Walter Briggs

Walter Owen Briggs

• Born February 27, 1877 in Ypsilanti, MI USA
• Died January 17, 1952 in Miami Beach, FL USA

Biographical Information

Lifelong Detroit Tigers fan Walter Briggs and John Kelsey, who had made their fortune in the automobile industry, each bought slightly less than one quarter of the club in 1920 after the death of majority owner Bill Yawkey the previous year. The majority control of the club rested with Frank Navin, who had been running its day-to-day operations since 1902. Upon Kelsey's death in 1927, Briggs bought his quarter and became the team's sole owner in 1935 when Navin died. He had been funding the operations of the club since 1929, when Navin lost much of his wealth to the stock market crash, and had been behind the purchase of star players such as Mickey Cochrane and Goose Goslin that brough Detroit its first Championship in 1935. He owned the Tigers until his death in 1952.