May 31, 2006

The State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) reported today that the Michigan Historical Marker located at Tiger Stadium appears to have been stolen.  State Historic Preservation Officer Brian Conway said that Bill Dow of the Tiger Stadium Fan Club had received a call and he passed the news on to the state.  Hoping that the marker had been removed either by city officials or the Tigers, Conway said the SHPO reserved judgment until a conversation with a city official confirmed that the city had not removed the marker.  A security guard reported it missing on Sunday.

Conway said that Michigan Historical Markers are state property and there are stiff penalties for removing them without written permission from the state.  For example, a person or agency found guilty of damaging or possessing a marker is subject to up to 93 days in jail and/or a fine of up to $5,000. A person or business, such as a collector, who knowingly accepts a marker is subject to imprisonment for up to six months and/or a fine of up to $10,000.

"We suspect someone may have removed it as a souvenir and not realized a crime had been committed in the process," Conway said.  "For this reason, we will allow the person possessing the marker to turn it in – without prosecution – to Tiger Stadium security by Thursday, June 8."

The historical marker was installed at Tiger Stadium in 1976.  It hung on an exterior wall next to a plaque honoring Tiger great Ty Cobb.  The space between the markers has been a favorite place for Tiger fans to have their photographs taken.

Anyone with information about the marker should contact Laura Ashlee at the State Historic Preservation Office at (517) 335-2725, or Fred Rottach at the city of Detroit at (313) 224-2569.  The State Historic Preservation Office is part of the Michigan Historical Center, an agency within the Michigan Department of History, Arts and Libraries.

Read more press releases from the Department of History, Arts and Libraries.