Fenway Park's 100th birthday was marked by more than 200 returning Red Sox players and 37,000 fans, the Yankees and Red Sox wearing 1912-era uniforms, at least a dozen books dedicated to the stadium, a commemorative magazine published by the Hall of Fame, a national broadcast and a special musical theme scored by famed composer John Williams.

Tiger Stadium's 100th anniversary that same day, however, was commemorated by 200 or so loyal fans gathering over the course of the day at what remains of the beloved old park -- the field, the flagpole, an entry gate -- at the corner of Michigan and Trumbull. Volunteer groundskeepers mowed the grass, fans ran the bases, played catch and ate grilled hot dogs, and they all watched a newly raised commemorative flag flap in the breeze on the 125-foot center-field flagpole that used to be in play.

"One Field of Dreams," the flag reads. "Celebrating a century of memories, 1912-2012."

The celebration should have and could have been grander had the Tigers gotten involved. But for some reason, a team that pays loving tribute to Tiger Stadium throughout its current stadium didn't bother to lift a finger to celebrate the 100th birthday of a field where it played for 88 years. Vice president of communications Ron Colangelo said Tiger Stadium is well-remembered at the current park and that the old field is city property, so it was up to the city to do something.

Peter Comstock Riley of the Tiger Stadium Historical Society said the Tigers simply don't care about their old home, or about preserving it. Talking to him, it was easy to feel his disappointment that the Tigers did so little for their old home the day the Red Sox did so much for Fenway.

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