When the Los Angeles Angels asked Tom Donoghue to deliver the first pitch for an early May 2025 home game, they told the Farmington native it was to honor him as the oldest active photographer in Major League Baseball. The Angels were hosting the Detroit Tigers in a four-game home stand that weekend; Donoghue was to drive to Anaheim from his home in Las Vegas, where he has lived since 1998. He had often covered Angels games and was the Tigers’ team photographer after his Marine Corps service years, so it was a natural connection to make.
Alas, Donoghue went on the disabled list after back surgery.
“I’m having trouble walking,” he said by phone later in the month. “It’s all kaput right now.”
It turned out to be a good time to catch up with him about a career that started when his father, Edward Donoghue, a Ford Motor Co. body-design engineer, gave him a Nikon camera, and Tom began taking photos for Farmington High School’s Blue and White newspaper.
Do you remember the feeling you had when you used your first Nikon camera?
Oh, I knew this was going to be my life. I enjoyed it so much. In fact, I’ve never enjoyed taking pictures as much as I do now. I’ve been a Nikon person my whole life. I’ve actually named a golden retriever Nikon. I named a horse Nikon.
Who was your teacher at Farmington High?
Lee S. Peel. He used to call me “Boy Wonder.” They always said I was born with flashbulbs in my mouth. I really miss Farmington. I know there was something about it then; I’m sure it’s all different. The one thing I missed about Detroit the most was the Lafayette and American Coney Islands. When we were at the Super Bowl in Detroit, I brought half of the media center over [there].
You enrolled in the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism in 1965?
I was a photographer there on campus for The Maneater. We were the Missouri Tigers, remember? That was during the days of drafting. My junior year, I went in the Marine Corps. Because I had college math, they put me in electronics and coding and all that stuff. I was in Cuba [at Guantanamo Bay]. We were there when all the Russian trawlers were coming right through the harbor. There were missile sites that people never knew about. Later, I was in Okinawa [Japan], based there at headquarters with the 12th Marines.
What did you do when you returned to Detroit?
After returning from the Marines in 1971, I was team photographer for the Pistons when they played at Cobo Hall and for the Tigers at Tiger Stadium. Al Kaline was a good friend of mine. I always used to kid him: “How come nobody’s written a book about you?” And he says, “Just because my life is boring.” Norm Cash was another character. I loved being around those guys. They were so much fun.
How about the Pistons of that time?
Oh, Dave Bing was the best. And Bob Lanier. Before the game, I’d be out there on the court. I remember playing H-O-R-S-E with Pete Maravich.
How did you end up in Los Angeles?
When Al Kaline retired in 1974, I left Detroit. I was offered the track photographer job at Hollywood Park Racetrack with the thoroughbred horses. It’s now the site of SoFi Stadium. I worked with horses like Seattle Slew and with all the movie stars — Carol Burnett, Walter Matthau, Jack Klugman, Farrah Fawcett — because they came to Hollywood Park.
Were you later a digital photography holdout?
I had so much Fuji film, and I said, “I’m not going to go digital. I like my film.” Nikon finally gave me a digital camera and said, “Just try it.” I was an old fart, and I kept to my guns. But eventually, I went to digital. Now, it’s the greatest thing ever.
![“Norm Cash. The thing I remember most was when Nolan Ryan threw a no-hitter in Detroit [in 1973]. Norm was coming up to bat, and he went into the clubhouse, and broke a leg off the table to use instead of a baseball bat.”](https://cdn.hourdetroit.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/Tigers-Norm-Cash-e1775053882707.jpg)
Is there any sport you would rather not photograph?
I’m not into this cage fighting — the one who’s living is going to be the winner. I just don’t like that. Boxing is different.
Editor’s note: This article was originally scheduled to run at the end of the Tigers’ 2025 season. Instead, it is running to coincide with the start of the 2026 season. When we caught up with Donoghue in January, we had a few follow-up questions, including whether he will get another chance to throw out the first pitch when the Tigers play the Angels in July.
“Everything is up in the air depending on how I’m doing with my back,” he told us. As for what he’s been up to, he mentioned one of his latest jobs: shooting a Styx show at the Venetian in Las Vegas. He also said he’d hoped to shoot the Super Bowl, something he’s been doing for the past 33 years, but his doctor advised against it. “He said, ‘Save your back for baseball season.’”
To contact the photographer, email him at photomanlv@gmail.com.
This story originally appeared in the April 2026 issue of Hour Detroit magazine. To read more, pick up a copy of Hour Detroit at a local retail outlet. Click here to get our digital edition
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