Sports in Detroit, Michigan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Detroit, Michigan, is the home to six professional sports teams. It is also one of several cities in the United States to have teams from four major American sports.
| Club | League | Venue | Established | Championships |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit Lions | NFL Football | Ford Field | 1930 | 4 (NFL), 0 (Super Bowl) |
| Detroit Pistons | NBA Basketball | The Palace of Auburn Hills | 1941 | 2 (NBL), 3 (NBA) |
| Detroit Red Wings | NHL Hockey | Joe Louis Arena | 1926 | 10 |
| Detroit Shock | WNBA Basketball | The Palace of Auburn Hills | 1998 | 2 |
| Detroit Tigers | MLB Baseball | Comerica Park | 1894 | 4 |
| Detroit Panthers | ABA Basketball | Cobo Arena | 2004 | 0 |
Detroit is home to professional teams representing the four major sports in North America. All but two play within the city of Detroit (basketball's Detroit Pistons and Detroit Shock play in suburban Auburn Hills). There are three active major sports venues within the city: Comerica Park (home of the baseball team Detroit Tigers), Ford Field (home of the football team Detroit Lions), and Joe Louis Arena (home of the ice hockey team Detroit Red Wings). Detroit is known for its avid hockey fans. Interest in the sport has given the city the moniker of "Hockeytown." Detroit-based teams, especially winning ones, have traditionally been defense-oriented.
In college sports, the University of Detroit Mercy has a NCAA Division I program, and Wayne State University has both NCAA Division I and II programs. The NCAA football Motor City Bowl is held at Ford Field each December.
Since 1904, the city has home to the American Power Boat Association Gold Cup unlimited hydroplane boat race, held annually on the Detroit River near Belle Isle.[1]. Detroit was the former home of a round of the Formula One World Championship, which held the race on the streets of downtown Detroit from 1982 until 1988, after which the sanction moved from Formula One to Indycars until its final run in 2001.[2]
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[edit] City of Champions
Detroit was given the name "City of Champions" in the 1930's, for a series of successes both in individual and in team sport. Gar Wood (a native Detroiter) won the Harmsworth Trophy for unlimited powerboat racing on the Detroit River in 1931. In the Next year, 1932, Eddie "the Midnight Express" Tolan, a black student from Detroit's Cass Technical High School, won the 100- and 200-meter races and two gold medals at the 1932 Olympics. Joe Louis won the heavyweight championship of the world in 1937. Detroit Lions won the National Football League championship in 1937. The Detroit Tigers won the American League pennant in 1934 and again in 1935, subsequently bagging the World Series in 1935, defeating the Chicago Cubs. The Detroit Red Wings won the National Hockey League's Stanley Cup in 1936 & 1937.[3][4] In 1994, the Pontiac Silverdome hosted World Cup Soccer.
Comerica Park hosted the 2005 MLB All-Star Game on July 12, 2005, and Ford Field hosted Super Bowl XL on February 5, 2006. On December 13, 2003, the largest crowd in basketball history (78,129) packed Ford Field to watch the University of Kentucky defeat Michigan State University, 79-74.[5] Comerica Park hosted games 1 and 2 of the 2006 World Series.
The Detroit Marathon is organized annually in the city, usually held in October.
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ History. The Detroit APBA Gold Cup
- ^ Track History. CART.
- ^ http://info.detnews.com/history/story/index.cfm?id=91&category=sports. Detroit News.
- ^ http://www.visitdetroit.com/visitorcenter/aboutdetroit/dates/. Visit Detroit
- ^ History. FordField.com.
