Fred Knorr

Frederick August Knorr II

• School Hillsdale College
• High School Central High School (Detroit)

• Born July 9, 1913 in Detroit, MI USA
• Died December 26, 1960 in Fort Lauderdale, FL USA

Biographical Information

Fred Knorr became co-owner of the Detroit Tigers from July 16, 1956, when he bought the team as well as Briggs Stadium along with John Fetzer and others for a then-record sum of $5.5 million. A Detroit, MI native, he was a pioneer of radio in the city, starting as a working musician and disc jockey, and eventually buying four radio stations in the state of Michigan. He and Fetzer, who also came from the broadcast industry, bought the team from the family of Walter Briggs, who had passed away in 1952, and renamed their home ballpark as Tiger Stadium, by which name it was known until its replacement almost half a century later. A member of the Briggs family, Walter "Spike" Briggs Jr., was kept on the team's board as executive vice-president, while Knorr briefly served as team president in 1957.

Contrary to the elder Briggs, Knorr was in favor of integration and the Tigers brought up their first black player, Ozzie Virgil in 1958. Tragically, Knorr died young, after an accident in a hotel in Fort Lauderdale, FL late in 1960 when he accidentally fell in a bathtub of scalding water, burning himself badly and dying in hospital a few weeks later. Fetzer then took over his ownership shares.

Further Reading

• Roy Terrell: "Fred Knorr buys a ball club", Sports Illustrated, February 18, 1957. [1]