Erie Realtor Ed Brzezinski, 60, a lifelong Detroit Tigers fan, couldn't be happier that his team is back in the playoffs for the first time since 1987.

The Tigers visit the Yankees on Tuesday in the first game of the American League Divisional Series. Game time at Yankee Stadium is 8:19 p.m.; Fox will televise the game.

Born in Detroit, Brzezinski’s love for the Tigers grew from childhood. His uncle was a clubhouse attendant for the Tigers right before World War II, and Brzezinski recalls many nights spent transfixed to his radio and the voice of Hall of Fame broadcaster Ernie Harwell on Detroit’s WJR.

One of Brzezinski’s biggest thrills came in 1968, when the Tigers won the World Series by defeating the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games. Brzezinski attended Game 5 at Tiger Stadium on a free ticket courtesy of then-Erie Mayor Lou Tullio.

At the time, the Erie Sailors were the Tigers’ affiliate in the short-season New York-Penn League, and Tullio used his connections to obtain tickets from Detroit management.

“Mayor Lou had two tickets for Game 4 and two for Game 5 and I was late asking, so the mayor of Rochester, New York, got the Game 4 tickets,’’ Brzezinski said. “Mayor Lou had known me when I played baseball at (Cathedral) Prep and he would often come to Ainsworth Field and watch us play. I guess he felt I was just some young kid who had guts coming up to him to ask for the tickets.’’