


It turns out the Tigers' Old English D has seen a lot of changes in the last 100 years, and the reason why is pretty simple, Radom said. The D on the Tigers' hats is different than the D on their uniforms, and the D on the gates of the stadium is different than the D on the banners hanging from the street lights.

There isn’t just one iconic Old English D Not only did the D not rise to instantaneous popularity, but it also didn’t have a definite form. Radom is a graphic designer that specializes in branding and identity for professional sports teams. “In fact the average person couldn’t really buy a baseball cap with this D on it until the years following World War II,” Todd Radom said. Especially since Tigers games today are so saturated with the D. You might assume that the second the Tigers adopted the Old English D, it became popularized and adopted as the symbol of the city. Three years later, they were donning the Old English D on their uniforms. The Free Press adopted the font when it was founded in the 1830s, and it hasn't strayed from it since. Michigan Radio Photo of Detroit Free Press papers from 18. To find out, we had to go back a couple centuries to 1150. What’s the source and the history of the iconic, calligraphy Detroit "D"? So he left his question on our MI Curious page: He’s been asking anyone he could about the history of the D since then - history buffs, friends, sports enthusiasts.Įveryone told him that the D’s roots are in the Tigers, but he wanted to know more. Hesser noticed the Old English D’s popularity when he moved to Michigan from Kansas nearly 20 years ago. I was really fascinated in the history of that D, especially being representative of the Motor City.” It seems like everywhere I go everyone is sporting that D. “I see it on bumper stickers and on hats. That’s what Michael Hesser wanted to know. The baseball team popularized the D, but where did it really come from, and why has the entire city rallied behind it?

The Old English "D" has become emblematic of the city of Detroit - it can be seen tattooed on forearms or stuck on the bumpers of cars, and of course, all over Comerica Park.
