Al Kaline, universally known to baseball fans as Mr. Tiger, built an immortal legacy on a physical foundation the world assumed was broken. At age eight he contracted osteomyelitis, and surgeons removed two full inches of bone from his left foot, leaving it permanently turned inward. This deep dive traces how a kid from working-class Baltimore became a Hall of Fame right fielder despite that devastating childhood illness.

Signed straight out of high school for a $15,000 bonus, Kaline skipped the minors entirely because of the bonus rule and reached baseball immortality through stoic endurance and elite plate discipline. Over 22 years he walked more than he struck out, won 10 Gold Gloves, collected 3,000 hits, and built a 67-year bond with a single franchise as player, broadcaster, and front-office adviser.

• At age 20 in 1955 he hit .340 to become the youngest player ever to win the American League batting title, breaking Ty Cobb’s record
• Team doctors misdiagnosed his chronic foot pain as gout until a surgeon prescribed custom corrective shoes in 1965
• His 1968 World Series bat drove Mayo Smith to move center fielder Mickey Stanley to shortstop; Kaline hit .379 to help win the title
• He turned down a raise to $100,000, saying he had not earned it, then accepted it a year later after proving himself
• Elected to the Hall of Fame in 1980 with over 88% of the vote, his number six was the first the Tigers ever retired