Before we made the final decision to put Tigers ace Tarik Skubal on our cover, I did some digging in the Hour Detroit archives (after all, baseball is a game of stats). First, I wanted to see how many times a Tiger had graced our cover. The answer? Five. Interestingly, two of the covers were fashion-focused …
The baseball-related covers featured Bobby Higginson in April 1999 ( “a fiery force” on a struggling team), Iván “Pudge” Rodríguez in April 2004 (his first year with the Tigers), and Jim Leyland in May 2008 (at the start of his third season as manager).
This research led me to another question: How did the Tigers perform after appearing on the cover? In other words, was there a cover curse?
Fortunately, my findings were reassuring. The cover players remained healthy, and for the most part, the teams improved, meaning that Tarik Skubal — 2024’s American League Cy Young Award winner — was in the clear. You’ll find our interview with him here.
In recent years, our April cover image has aligned with our annual City Guide. Until last year, the audience for the feature was primarily metro Detroiters. However, with the NFL Draft coming to town in 2024, we shifted the focus to out-of-town visitors.
The draft ended up exceeding expectations — drawing 775,000 people, more than double the original projections. The city also landed on Travel + Leisure’s and The New York Times’ lists of must-visit destinations for 2025.
Given this momentum, we are continuing with a visitors component and are also including articles for longtime residents — such as a history of Woodward Avenue, an interview with returning Detroiter Emily Gail, and much more.
I hope you enjoy the issue. Now, let’s play ball!
This story originally appeared in the April 2025 issue of Hour Detroit magazine. To read more, pick up a copy of Hour Detroit at a local retail outlet. Our digital edition will be available on April 7.
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