Magic Johnson’s weekend at Comerica Park was about much more than watching the Detroit Tigers face the Los Angeles Dodgers. The five-time NBA champion returned to the city that has been a major part of his sporting identity since childhood and even brought his family along for the series, which saw the back-to-back World Series champions take two of three games from the hosts. After the final game, he penned a special note to the Tigers’ owner.
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“A big, big thank you to the owners of the Detroit Tigers, the Ilitch family, for taking care of my family during the Tigers vs. Dodgers series this weekend. My family said that the food and experience at Comerica Park were spectacular!” Magic Johnson wrote on X.
“I also want to thank the Ilitch family for revitalizing downtown Detroit – between Comerica Park and Little Caesars Arena (home to the Red Wings and Pistons), they’ve brought so much life back to the city and created thousands of jobs along the way. And by the way, I never got the chance to tell them that I grew up eating Little Caesars pizza!”
Earvin “Magic” Johnson Jr. is regarded as one of the greatest point guards in NBA history, and he spent his entire 13-season career with the Los Angeles Lakers. However, his Tigers fandom predates his Lakers tenure, going back decades before he bought a 2.3%-2.5% stake in the Dodgers worth approximately $50 million.
“I’ve always loved baseball, and I’ve been a huge baseball fan since I was a kid in Lansing,” Johnson revealed in a 2014 interview. “That was back when the Boys & Girls Club used to take us to the Detroit Tigers games, and our two heroes back then were Gates Brown and Willie Horton.”
Brown was a legendary pinch-hitter in Detroit in his 13-year Major League career (1963–1975). He evolved into one of the most feared and accomplished pinch-hitters in baseball history after losing his everyday starting left-fielder job to Willie Horton in the mid-1960s. Gator also served as a coach for the 1984 World Series title team.
Horton has been a fan favorite, an iconic everyday outfielder and slugger. During his time with the Tigers, from 1963 to 1977, he recorded 262 home runs for the franchise. In the 1968 WS, made a famous defensive play in Game 5 against the St. Louis Cardinals, catching a fly ball in left field in the fifth inning. Willie threw a perfect strike to catcher Bill Freehan at home plate, and gunned out Lou Brock, who tried to score from second base. Cards couldn’t blow the game open, sparking the Tigers’ comeback. But Horton’s contributions go beyond the field.
During the 1967 Detroit riots, he left the stadium in uniform and stood up on top of a car and pleaded with angry crowds to disperse and stay safe.
But Johnson’s love for baseball grew stronger after he was drafted in 1979.
Around that time, he had a chance to meet former Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda, who not only invited the young phenom to a Dodgers game but also gifted him a jacket and cap while telling him all about Los Angeles.
“I love baseball so much that I still play softball. I’m telling you that baseball is a great game, and I’ve always felt that way,” Johnson added further in that interview.
Unfortunately, his love for the sport was not enough to turn him into a baseball player. But that didn’t stop him from becoming a part-owner of the Dodgers in 2012.
That’s why the Tigers-Dodgers series was even more special for him.
He brought his children—EJ, Pearl, Elisa, and Andre—along with his wife, Cookie, and his 91-year-old mother, Christine, to witness the Los Angeles Dodgers triumph over Detroit.
The Dodgers won the series opener 2-1, but the Tigers evened the series with a 2-1 victory in the second game. However, the defending champions ultimately came out on top with a 6-1 win in the series finale, giving the Johnson family a trip to remember.