The Detroit Stars were a Negro Leagues team that played throughout the 1920s; in subsequent decades the team name was used just some years until the final Negro League played in 1961.
Starting in 1995 the Tigers honored this history via annually wearing Detroit Stars "throwback" uniforms for one home game per season.
I have very few Baseball Cards from the late 90s; the mid-00s are also a very weak point in my collection. So I expect this first card I can share with you may not be the first appearance of this uniform on a Baseball Card:
2011 Topps
Back in the actual year of 2011, I expect it would still have been simple to track down the date of the 2010 game. But at this point in the ever ongoing growth of "the Internet," many things that were documented on web pages — were documented on web pages that are now no longer around. I notice this the most whenever I am attempting to decipher some bit of imagery on a Baseball Card, though I am sure this is true for many other events, facts, things, etc.
As we move ever deeper into the decade of "AI" I expect the disappearance of the past might actually accelerate, which would be quite a counter-intuitive conclusion. If it's not on "the Internet," did it actually happen? If it is on the 2020s Internet, did it actually happen? At this point, we can never answer either question.
Fortunately, Baseball Cards can't be erased, though they can be fabricated, even if small facts about them can't be scrounged up quite as at will as they could be even a mere decade ago. You won't get very far on a search for Detroit Stars Baseball Cards in particular, probably more so than you could with any other similar effort by teams like the Royals and the Pirates, as the terms 'Detroit' and 'Stars' can rather too easily be connected to various other commercial products, which at this point is the actual point of "The Internet."
So assembling this collection has largely been done, where I didn't find the card in a pack of Baseball Cards, by simply scrolling through images of Detroit Tigers Baseball Cards. Of which there are far, far too many to complete such a task in a reasonable amount of time. Like oh so many collecting projects, maybe, someday, I can complete this one.
Recently I finished a large submission to COMC and this allowed me to knock a few years off the task list, so I felt it is time to get some scans built up in hopes that collectors seeing these can help me track down more examples of these. Without (too much) further adieu ... The Detroit Stars:
2011 Topps
1st missing card: 2012 Topps 1987 mini, Justin Verlander
(COMC inventory manager accident on my part, not shipped)
2013 Topps
2013 Topps Update
2014 Topps
2014 Stadium Club
2015 Topps Series One "First Pitch" insert
This is one of my more favorite "Baseball" Cards in my collection.
I will never forget the place and time I pulled this card from a pack.
As you have already seen, there are multiple versions of Detroit Stars uniforms, and this is another one. This may well be the only card where this one can be found.
2015 Topps Update "Retail Throwback" variation
2015 Topps Update "Retail Throwback" variation
2015 Topps Update "Retail Throwback" variation
2nd & 3rd missing cards: Ian Kinsler & Victor Martinez have cards on this checklist.
2018 Topps Series 2 "Topps Salutes" insert
2020 Topps
2020 Topps
2020 Stadium Club
2020 Topps Clearly Authentic
I have no idea what I will ever do with this card.
The problem with cards in plastic tombs is you have to also protect the tomb.
Somehow. So will probably crack the seal. Gasp.
(weirdest batting pose, ever? top 10 fer sure)
2022 Topps Stadium Club Chrome
2023 Topps 'Rainbow Foil' parallel
2023 Topps
2023 Topps
2023 Topps "The Players" 'Clubhouse' / stadium packs
2023 Topps Chrome
2023 Topps Update
I have written about this card here previously, as it delightfully taught me that amidst plenty of Baseball Card shenanigans, Topps takes the Rookie Debut cards seriously.
That card is also a welcome relief from Riley Greene's quite disappointing main Rookie Card card in 2023 Topps. Fortunately for Detroit's probably 2nd biggest current Star, there are plenty more where that one came from:
2023 Allen & Ginter
2023 Topps Series One "Stars of MLB" insert
Hey, look, it's that card again.
I love this card.
It's a Stars of MLB card of a true Detroit star, wearing a Detroit Stars uni.
2023 Stadium Club insert
yes, that is a different picture than above, and below -
2023 Topps Chrome Update Sapphire
Luckily for me, Riley's Chrome Sapphire autographed card does not use a Detroit Stars uniform, cuz that card is sure expensive.
2024 Heritage Minis "Throwback"
That was quite a fateful card for me last year. I pulled it from my 3rd pack from an initial single box purchase of the Heritage minis. The mini Throwbacks actually have a higher print run than the regulation size Throwbacks, but I didn't know that at the time. The excitement of that card quickly helped lead me onwards with that product, with quite excellent results.
One Result
This was my original goal with this project - simply assemble one Detroit Stars card for each position on the diamond.
Along the way, I simply decided to assemble them all, even when the uniform appeared on cards I don't normally collect, such as the two "autos."
I'm glad I made that detour, because this team still needs a player, and I would likely add any other outfielder while moving Rajai Davis to my horizontal Tigers collection.
Will a Detroit Stars Shortstop card appear? Perhaps one already has, sometime between 1996 and 2010 - I don't know.
There isn't the best news on this front as the Tigers did not continue this tradition in 2024, due to something about "new League uniform regulations" mumble, mumble.
All I can do is, watch my Baseball Cards.
