Many people - including non-Detroiters - are wearing Detroit Tigers baseball caps sporting the Olde English D. Marketing professionals point out that the letter symbolizes Detroit 's fabled past, its blue-collar girt and its resilience, even in the worst of times. Jerry Herron, director of the Honors Program at Wayne State and an expert on American cultural phenomena said, "When it comes to standing for a place that's taken a lot of licks that people want to keep on ticking, I can't think of a symbol that's more potent than the English D."