star.

While the media played up his eccentricities, his manager and his teammates maintained the young man was really just a regular guy. "He's not flaky," and Ralph Houk, who told them, "He's not quite as flaky as they say," and, "He's not nutty."

In a biography 'The Bird: The Life and Legacy of Mark Fidrych', Baltimore Oriole first base coach Jim Frey told author Doug Wilson:

"Everywhere I went the next day, and I got a haircut and stopped at the hardware store and then went and got some groceries, I visited a friend of mine, and we had some people over to the house -- all of them talked about one thing. I don't ever remember that happening before. I heard so many people talking about one baseball player."

The young player sold out every home game, and most road games he started the rest of the season. I can remember standing in line for tickets with my friends in an effort to see him pitch. The buzz was such that even casual fans were checking the box scores to see how 'The Bird' fared the night before. It was an incredible summer, all because of a goofy kid who wore his emotions on his sleeve.

He swore once following a national TV performance when legendary baseball announcer Tony Kubek accused him of nearly crying after a loss. "He said, it looked like you were gonna cry. I just said, No, I wasn't about to cry. It was just bullshit.... And then I said, excuse me. I said, I didn't mean to swear on the air but I just showed you my feelings."

Fidrych went on to start the annual All Star Game for the American League, giving up two runs in two innings of work. He went on to finish the season with 19 wins and 9 losses, earning 'Rookie of the Year' honors in the AL, and was voted 'Tiger of the Year' by the Detroit baseball writers.

But, the Summer of the Bird would never be repeated. He injured his knee fooling around during spring training the following season and never pitched well again.

Perhaps it was the pressure, perhaps it was his knee, perhaps it was that the rest of the league just figured out his pitches, but whatever the reason, Fidrych slowly faded from view.

He retired to his farm in Western Massachusetts and died in 2009 at the age of 54 following an accident. His friends say he maintained his goofy sense of humor until his passing, and he didn't seem to have any regrets about his baseball fate.

Upon hearing of his death, Tiger fans worldwide poured out their grief and their memories of that special summer of 1976, a season where the Tigers sucked, but we remember it fondly because of the weird kid with the mop of hair and an excitement and love for the game rarely matched since.