His signing of Ty Cobb and Hughie Jennings was instrumental in the development of the Tigers championship teams.

But Angus soon tired of the Tigers' massive monetary losses, and told Navin to find a buyer.

Navin quickly cut a deal with the richest man in Michigan, lumber baron William Clyman Yawkey.

In January 1908, Yawkey sold Navin almost half the club's stock, making him for all intents and purposes a full partner.

(Baseball brings) thousands of devotees out into the open air and the sunshine and distracts them from every contaminating influence.

When Fothergill came to Navin's office in the winter to negotiate his contract, he wore a big, heavy overcoat to conceal the weight he had put on in the offseason.

Navin then sat back and engaged Fothergill in a long, drawn-out conversation about his family, hunting, and anything but the contract.

In 1925, the Tigers were offered an opportunity to purchase a young Paul Waner from the San Francisco Seals, but Navin was not willing to pay the $40,000 asking price.

"[11] In 1911, Navin tore down the Tigers' longtime home, Bennett Park, and built a new concrete-and-steel facility on the same site with a seating capacity of 23,000.

When American League President Ban Johnson suspended Cobb indefinitely, the Tigers voted to strike, refusing to play until the suspension was lifted.

The enlarged league would include a new team in Detroit unrelated to the Tigers — an obvious attempt to push out Navin, a longtime Johnson loyalist.

However, Navin was in no mood for another war and persuaded the other five clubs to agree to appoint a new National Commission of non-baseball men.

Judge Landis was tapped as chairman, but would only accept an appointment as sole commissioner, with nearly unlimited power over the game.

Navin had a lifelong love of gambling on horse races, a quirk that was overlooked by his friend, Judge Landis.

[13] But Navin decided not to sell and tried to sign Babe Ruth as player-manager, hoping to revive interest in the team.

However, Ruth was unwilling to postpone a planned trip to Hawaii, and in any event his asking price was well beyond what Navin was willing to pay.

[14] Navin was buried in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Southfield, Michigan where the family mausoleum was decorated by Corrado Parducci and is guarded by two tigers by American animalier Frederick Roth.