Going from a Michigan prison straight to professional baseball, former Detroit Tigers player Ron LeFlore, 78, inspired a TV movie, a best-selling memoir and a huge fandom among Tigers fans during his MLB tenure in Detroit. But though one of Detroit’s most popular and productive players of the 1970s (his 14.3 Baseball Reference WAR from 1970-79 lands him second in the decade among Tigers position players), he’s not often mentioned as a franchise legend.
Bay Area author Adam Henig explores the Detroit native in his 2026 book, “Baseball’s Outcast: The Story of Ron LeFlore,” a biography of one of the most talented Tigers players of all time. Henig lays out LeFlore’s life from an impoverished childhood on Detroit’s east side, to a prison stint, to a dramatic development as an MLB star, with LeFlore’s playing career shortened by drugs and conflicts with managers and team executives.
Advertisement
Henig’s book also picks up where LeFlore’s memoir left off, mapping out the star’s life after baseball and his legacy in Tigers history. In his discussions with LeFlore’s family, former teammates and former Free Press writers, Henig also reveals several details about LeFlore’s career in baseball and what eventually led to the game turning away from him.
The Free Press spoke to Henig about his writing process and thoughts about LeFlore, with the following interview edited for length and clarity.
Author Adam Henig on Ron LeFlore’s life
LeFlore’s early life
When did you first hear about Ron LeFlore and what inspired you to write the book?
Advertisement
“It really begins when I was about 8 or 9 years old. I wasn’t much of a reader growing up as a child, and the only thing I would read were books about baseball. And my mom, who was a school teacher, had noticed this book about Ron LeFlore. It was a children’s version of his memoir that had come out some about 45 years ago, called “From Prison to the Major Leagues.” And she’s like, “I think you might like this,” and I did.
“When I was trying to figure out what I was going to write about after publishing my third book back in 2020, I was curious what had happened to Ron. He had led a fascinating life, being someone who was incarcerated and then being directly recruited out of prison by a Major League Baseball organization. [It’s] not only unusual, it would never happen today.”
A lot of the early parts of the book were about his family and, specifically, his older brother Harry. How much do you think Harry’s death impacted Ron’s trajectory?
“Ron was, I believe, 10 years old when his oldest brother died. And he wasn’t just a brother, he was a role model.
Advertisement
“Harry was everything that Ron wanted to achieve. He was well-liked, he was athletic, he was college-educated, he went into the Army. He actually was going to become a police officer, but he was such a good boxer that a manager convinced him he should box while he can. And, unfortunately, early on in his professional career, he took some blows and one of them was fatal and it couldn’t be treated. When I spoke to Ron over the phone about it, I don’t think he’s ever gotten over it.
“Because it was traumatic for all of [the LeFlore family], but for Ron especially, you can begin to see the trajectory of when he goes into his wayward ways.”
Photo of Adam Henig’s book Baseball’s Outcast: The Story of Ron LeFlore.
LeFlore was someone who learned how to cook at a young age, who always tested highly on aptitude tests, but he also developed a knack for stealing things, and it ended up landing him in prison. How much did you develop an appreciation for LeFlore beyond his athletic abilities?
Advertisement
“That’s one of the reasons why Ron was successful. If he was just an athlete, I don’t think we would be having this conversation today. I don’t think he would have made it out of prison, at least as a professional baseball player.
“Keep in mind, he never played Little League. It wasn’t even a sport that he played until he got to prison. So for him to have learned it in his early 20s and learn enough of it that he could be taken seriously as a prospect, it just kind of shows you how bright Ron is.”
LeFlore’s MLB career
Ron LeFlore was an outfielder for the Detroit Tigers.
You mentioned after his stint in prison, when he got his opportunity with the Tigers, that he was quickly taken under the wing from some Tigers legends, Al Kaline, Willie Horton among them. Were you surprised that he was absorbed into the culture so quickly despite him being recently incarcerated?
Advertisement
“He was and he wasn’t. There were certain players that were hostile to him and wanted to have nothing to do with him because of his criminal past. Kaline, who was in his final season when Ron was called up [in 1974], was so unusual in this case. He was, of course, the team legend, the team leader. He was already [a shoe-in for] the Hall of Fame at this point. He just had to finish up his career in Detroit. I think one of the reasons why he reached out to Ron is he immediately saw how talented Ron was and how this could be the new Tigers star.”
One of the most interesting aspects that you write about his career was that LeFlore’s breakout season happens in 1976, which is better known among Tiger fans for being Mark Fidrych’s breakout season. Do you think that LeFlore’s story would have been better-known if his breakout season happened in any year other than the one when Fidrych comes onto the scene?
“I do think that Ron was shortchanged, but not because of Fidrych. I think he was shortchanged because he wasn’t on a team that was ever a playoff contender. I mean, the Tigers stunk. In 1975, they lost over 100 games. 1976, they were better. 1977, 1978, they weren’t that great. In 1979, [new manager] Sparky Anderson comes on the scene. They had a long year. So I think that really held him up more than Fidrych did.”
What do you think was the biggest contributor for LeFlore being pushed out of Detroit and landing in Montreal in 1980?
Advertisement
“I think Detroit realized that they couldn’t handle him anymore. His ego had gotten so large. Keep in mind, by 1979, Ron is a star. He has a best-selling book [co-written by former Free Press sportswriter Jim Hawkins]. His story was turned into a movie. He’s making a lot of money. And he becomes a very flashy person.
“So I think when Sparky came, he saw this and realized that Ron needed to show some respect and also needed to follow his direction. And Ron was used to getting his own way, largely because he was the only player really performing on a regular basis. So that was hard for Ron to make that transition, and he and Sparky butted heads.
“He also was getting more involved in drugs. He was doing cocaine. He was smoking marijuana. And he wasn’t used to going to batting practice before a game. He just felt like he didn’t need to. And his previous manager [Ralph Houk] gave him a lot of autonomy.
“When Ron got traded, I talked to a lot of fans about this who remember that. It was shocking. They couldn’t believe that Ron LeFlore, a Detroit native – and of course they all were familiar with his story – got traded.
Advertisement
“Ron was also well known for being tied in with the local Greek mafia. And that didn’t help his situation either. And I did come across a file in the American League commissioner’s files about the concerns they had regarding Ron, and it was in a file labeled “security,” and I think they meant they were concerned they had security issues with Ron. They didn’t want him to become compromised with the mafia, perhaps doing something that Pete Rose would end up doing, which was gambling on games that he was playing in. So [the Tigers] shipped him off to Montreal.”
LeFlore’s post-MLB life
Ron LeFlore slides under the glove of second baseman Paul Molitor in the third inning for his 51st steal of the year in 1979.
You mentioned that the Tigers have recently become a bit more warm towards LeFlore. What do you think the appropriate amount of recognition is for him?
Advertisement
“You look at who’s in that top 1%, who are all Hall of Famers, from Al Kaline, Ty Cobb, Hank Greenberg, the list goes on and on. And he’s not of that caliber, but he’s definitely in the next tier. And I think as being the next tier, when I see other players who are of similar stature receiving a lot more attention than he did, I’m [surprised], but I also get it.
“[The Tigers] don’t want don’t want to have the possibility of having to explain why they hired this guy who has a recent background of failure to pay child support, of being caught with illegal substances. So I don’t really take issue with the Tigers. I get why one player is more accepted by the organization than another.”
In the epilogue, you feature a story about how Detroit Metro Times reporter Dave Mesrey was tasked with chauffeuring LeFlore around Detroit before an exhibition of his TV movie at the Detroit Historical Museum. What made you so interested in that particular story?
The reason why I wanted to end with that is, Ron feels, to this day, that he never got his due. And he’s right, but it’s partly because of the things that he did after baseball.
Advertisement
“So one of the reasons why I wanted to end with that particular story is it does end on a high note. And he finally does get his dues, although in a much smaller environment. And as Mesery is telling it to me, I’m thinking there’s a lot of interesting symbolism about the kind of post-playing career of baseball players, or just athletes in general who are so used to being wined and dined, but then all of a sudden it’s gone, just like that.
“As a standalone story, I don’t think it would carry as much weight. But when you already know all this information about Ron, and then you’re reading this section at the end of the book, I think there’s a lot of just appreciation for him, for all that he’s gone through.”
Baseball’s Outcast: The Story of Ron LeFlore is available for purchase online at Bloomsbury Publishing and wherever books are sold.
Need to catch up on the news during breakfast? Sign up for our Sports Briefing newsletter to get daily summaries of Detroit sports!
You can reach Christian at cromo@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Former inmate-turned-Tigers star Ron LeFlore’s story told in new book
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
