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The legendary history of Harry Heilmann

You could be forgiven for not immediately recognizing the name Harry Heilmann. Though the Hall of Famer spent 15 seasons with the Tigers and won four batting titles, he was also on the roster from 1914-1929, not the era most modern fans would be able to name the greats from without a little head-scratching first.

Heilmann doesn’t have a retired number on the wall. (In fact, in Heilmann’s day, they didn’t wear numbers. Major League Baseball only started to introduce numbers in 1916 with the Indians, then 1923 with the Cardinals. It wasn’t until the mid-30s that most teams used numbers on their uniforms.