Terror in the City of Champions (57 page)

192.
“kings of athletics”:
DN
, October 13, 1935.

193.
“a genius of baseball”:
DFP
, November 14, 1935.

194.
“Our business association always had been a fine one . . .”: Ibid.

194.
Description of Walter O. Briggs, his homes, his wealth, and his personality: Various sources, including author interview with one of his grandsons, Basil Mickey Briggs.

195.
“unorthodox . . .”:
DN
, July 1, 1934.

195.
“highly emotional and extremely aggressive”:
DN
, July 23, 1934.

195.
“unlike any other man . . .”:
DN
, September 26, 1934.

195.
“moved to bitter resentment”:
DN
, September 29, 1934.

195.
“not exactly in the mood . . .”:
DN
, July 3, 1934.

195.
“speaking in mournful tones”: Ibid.

195.
“When everything is rosy and treasure trove . . .”: Newcombe, “Black Mike of the Tigers,” 80.

195.
“He is taciturn, surly, sullen . . .”:
DFP
, November 24, 1935.

195.
“elements of greatness”: Ibid.

195.
“It may be that responsibility . . .”: Ibid.

195.
Schmeling in Pompton Lakes:
DFP
, December 9, 1935.

196.
“Massa Joe”: Ibid.

196.
“Nobody can hit like Louis . . .”:
DFP
, December 14, 1935.

196.
“There isn’t a fighter in the game right now . . .”:
DFP
, December 17, 1935.

197.
“New York was no match”:
DN
, December 16, 1935.

197.
“Detroit is a City of Champions . . .”:
DFP
, December 17, 1935.

197.
Texas Ranger:
DN
, December 8, 1935.

197.
meandering, cross-country drive: Al Simmons in a letter to F. C. Lane, December 3, 1934, F. C. Lane Papers.

198.
“When we got on the train . . .”:
DFP
, December 11, 1935.

199.
“Had I known he was moving to England . . .”:
DFP
, December 24, 1935.

199.
Rudolph Anderson death:
DN
, December 16–17, 1935, and
DFP
, May 25, 1936.

P
ART
III
:
J
OY AND
T
ERROR, 1936

Case Closed

203.
Plots against Mayor Voisine: Numerous newspaper stories aided in the description of these events, but the key source was testimony in the
People vs. Pettijohn and Madden
case, Amann Collection, Box 3.

203.
“the one that is here to do the job”:
People vs. Pettijohn
, Amann Collection, Box 3.

203.
“I did not come here to fool . . .”: Ibid.

203.
Clarence Oliver house shooting:
DN
, June 12, 1936.

205.
“I can promise you that your prints . . .”:
DFP
, March 17, 1936.

205.
Fire at Shrine of the Little Flower: Details in press reports differed. I relied on the account written by Coughlin himself and published days after the fire in the church bulletin,
Shrine Herald
, March 22, 1936.

205.
“the entire church was a fiery furnace”:
Shrine Herald
, March 22, 1936.

205.
“the building which I loved more than all . . .”: Ibid.

206.
“our little shingle church”: Ibid.

206.
“I do not know what caused the fire . . .”: Ibid.

206.
“was writing his head off . . .”: Bingay,
Detroit Is My Own Hometown
, 84.

207.
Player nicknames: These appear throughout Iffy the Dopester’s columns in 1934 and 1935.

207.
“We won’t do so badly with York . . .”:
DFP
, March 11, 1936.

207.
“I can’t see why the Tigers aren’t . . .”:
DFP
, March 22, 1936.

208.
“Mickey’s weakness is that he loves his friends . . .”:
DFP
, March 15, 1936.

208.
“If Frank Navin had lived . . .”:
DFP
, March 22, 1936.

208.
“The club is a vast impersonal organization . . .”:
DFP
, March 23, 1936.

208.
“Mr. Briggs has only owned the ball club . . .”:
DFP
, March 26, 1936.

208.
“This public-be-damned gag went out of fashion . . .”:
DFP
, March 27, 1936.

209.
“keep the public informed . . .”:
DFP
, April 5, 1936.

209.
“All is not peace and contentment . . .”:
DFP
, March 29, 1936.

209.
Abraham Lincoln on Fighting Island:
Toledo Blade
, February 13, 2008.

209.
“white, desolate moonscape”:
DFP
, June 7, 2009.

209.
Pidcock case: Details drawn from Michigan State Police reports and memos of Captain Ira Marmon, Amann Collection, Boxes 4 and 5A, as well as news reports and various 1938 FBI reports.

210.
“I can’t tell you about it . . .”:
DN
, June 7, 1936.

211.
FBI agent visits Effinger: All quotes come from agent N. E. Manson’s report, April 14, 1936, FBI files.

212.
“completes the investigation”: J. Edgar Hoover memo to Joseph B. Keenan, assistant to the attorney general, April 22, 1936, FBI files.

212.
evening of May 2:
DN
, August 4, 1936.

City of Champions

214.
“If a player or an official can disregard taunts . . .”:
DN
, January 21, 1936.

214.
“That wasn’t necessary . . . you know how it is.”:
DN
, January 6, 1936.

215.
“I couldn’t sleep last night in New York . . .”:
DFP
, March 14, 1936.

215.
“You can eat yourself out . . . that bulging stomach?”:
DFP
, March 16, 1936.

216.
“Jack, you’ve got a great team here . . .”:
DFP
, March 20, 1936.

216.
S
PIRIT OF
R
EAL
C
HAMPIONS . . .
:
DN
, March 20, 1936.

216.
“Emulating the example of the Tigers . . .”: Ibid.

216.
“play like hell . . . no more on Tuesday afternoon”:
DFP
, March 24, 1936.

216.
“just an earnest, everyday workman”:
DFP
, March 26, 1936.

217.
“My boys are just like kids . . .”: Ibid.

217.
“It was a crime for either team to lose.”: Ibid.

217.
“stood there a helpless little old man . . .”:
DFP
, April 8, 1936.

217.
“We’d rather lose with the old guy . . .”: Ibid.

218.
“Go to it, boys. It’s our night”:
DFP
, April 13, 1936.

218.
“Upon what meat does our city feed . . .”:
DN
, April 13, 1936.

218.
“unduplicated distinction . . .”: Ibid.

218.
“The Sports Capital of the World”: Ibid.