Detroit — Red Hawaiian shirts took over Comerica Park on Sunday with over 900 people traveling across the world for the 17th annual "Magnum P.I." Day. Known as the “Magnums," the group partnered with the Brain Injury Association of Michigan in 2025, and a portion of Tigers game tickets bought through their group link are donated to help the association. “I get emotional talking about it," said Aaron Klassen, the primary organizer for the event. "Who knew what started as just a bunch of hooligans having fun would turn into something of this caliber to be able to make such an incredible impact and give back to the community."
Founded by Shana Smail, Shaun Smail and Kevin Stephenson in 2009, the first event was minuscule compared to now, with only about 12 people in attendance and any color Hawaiian shirt worn. The group is inspired by the 1980s show "Magnum P.I.," and fans are dressed like Detroit native Tom Selleck, who stars in the show as Thomas Magnum. Nowadays, they have thousands of members in a Facebook group and had fans, workers, and even PAWS, the Tigers’ mascot, dressed in the signature Magnum look: an Aloha “Jungle Bird” shirt, sunglasses, real or fake mustaches, and a Tigers hat to top off the outfit. The group is looking to break a Guinness World Record of the largest gathering wearing an aloha Hawaiian shirt at a sporting event, which was recently broken on Aug. 1 by the Fort McMurray Giants Baseball Club in Fort McMurray Alberta, Canada with 1,280 people. Klassen joined the group in 2012 and is now the primary organizer for the event. Klassen and others realized last year that they have a strong group of people attending, and it was time for them to start giving back to the community.
The Brain Injury Association of Michigan was the perfect place because of Klassen’s background in traumatic brain injury rehabilitation, and Shana Smail’s sister suffered from a brain and spinal cord injury in an accident. “When this happens to people, they don't know how to navigate what that looks like, and that's where the Brain Injury Association of Michigan came into play for them,” Klassen said. “They helped link them to services, doctors, cares, all of those things in this really unfamiliar, tragic time, and so it only made sense — let's help raise awareness for brain injury and sponsor them.” This partnership wasn’t the only milestone for the group in 2025. Selleck attended last year's game and threw the ceremonial first pitch. Fans were surprised that he showed up after 16 years of the event taking place, but he had more in store for the group. He donated a signed jersey, hat and other memorabilia items to the Tigers for auction, and the proceeds went to the Brain Injury Association of Michigan.
“I grew up watching 'Magnum P.I.,' watched him on 'Friends,' and also watched him on 'Blue Bloods,' so I love Tom Selleck,” Tigers fan Char Purdy said. “Just now finding out that there's a fundraiser behind this, I'm even more intrigued like I said, and kind of want to get behind it and support it more.” Purdy is a “Magnum” and has been a Tigers fan since she was 8 years old. She has always known about this event and came to Sunday's game on a bus with her cousin and other family and friends to support both the Tigers and the community. Klassen is also a Michigan native and describes the season as a “rollercoaster” because they entered the season as division favorites and are digging their way back into playoff contention. “'Magnum Magic' is here, everything changes — it's just going to be lights out for the rest of the regular season,” Klassen said. “But also, we do have a really good team. We've got AJ Hinch at the helm, and I'm a true believer in the Tigers.” amarable@detroitnews.com This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: 'Magnum Magic' takes over Comerica Park, supports a good cause