a member of the family" to Detroiters. Team owner Walter Briggs recalled Heilmann as one of his closest friends and said, "I doubt whether the death of any other person in the State of Michigan could cause more genuine regret." The 1951 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was played in Detroit on the day after Heilmann died and began with a moment of silence in his honor. Heilmann's funeral mass was celebrated by Father Charles Coughlin at the Shrine of the Little Flower in Royal Oak, Michigan. He was buried at the Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Southfield, Michigan. Career accomplishments and legacy Over the course of his major league career, Heilmann appeared in 2,147 games, including 1,525 games as a right fielder and 448 as a first baseman. He compiled a career batting average of .342 with a .410 on-base percentage and a .520 slugging percentage. Heilmann's notable accomplishments include the following: Heilmann's .342 batting average ranks 12th in major league history. Among right-handed batters, his average ranks third behind only Rogers Hornsby and Ed Delahanty. His .410 on-base percentage ranks 35th in major league history, and his .520 slugging percentage ranks 58th. Heilmann remains one of only six players in American League history to hit .400 for a season. The others are Nap Lajoie, Shoeless Joe Jackson, Ty Cobb, George Sisler, and Ted Williams. Heilmann accomplished the feat in 1923 with a .403 batting average. He is one of six players to have won four or more American League batting titles. The others are Ty Cobb (twelve), Rod Carew (seven), Ted Williams (six), Wade Boggs (five), and Miguel Cabrera (four). At the time of his retirement in 1932, his 542 doubles ranked sixth in major league history, and his 1,543 RBIs ranked eighth in major league history. Heilmann's 164 home runs while playing for Detroit was a club record when he was sold to the Reds at the end of the 1929 season; his record was broken in 1938 by Hank Greenberg. In the weeks prior to Heilmann's death, Ty Cobb led a campaign, supported by Arthur Daley of The New York Times and H. G. Salsinger of The Detroit News, to hold a special election so that Heilmann could be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame before his death. Heilmann had received 87 of 167 ballots cast (52.1%) in 1950 and 153 of 226 ballots cast (67.7%)