Encyclopedia Of Detroit
LeFlore, Ron
Ron LeFlore is a retired baseball player who played with the Detroit Tigers for six seasons from 1974-1979. He was born June 16, 1948 in Detroit. In the winter of 1970, 21-year-old LeFlore and two accomplices robbed a bar on the east side of Detroit. The group was eventually caught, and LeFlore was sentenced to five to 15 years in the State Prison of Southern Michigan.
LeFlore joined the prison baseball team, despite not playing any organized baseball growing up. His first real game was in Jackson, Michigan, on May 18, 1971. LeFlore proved to be a talented athlete and was extremely quick. In April 1973, an inmate named James Karalla wrote to Jimmy Butsicaris, co-owner of the Lindell A.C. sports bar in downtown Detroit, urging him to get in touch with Tigers manager Billy Martin. On May 23, 1973, Butsicaris and Martin, along with Tigers broadcaster Ernie Harwell, paid a goodwill visit to LeFlore and his fellow inmates in the prison and soon arranged a one-day furlough for LeFlore to try out for the Tigers at Tiger Stadium.
Upon his release from prison in 1973, LeFlore signed a minor-league contract with the Tigers. After a year in the team’s farm system (where he played for manager Jim Leyland), LeFlore was promoted to the Tigers. On Aug. 1, 1974, LeFlore made his big-league debut before a crowd of some 9,000 fans at Milwaukee’s County Stadium. After two seasons of ups and downs with the Tigers, LeFlore had a breakout year in 1976, starting the season with a 30-game hitting streak and earning himself a starting spot on the American League All-Star team alongside teammates Rusty Staub and rookie sensation Mark “The Bird” Fidrych. LeFlore’s popularity resulted in a book and a made-for-TV movie starring LeVar Burton.
LeFlore played five full seasons with the Tigers, primarily as a centerfielder, before being traded to Montreal after the 1979 season. There he starred for the Expos in 1980, racking up 97 stolen bases, second in the major leagues only to Oakland’s Rickey Henderson that season.
After two seasons with the Chicago White Sox, Ron LeFlore’s major-league career came to an end in 1982. Following his retirement from the major leagues, he remained active in the sport, playing and managing for a few different leagues. LeFlore attended ceremonies for the final game at Tiger Stadium in 1999 alongside other Tiger alumni.
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