March 13 in Tigers and mlb history:
1887 - After a week of conditioning in Macon, Georgia, the Detroit Wolverines National League club team begins a six-week spring exhibition tour through the South and Midwest.
1943 - The major leagues approve a new official ball manufactured by the Spalding Company for the upcoming season. Instead of the usual combination of cork and rubber, the inside of the ball is made up of recycled cork and balata, materials not needed in the war effort. Officials insist the ball will have the resiliency of the 1939 ball, but the players will express dismay that they cannot drive the new ball and point out the dearth of runs and homers in 1942 even with the old ball.
1954 - Milwaukee Braves outfielder Bobby Thomson breaks his ankle while sliding into a base during a spring training game. The 1951 National League playoff hero is replaced by a promising prospect named Hank Aaron and the rest is history.
1960 - The Chicago White Sox unveil an important uniform innovation. The Sox's road uniforms feature players' names on the backs of the jerseys, marking the first time that players' names will appear on major league uniforms. The innovation will make it easier for fans watching games on television to identify the players on the field. The idea is yet another creation of colorful White Sox owner and innovator Bill Veeck.
1969 - In addition to this year's lower mound and tightened strike zone, Major League Baseball tries an experimental ball with 10% more resiliency for a spring training game between the Mets and Tigers in Lakeland, Florida. It has an all-rubber center instead of a cork and rubber core, and the seams are higher than the regular ball. Mets pitcher Don Cardwell surrenders three home runs in the 4th inning to Dick McAuliffe, Norm Cash, and Gates Brown in the Tigers' 7 - 4 victory.
1975 - In Las Vegas, Nevada, the late Roberto Clemente joins Roy Campanella and twelve other sports figures, living and dead, as this year's inductees in the Black Athletes' Hall of Fame.
Tigers players birthdays:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/e/easonma01.shtml
Mal Eason 1903.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/e/ericker01.shtml
Eric Erickson 1916, 1918-1919.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Cliff_Mapes
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mapescl01.shtml?redir
Cliff Mapes 1952.
Tigers players who passed away:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Ira_Flagstead
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/f/flagsir01.shtml?redir
Ira Flagstead 1917, 1919-1923.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/pasekjo01.shtml
Johnny Pasek 1933.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Frank_House
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/housefr03.shtml?redir
Frank House 1950-1951, 1954-1957, 1961.
from Baseball Reference
