I saw this on a different blog and it got me thinking. From each pro sports team in Detroit, who would be one "star" that most people forget about. I'm talking an athlete who was once an A to B list sports figure that ended up playing in Motown for a season. There's lots of honorable mention guys who come to mind or could even mentioned but these are guys who made my list.
Detroit Lions - Daunte Culpepper
Culpepper appeared in 13 games for the Detroit Lions over two season. During his time in the D, he threw for 7 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. It's safe to say that he didn't light the world on fire but then again, not many people do that wearing the Honolulu blue. Culpepper was the original UCF gun-slingger who was drafted 11th by the Minnesota Vikings and was on track to be a great quarterback until a terrible knee injury. After that he bounced around until he ended up in Detroit. People forget that Daunte's chonk ass played in the D.
Detroit Tigers - Gary Sheffield
This is a guy that I could never forget playing in Detroit, but the casual fans might. Sheffield had an all time batting stance, that dude could keep his bat still. Intern Josh and myself use to spend hours trying to replicate his stance playing wiffle ball. Sheffield came to Detroit on the heels of their 2006 World Series appearance. Sheff's best season in Detroit was in '07 when he hit 25 home-runs and batted in 75 runs. Sheffield played for 8 different teams in a career that stretched over 20 years. He also was a 9 time all-star and won a World Series in 1997 and hit over 500 homers. Crazy that a legend like this played in Detroit and I was actually able to see it. You might have forgot him but I didn't.
Detroit Red Wings - Mike Modano
Mike Modano spent the first 20 years of his NHL career playing hockey for the Minnesota North Stars, the Dallas Stars and even made a cameo in the original Mighty Ducks movie. Modano is a Detroit native and was ecstatic to spend his final season in the D. Modano appeared in 40 regular season games and 2 playoff games for the Red Wings. The Red Wings had a lot of success with aging veterans joining their team and being good. This was not really the case for Detroit and Modano. Nonetheless, Modano is a hockey legend and will be a hall of famer. If you're a hockey guy you respect a guy like this but could also easily forget that he played for the Red Wings.
Detroit Pistons - Tracy McGrady
Hand up, I entirely forgot that Tracy McGrady spent an entire season in Detroit. McGrady is better known for his time with the Raptors, Magic and Rockets but ultimately his career was affected by a knee injury. Now in the basketball hall of fame, McGrady could get buckets, which is a big reason that he was a 7 time all star and 2 time scoring champ prior to his injury. While only averaging 8 points per game in Detroit, he did appear in 72 total games during the 2010-2011 season. Yet another former star that a Detroit sports team was lucky enough to have in town.
Honorable Mention
Allen Iverson (Pistons)
Christian Laettener (Pistons)
Tobias Harris (Pistons)
Kyle Vanden Bosch (Lions)
Dwight Freeney (Lions)
Anquan Boldin (Lions)
Sean Casey (Tigers)
Aubrey Huff (Tigers)
Dontrelle Willis (Tigers)
Daniel Alfredsson (Red Wings)
Todd Bertuzzi (Red Wings)
Marian Hossa (Red Wings)
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