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JoannEarliest memory of baseball is watching the Tigers on TV and listening to George Kell.
An early but not earliest memory is having the radio on in the 4th grade and the class listening to the Tigers in the '68 World Series (they played them during the day back then, you know). And also in 1968 I think, my dad telling me at breakfast that Denny McLain was "wilder than hell" in the All-Star game the night before - because my mom got on him for swearing. hee.
By 1968 I was already a fan at 9 years old, so I had been watching and following the Tigers for a long time before then. But those are my earliest specific memories. Before that it's just generically the sound of George Kell's voice.
I guess I also remember having to decide if I wanted my first baseball glove to be right handed or left handed. I'm a lefty, and had played barehanded before then and threw with my left. For some reason I decided on a glove that would go on my left and learned to throw righty - very young. Maybe 6 years old? That first glove was a "toy" - cheap black vinyl with red piping around the edges, completely flat and formless. I still have every glove I've had since then except that one, and I would give them all up today to get back that cheap little $2 POS that I was so proud of.
Joann