- Todd Walter began his collection with an autographed baseball, and it now has grown to a full room in his basement filled with artifacts from the team's history.
- Walter now takes his collection on the road to speak with Tigers fans about the history of the team.
- Video shows highlights from the collection, and why Todd continues to collect the memorabilia.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
The Detroit Tigers went into the All-Star break as one of the hottest teams in baseball. As the team looks to continue their momentum and push for a Wild Card spot, I caught up with one man in Williamston who's looking for more postseason memories to add to his collection.
"I'm a Michigander, born and raised," Todd Walter said.
There are a few Michigan staples: Faygo, Better Made Chips, and the Detroit Tigers. Todd Walter has been a fan for as long as he can remember.
"The Detroit Tigers have always been a part of my life," Walter said.
After more than two decades of collecting, what began with an autographed baseball has grown into a full-fledged museum in Todd's basement.
WATCH BELOW: Todd Walter walks us through his Tigers collection
WATCH: Todd Walter walks us through his Tigers collection
"Yeah it has pretty much taken over the whole room," he laughed.
From the Tigers of old...
"Over here we've got some old Tiger Stadium seats," Walter said. "I've got two of them here. Mr. Al Kaline signed that for me before he passed."
To more modern greats...
"Well lo and behold who's there and whose arm is there reaching down slapping the hand of greatness," he asked, holding a picture from Miguel Cabrera's last homestand before retirement. "That's me!"
The collection is filled with memorabilia through the decades. Now in his free time, Todd takes his collections on the road to speak with communities about the team's history. He says every time he shares his collection, people always have their own Tigers stories to share, and it speaks to their roots in the Michigan community.
"This is history, so it's really cool," Walter said. "And you can see their eyes light up and it's just like—people don't get tired of the Tigers. They might now be good all the time, but they're part of our fabric. If you grew up in Michigan, they're part of us."
Todd says he'll continue to look for memorabilia to add to the collection, but he'll need to get creative in how to work it into the limited space in his basement.
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