Ahead of this weekend's back-to-back Detroit dates with his band the Raconteurs, rock star Jack White played a charity baseball game at the historic Hamtramck Stadium. The event benefited the Friends of Historic Hamtramck Stadium, a group raising money to rehab the historic grounds, which are one of the few remaining Negro League ballparks in the country.
White was joined by Raconteurs bandmate Brendan Benson, nephew Ben Blackwell, and former minor league ballplayer Ben Jenkins, who is a partner with White at Warstic, a Dallas-based sporting goods company. Naturally, the team was called the Warstic Woodmen. The challenging Detroit team, dubbed the Motor City All Stars, included local rockers Frank Woodman and Craig Brown, as well as Vanessa Rose, the granddaughter of Negro League legend Norman "Turkey" Stearnes.
The first pitch was thrown out by 92-year-old Ron Teasley, a former Negro League player, who threw to former Tiger and Hamtramck native Ike Blessitt. White's 88-year-old mother Teresa Gillis even took a shot at the bat and ran to first with a little encouragement from her son. Detroit's own Robert Bradley sang his song "Born in America" during the 7th inning stretch backed by Bobby Emmett on keys.
