Play ball! Detroit Institute of Arts debuts baseball exhibit as Tigers set to play home opener
Skyline made of baseball bats, collection of 500-plus rare baseball cards on display
Comerica Park won't be the only place where the phrase "play ball!" will be heard this season. A few kilometres up Woodward Avenue from where the Detroit Tigers are set to have their opening day, the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) is debuting a baseball-themed exhibit of the same name.
"We really wanted to broaden our audience and reach out and connect sports, arts and the community with a very unique exhibition," explained Nancy Barr, who heads the DIA's prints, drawings and photographs department.
"We had a local collector who was willing to be very generous and loan a very high quality collection ... we thought it was a perfect opportunity to build out a whole new experience for our visitors," she said, adding that the baseball-themed show is a first for the DIA.
All but two of the roughly 600 items in the exhibit are on loan from Metro Detroit lawyer E. Powell Miller, founder of the Miller law firm in Rochester, Mich.
The heart of the collection is the T206 White Border set of baseball cards produced by the American Tobacco Company from 1909-11.
"It is one of the most popular sets ever created. It's the golden era of baseball," Miller said, noting that the set includes a few Canadian players, an ultra-rare Honus Wagner card, and four different portraits of famed Detroit Tiger Ty Cobb.
Play Ball! Baseball at the DIA runs until Sept. 16. Admittance is included with general admission.
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