SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (WXYZ) — It was October 1984, and a day Detroit Tigers fans will never forget.
The Tigers beat the San Diego Padres in the World Series — four games to one. Fans rushed onto the field at the old Tiger Stadium to snag a piece of baseball history.
And that's why a small patch of grass outside a home in Southfield is something generations of a family will never forget.
The Sovran family has been fans for generations and if you can believe it, a piece of Tigers baseball history is sitting right in their front yard.
"This grass was planted in October of 1984," said Nancy Sovran.
But this isn’t just any piece of grass.
“I was at the final game of the World Series and I was sitting in the bleachers and the bleachers at Tigers Stadium were amazing and someone threw up the sod, and I caught it and brought it home," said Nancy.
Home is right in Southfield.
“My dad’s like 'this is the greatest thing ever' and he planted it. This was his favorite tree," she said.
Nancy says this is where she was raised, and then where she and her husband raised their nine kids.
“We bought the home from my parents in 1988 and the sod has been with us every since," she said.
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After her dad passed in 1999 of cancer, Nancy says this patch of grass serves as a reminder.
“It’s a piece of my dad that’s still living and a piece of that Tigers team from 1984 that was amazing ... I mean everybody has a story about the Tigers and who, you know, brought that love to them and my dad was the one," said Nancy.
Now, Nancy passes that love on to her children, most recently taking her daughter with special needs to Friday’s playoff clinching game.
Her longtime neighbors even enjoy the piece of history.
“I think it’s one of the coolest things ever. Anything that you have from something that isn’t around anymore that you can share with friends and maintain is a wonderful thing," said Dave Noble, one of Nancy's neighbors.
Her secret to keeping it alive all these years?
"It’s the magic of the Tigers," she said.
