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10/21/2006
Skipping school for Schoolboy
By Jeff PeekStaff writer TRAVERSE CITY — Jeanne Kipley skipped school once in her life, to watch the Detroit Tigers play the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1934 World Series. Appropriately enough, a pitcher nicknamed "Schoolboy" pitched the Tigers to victory that day. Kipley, two weeks shy of her 84th birthday, doesn't remember a lot about the game, in which Lynwood "Schoolboy" Rowe went the distance in the Tigers' 3-2 victory in 12 innings in Game 2. But she remembers plenty about the Tigers and even more about the effort that went into getting to the game — and keeping it a secret from her parents. "I was in the seventh grade. It was the only day I ever skipped in my life," said Kipley, who moved from Detroit to Traverse City in 1946. "I remember everybody was caught up in Tiger mania. "I didn't tell my mother until after the fact, way after the fact," Kipley said with a laugh. "I think my dad understood more than my mom did." 
Sports writer Jeff Peek is in Detroit bringing you local coverage from the World Series. Plus, don't miss today's special stories on Traverse City Fans. Go to record-eagle.com/tigers to view. Baseball parks didn't have lights back then, so games were played during the day. Kipley said she and five of her friends decided to take the afternoon off from school and go watch the Tigers, who eventually lost the World Series in seven games. The group picked a good day to skip — Thursday, Oct. 4, 1934 — because that was the only home game the Tigers won in the Series. "I remember Schoolboy used to have a girlfriend in the stands and he'd always yell out to her, 'How'm I doing?' " Kipley said. "I think he eventually married her." While fans are paying hundreds, even thousands, of dollars to watch the Tigers play in the 2006 World Series that begins tonight at Comerica Park, Kipley recalls she shelled out 50 cents to sit in the bleachers at Navin Field. "It was at the height of the Depression," she said. "To put it into perspective, you could hop on the Jefferson Avenue streetcar, put six cents in the box and ask for a transfer for a penny, and you could go anywhere in Detroit." Kipley's parents gave her an allowance of 15 cents per week, so she had to save up for four weeks to purchase a ticket and a streetcar ride to the game. "The economy was so different then," she said. "If you had a dollar in your pocket you were rich." Kipley, who can name the Tigers' entire starting lineup from 1934, credits current manager Jim Leyland with pushing all the right buttons in 2006. "He certainly knows what he's doing," Kipley said. "I love (former manager) Alan Trammell. He's one of the nicest guys in the world. He just wasn't a great manager. "I do think that Leyland is reaping the benefits of Trammell's time and effort." Preparing to watch the Tigers play the Cardinals in the 2006 World Series brings back memories for Kipley. "Everybody talks about (the Tigers' last two titles in) '68 and '84," Kipley said. "It goes back a little farther for me. I don't like to say it, but I'm no twinkle toes anymore."
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