Were the Detroit Tigers ever called the Spartans?
No, the Tigers have been the Tigers since the team was first
started. There was at one time a Detroit baseball team called the
Wolverines, but they disbanded after 1888. Between then and 1894,
when the Tigers formed, there were several attempts to start a
baseball club in Detroit, but none of them lasted much more than a
year and I can't find any reference to what names they went by.
I'm assuming the question refers to the Detroit Major League
Baseball team. There could have been any number of high school
teams that were at one time called the Spartans and are now called
the Tigers, but if you mean one of them you'd have to be more
specific in your question (and frankly, I wouldn't count on an
answer, because nobody who isn't from that high school is likely to
know or care what their team used to be called).