Frederick A. Knorr was a radio

Radio

Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...

 executive and part-owner of the Detroit Tigers

Detroit Tigers

The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...

 in Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

 from 1956 until his death in 1960.

A graduate of Hillsdale College

Hillsdale College

Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Michigan, United States, is a co-educational liberal arts college known for being the first American college to prohibit in its charter all discrimination based on race, religion, or sex; its refusal of government funding; and its monthly publication, Imprimis...

 in Hillsdale, Michigan

Hillsdale, Michigan

Hillsdale is a city in the state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 8,305. It is the county seat of Hillsdale County, and is run as a council-manager government....

, Knorr purchased four Michigan radio stations, including WKMH

WDTW (AM)

WDTW is a Detroit-area radio station, operating at 1310 kHz with 5,000 watts. The station is owned by Clear Channel Communications and airs mostly syndicated progressive talk radio programs....

, which broadcast Tigers games. In 1956, Knorr and John Fetzer

John Fetzer

John Earl Fetzer was a radio and television executive who was best known as the owner of the Detroit Tigers from 1961 through the early 1980s.- Biography :...

 led an ownership group intending to acquire the Tigers and Briggs Stadium from the Briggs family. The team was sold at a cost of $

United States dollar

The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....

5,500,000 with assurances of retaining Walter Briggs, Jr.

Walter Briggs, Jr.

Walter Owen Briggs, Jr. was an American Major League Baseball executive...

, who was given the position of executive vice president. In addition to being owner, Knorr also served as president in 1957 before being replaced by Harvey Hansen on April 19, 1957.

The team under Knorr's new direction supported integration of baseball, a position that was contrary to Walter Briggs' longtime segregationist stance. On June 6, 1958, Ozzie Virgil, Sr.

Ozzie Virgil, Sr.

Osvaldo José Virgil broke the color barrier for Detroit in 1958. He served in the U.S. Marines from 1950 to 1952...

 became the first black player for the Tigers.

In 1960, Knorr died in an accident and Fetzer became majority owner.