Table Of Content

I o O.oo OjOfiO aA pn^otoyC ok A No° \o \ "0>6 f06^ ^ VJ'B^y V^i ~Y^)<3- S Pc’f~7-> M }J]6s>e. ewsoy 4-VWfc- GJvi Chip Mundy and J. Alexander Poulton OVER TIME {BOOKS © 2010 by OverTime Books First printed in 2010 10 987654321 Printed in Canada All rights reserved. No part of this work covered by the copyrights hereon may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means— graphic, electronic or mechanical—without the prior written permission of the publisher, except for reviewers, who may quote brief passages. Any request for photocopying, recording, taping or storage on information retrieval systems of any part of this work shall be directed in writing to the publisher. The Publisher: OverTime Books is an imprint of Editions de la Montagne Verte Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication Mundy, Chip, 1955- Michigan sports trivia / Chip Mundy, J. Alexander Poulton. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978-1-897277-58-4 1. Sports—Michigan—Miscellanea. I. Poulton, J. Alexander (Jay Alexander), 1977- II. Title. GV584.M5M86 2010 796.09774 C2010-903031-1 Project Director: J. Alexander Poulton Editor: Michelle Nichol Cover Image: Football field (Ford Field, Detroit): CC-Creative Commons, © Mrmiscellanious; race car: © Don France Photography; basketball court (Palace of Auburn Hills): © Kevin.Ward; football: © Toddtaulman I Dreamstime.com; baseball glove: © Bobbiholmes I Dreamstime.com; golfer: © iStockphoto.com/SergeyKashkin; speed skater: © iStockphoto.com/corepics; boxing gloves: © Zedcor Wholly Owned; lacrosse stick: © Hemera Technologies; all other images: © Photos.com. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program (BPIDP) for our publishing activities. ■ ^ ■ Canadian Patrimoine ■ ▼ m Heritage canadien PC: 5 Contents Introduction. 6 Chapter 1: The Tigers: A Team for All Ages.8 Chapter 2: Gridiron Heroes.65 Chapter 3: Hockeytown.«... 98 Chapter 4: "DEEEEE-troit Basket-BALL".127 Chapter 5: College Athletics: A State Divided.149 Chapter 6: And In This Comer. 190 Chapter 7: The Game of Summer.199 Chapter 8: They Were as Good as Gold.208 Chapter 9: Honorable Mention.213 Notes on Sources 221 Dedication For my late father, Charlie, who gave me the love of sports, and my late mother, Beverly, who gave me the love of writing. 5 Acknowledgments This book is the result of opportunity, teamwork and friendship—and it's wrapped together by pas¬ sion. My publisher gave me the opportunity to work on this project, and for that I am grateful and hope that it meets his high expectations. The book was also a team effort, and I appreciate the great work and research by co-author J. Alexander Poulton of OverTime Books. I also was blessed to be paired with a wonderful editor, Michelle Nichol, who did a remarkable job editing and fact-checking the manuscript. And finally, this book could not have happened without friendship. In my lifetime, I have attended hundreds and hundreds of sporting events, mostly in Michigan but not entirely so, and I did so with many different and wonderful people. It would be impossible to name everyone, but if you ever attended even one game with me, know that you're a part of this book, too. I'm passionate about sports in Michigan, and having friends who feel the same way has been one of life's greatest pleasures. I could not have enjoyed sports without friends who feel the same way. Introduction T here's an old saying: "One man's garbage is another man's treasure." The same could be said about sports trivia; what doesn't matter to one person might be a cherished memory for another, and, really, that's what this book is about: memo¬ ries, creating them and reliving them. As you read this book, you're going to recognize some things you already know, like the champion¬ ship years of the Tigers, Lions, Red Wings and Pis¬ tons, and some of the greatest players from those teams. No review of Michigan sports history would be complete without them, but the hope here is twofold: first, to supply stories or information about those times that are not widely known, causing you to say to yourself, "I didn't know that," and second, to stir your memory of a player, game or time, causing you to say to yourself, "Wow, t forgot all about that." Sports trivia can be different to every person, but all sports fans have a thirst for those "little-known facts," with apologies to Cliff the mailman on the television show Cheers. 7 INTRODUCTION Maybe you've been at a Red Wings playoff game and saw an octopus thrown onto the ice but never really knew how the tradition started, or maybe you've thrown one on the ice yourself. Maybe you've heard about quarterback Bobby Layne leading the Lions to the NFL title in 1953 but didn't know that he reportedly put a curse on the team when he was traded. This book is going to be heavy on Lions, Tigers, Red Wings and Pistons trivia, and Michigan and Michigan State will get their share as well. But we're not going to overlook golf, auto racing, boxing and the female athletes of the state, either. Consider it a walk through Michigan's rich tradi¬ tion of sports, with a little bit of "one man's gar¬ bage" sprinkled in with an assortment of "another man's treasures." Chapter One The Tigers: A Team for All Ages I magine going to a place where your grandfather took your father when your dad was just a kid. And, in turn, if you're lucky, you'll take your son or daughter to the same place. That's what Tiger Sta¬ dium was to baseball fans in Michigan, and that's what the Detroit Tigers have been to the state since 1901—a span of five or six generations of baseball fans. Football may be America's number one sport, but baseball has the longevity and consistency that no other sport can offer. Who hasn't picked up a bat and swung at a pitch? Who hasn't played catch? Baseball is a sport that most people can relate to, and in Michigan, the Detroit Tigers have one of the most loyal followings of any baseball team. Before the Tigers Long before the appearance of the Detroit Tigers, the Wolverines were the Motor City's first profes¬ sional baseball team. After the National League decided to expel the Cincinnati Reds in December