Former Detroit Tiger, 1970s baseball sensation, and Rolling Stone cover man, Mark Fidrych, dies

One of Detroit Tigers' and all of baseball's brightest personality, pitcher Mark "The Bird" Fidrych, died last week. He was 54. He was rookie of the year in 1976 and made it to the cover of Rolling Stone in '77. Additionally, Fidrych is the subject of a documentary that was just completed the day of his death.

Excerpt:

Former Detroit Tigers pitcher Mark Fidrych, 54, died after an apparent accident on his Northborough, Massachusetts farm, ESPN reports. Fidrych, or “The Bird” as he was called because of his blond curly hair and resemblance to Sesame Street’s Big Bird, became the first baseball player ever to grace the cover of Rolling Stone after a 1976 rookie season in which Fidrych was named both American League Rookie of the Year and an AL All-Star while playing for the Tigers (read the story: The Tale of the Bird).

Read the entire article here.

Read about the documentary about the Bird here.
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