Ok, so here I go again waxing nostalgia about Tiger Stadium and all my great memories at that green cathedral.
Too bad. I can’t help it.
One of the all time great Tiger Stadium souvenirs from the 1960’s was the cardboard, megaphone popcorn holder with a handle on it. When you were done stuffing yourself with the popcorn and nearly cracking your teeth munching on the kernels, you could scream into that the cardboard megaphone and raise some hell.
And I did.
You might be surprised to learn that your voice could really be heard screaming into that piece of cardboard, especially as it echoed in the lower deck.
“Come on Willie, hit a homer! Pepitone, you’re a bum!
I don’t recall the price of the popcorn, but chances are it was less than a dollar considering that box seats were $3.50, the Tigers Yearbook was 50 cents and the twelve player picture pack was 25 cents in 1962.
But that simple, utilitarian popcorn holder still had another use.
When you were done eating your popcorn and yelling into the megaphone, after the ballgame you could stand outside the Tiger locker room (until security said “time to go home kid”) or stand on the sidewalk at Michigan and Trumbull as the players pulled out of their parking lot and ask them to sign the popcorn holder. Sure enough, on the back of the holder was a small white box that said “autographs”.
Now I must admit, I never had a player sign the popcorn holder/megaphone, and I don’t think I ever saved one, or if I did, it probably was thrown out three decades ago.
But I’m glad at least someone saved one.
A couple of years ago I bought one on eBay for around $10. I have it displayed next to some other Tiger Stadium related stuff in my office. Just looking at it brings back some wonderful memories and yet it was such a simple item.
It was wonderful. And you won’t find it at Comerica Park.
