Al Kaline

(1934 -2020) 

Al Kaline, born in Baltimore, Maryland, made his home in the Village of Franklin during his baseball career. 

He played for the Detroit Tigers for twenty-two years and was nicknamed Mr. Tiger. 

Today, boys and girls play America's favorite pastime on the Al Kaline baseball field in the heart of the village. 

After the Tigers won the World Series in 1968, the bells of the church steeple rang out the news! Al Kaline, a Tiger outfielder, lived in Franklin and attended the Community Church. 
He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1980. Kaline was honored by the Tigers as the first of their players to have his uniform number (6) retired. 

Kaline had married his high school sweetheart. They had two sons. He passed away in Bloomfield Hills in 2020.