Public Media from Michigan State University
Perspectives of Detroiters on 1967 and Michiganders on race relations in 2017.

Tigers Star Willie Horton Recalls Trying To Bring Calm To Detroit

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Willie Horton, in the basement of his home.
Scott Pohl

On July 23rd, 1967, tensions in Detroit boiled over into what came to be known as the Detroit riots. By the time the unrest ended several days later, 43 people were dead, more than a thousand were injured, and two-thousand buildings were destroyed.

The Detroit Tigers were hosting the New York Yankees on that first day, and one young African-American Tigers star who had grown up in Detroit tried to bring calm to the chaos at the intersection of 12th and Clairmount, the epicenter of the riot, while still in uniform.

Willie Horton tells his story of July 23rd, 1967.

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Scott Pohl is a general assignment news reporter and produces news features and interviews. He is also an alternate local host on NPR's "Morning Edition."