FOWLERVILLE — The village hopes to receive funding to install a mural honoring Hall of Famer Charlie Gehringer.
Village Manager and Clerk Kathryn Rajala-Gutzki confirmed an application for the Consumers Energy Foundation’s Put Your Town on the Map Competition to The Daily.
The pitch competition provides $50,000 in grant funding for three projects in small Michigan communities, according to a news release.
Communities with up to 10,000 residents were eligible to submit proposals.
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Gehringer was born in Fowlerville in 1903, according to his biography from the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He spent his entire 19-year career in Major League Baseball with the Detroit Tigers as a second baseman, playing 1924-42.
Gehringer became a World Series champion with the Tigers in 1935. Nicknamed “the Mechanical Man,” Gehringer was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1949.
Gehringer played in more than 2,200 games in his career, according to the Hall of Fame. He hit above .300 in 13 full seasons. In 1937, he won the American League batting title and was named Most Valuable Player over Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio.
In his career, Gehringer had a .320 batting average; 2,839 at-bats; 1,775 runs; 574 doubles; 184 home runs; and 1,427 runs batted in.
Gehringer died on Jan. 21, 1993, in Bloomfield Hills at age 89. He still has family in Livingston County.
The top three funding winners, according to Consumers Energy, will receive grants worth $25,000, $15,000 and $10,000, respectively. Ten finalists will be selected to pitch at the Small Town and Rural Development Conference in June.
The competition “seeks to reward innovative ideas that attract visitors to downtowns, advance housing, education or employment, cultivate community pride and more.”
— Contact reporter Evan Sasiela at esasiela@livingstondaily.com. Follow him on X @SalsaEvan.
