If nothing else, we can certainly say that Detroit IS the PitS. It’s a depressing city, from the faltering economy to some pretty atrocious teams, like the Lions of the early 2000s Tigers. Don’t make any mistake about it, though, this isn’t a depressing town like, say, Cleveland. Detroit has a history of success. A RECENT history of success by some standards. Sure the Lions are bad, but the Pistons were the dominant force between Bird’s Celtics and Jordan’s Bulls, and just won the title again in 2004. They have the Tigers who were in the World Series this decade and won a couple in the 80s. No team, however, has been as successful as the Detroit Red Wings.
The best part about the Red Wings is that they do things the way most fans want a team to do it: good coaching, and players that have come through Grand Rapids and stayed in the Red Wings system. If you think back to all the best players the Red Wings have had, it seems like they have all begun their career in Detroit. They aren’t often of the same position, but they all came up with the team. And this is why the Detroit Position in the Spotlight is the Red Wings’ Homegrown Talent.
It goes back as long 1946 when a young winger Gordie Howe took to the ice for the Red Wings. He was 19 years old at the time, and didn’t leave the team until he was the leader in goals, points and assists, titles he still holds. It only took 25 years. He took a year off, and then went to play in the newly formed WHA, and ended up playing until he was 51. The Wings should have known he still had good years left in him. He scored 100 points at age 40. He played all but one of his years with the Wings. Definitely a quality home grown talent.
On his same line in 1968 when he was the 40 year old dynamo, he was often assisted by Alex Delvecchio. Delvecchio was 7 years younger than Howe and certainly took advantage of all the time that he played with him. He ended up with over 800 career assists, all with the Wings, and has his number in the rafters at Joe Louis arena.
One of the most beloved hockey players by a fan base in my lifetime is Steve Yzerman. Stevie Y joined the Wings in 1986 at age 21 and spent the entirety of his career in Detroit. Like Delvecchio and Howe, he had a long career with the Red Wings and is among the team’s all time point leaders, coming in at #2 on the list (between Howe and Delvecchio). Not only that, he brought the team back to prominence, winning three Cups, the first in decades for Detroit.
Even today, the best players the Red Wings have have been their for their entire career. The triumvirate of the ageless defensive stalwart Niklas Lidstrom, Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg have all come up with the Wings and are already on the all time lists for scoring, be it points (Lidstrom and Datsyuk) or goals (Zetterberg and Datsyuk). They make the Wings a threat to win the title every season.
Now if only they could get a permanent goalie.
Honorable mention
Tigers outfielders: The outfield has a long, long history of talent, from the turn of the century on. How does Ty Cobb sound? Or Sam Crawford, Harry Heilman, Al Kaline or Heinie Manush, all outfielders wearing Tigers caps in the Hall of Fame. Of course, they haven’t had a truly transcendental outfielder since Kaline who retired in 74. Bobby Higginson doesn’t count.
Pistons bad boy: For whatever reason, the Pistons best players always have to be surly and/or arrogant. Bill Laimbeer, Isaiah Thomas, Dennis Rodman jsut to name a few. Even in their renaissance in the 2000s, they couldn’t have done it without the ever charming Rasheed Wallace
It should be noted that the University of Michigan is near to Detroit, but it’s very difficult to pick just one position there that can be spotlit. It’s a very prestigious university with a prolific history.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
