All these years later, the stars get the fanfare. Kirk Gibson. Alan Trammell. Lou Whitaker. Lance Parrish. Jack Morris. Dan Petry. And so many more.

But those stars are here to remind you, as the Tigers celebrated the 40th anniversary of their last World Series championship on Saturday, not to overlook so many others.

For starters, said Trammell, the Hall of Fame shortstop who actually didn’t have his best year in 1984 but rose to the occasion in the World Series, don’t forget Willie Hernandez, that year’s closer who won the American League Cy Young and Most Valuable Player awards back in an era when closers worked more than just one inning.

Hernandez was acquired on the eve of the 1984 season in a trade with the Philadelphia Phillies that also brought over veteran first baseman Dave Bergman.

“We had a very good team. We had great balance, we had a lot of guys that had good years,” Trammell said recently during Gibson’s charity golf outing that also brought out 1984 members Parrish and Dave Rozema, as well as ’84 rival and San Diego Padres closer Rich “Goose” Gossage. “But Willie had the career year. I just want to make sure that people recognize it. Without Willie, it wouldn’t have happened. He really was nails that year.

“Willie was the finisher, and what a year he had. It’s in the books.”

That year, Hernandez, with his signature screwball, was 9-3 with a 1.92 ERA and 32 saves. (People forget, Aurelio Lopez also had 14 saves that year.) He pitched 140.34 innings.

Hernandez played the final six seasons of his major league career with the Tigers, and he was pretty darn good for five of them. Hernandez died in November, at the age of 69.

Bergman also came over in that blockbuster trade, which was panned by those inside the Tigers clubhouse when it happened. But it didn’t take long for them to appreciate just what general manager Bill Lajoie had pulled off, in shipping out outfielder Glenn Wilson and catcher John Wockenfuss over to Philadelphia.

Bergman played 120 games in 1984, mostly at first base, and had a .768 OPS, behind only Trammell, Gibson and Chet Lemon among the regulars. He brought a key poise and veteran presence to the clubhouse, Trammell and Parrish said recently, and also some big moments, like the epic 13-pitch walk-off homer against the Toronto Blue Jays in June of that year. Manager Sparky Anderson called it the “greatest at-bat” he ever saw, and remember, Anderson managed the “Big Red Machine.”

Trammell likens Bergman’s contributions to those of third baseman Tom Brookens, who played 113 games in 1984, had a .703 OPS and played a solid defense.

“Dave Bergman, he was an unsung hero,” Trammell said. “Bergie and Tom Brookens were just as important as the regulars. Behind the scenes, they were awesome.

“They were a big part, even though they don’t get the credit that they deserve.”

Bergman played the final nine years of his 17-year major league career with the Tigers, and died in 2015 at the age of 61 from cancer.

Brookens, 71, played 10 of his 12 major league seasons with the Tigers, always seemingly overlooked by Anderson in spring training, and always seemingly the starter by May 1. Brookens, who coached for the Tigers under Jim Leyland from 2009-13, was expected to attend Saturday’s ceremony at Comerica Park honoring the 1984 Tigers.

There are other guys on that 1984 team who played key bit roles, but Parrish made a case for an interesting (and debatable) one: Anderson, the Hall of Fame manager. Parrish wrote in his new book, “Enchanted Season,” co-written by former Detroit News beat writer Tom Gage, that Anderson’s hiring was tough for him, because it meant the firing of his minor league mentor, Les Moss. But Parrish quickly came to understand Anderson’s influence, which went far beyond just in-game maneuvering.

“The preparation that went into that year, starting in spring training, the first day of spring training, I give Sparky all the credit,” Parrish said. “I don’t think he gets enough credit for the buttons he pushed and the things that he did to try to get us as a unity ready to compete that year.

“We knew what we were doing when the season started.”

And the 35-5 start, never done before and not matched since, is evidence of that.

Anderson, who managed the Tigers from 1979-95, died in November 2010 at the age of 76, of complications from dementia.

Others from the 1984 World Series team who have died include catcher Dwight Lowry (1997; age 39) and Lopez (1992; age 44), as well as most of Anderson’s staff, including pitching coach Roger Craig (2023; age 93), hitting coach Gates Brown (2013; age 74), bench coach Billy Consolo (2008; age 73) and third-base coach Alex Grammas (2019; age 93).