Events from the year 1974 in Michigan.
The
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
(AP) selected the top news stories of 1974 in Michigan as follows:
#
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...
's elevation to
President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
after the resignation of Richard Nixon;
# The decline of the automobile industry tied to the
1973 oil crisis
The 1973 oil crisis or first oil crisis began in October 1973 when the members of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), led by Saudi Arabia, proclaimed an oil embargo. The embargo was targeted at nations that had supp ...
with layoffs of more than 200,000 automobile workers;
# The re-election of
William Milliken
William Grawn Milliken (March 26, 1922 – October 18, 2019) was an American businessman and politician who served as the 44th governor of Michigan. A member of the Republican Party, he is the longest-serving governor in Michigan history, serv ...
as Governor of Michigan despite a general tide in favor of Democrats;
# The United States Supreme Court ruling in ''
Milliken v. Bradley
''Milliken v. Bradley'', 418 U.S. 717 (1974), was a significant Supreme Court of the United States, United States Supreme Court case dealing with the planned desegregation busing in the United States, desegregation busing of public school students ...
'' reversing a lower court order requiring cross-district busing of public school students among 53 school districts in metropolitan Detroit and instead directing the creation of a desegregation plan limited to the Detroit schools;
# Voters' repeal of the state sales tax on food and drugs;
# Gasoline shortage;
# Contaminated feed forces the slaughter of thousands of farm animals;
# Democrats take the Fifth and Eighth Congressional Districts and then hold them in post-Watergate elections resulting in Democrats taking control of the Michigan Legislature and the state's Congressional delegation;
# The worst snowstorm of the century hit southern Michigan; and
# Utilities suffered lower profit margins and were granted large rate increases.
The AP also selected the state's top sports stories of 1974 as follows:
#
Al Kaline
Albert William Kaline ( ; December 19, 1934 – April 6, 2020), nicknamed "Mr. Tiger", was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers. For most of his career, Kal ...
's retiring after 21 years with 3,007 hits and 399 home runs;
# The
1974 Michigan Wolverines football team
The 1974 Michigan Wolverines football team was an American football team that represented the University of Michigan in the 1974 Big Ten Conference football season. In their sixth year under head coach Bo Schembechler, the Wolverines compiled a 1 ...
compiling a 10–0 record before losing to Ohio State on November 23;
# The death of
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...
head coach
Don McCafferty
Donald William McCafferty (March 12, 1921 – July 28, 1974) was an American football player and coach who, in his first year as head coach of the Baltimore Colts, led the team to a victory in Super Bowl V, and became the first rookie head coach ...
on July 28;
# The
1974 Michigan State Spartans football team
The 1974 Michigan State Spartans football team was an American football team that represented Michigan State University in the 1974 Big Ten Conference football season. In their second season under head coach Denny Stolz, the Spartans compiled a ...
compiling a 7–3–1 record and upsetting No. 1 ranked Ohio State on November 9;
# The
1974 Central Michigan Chippewas football team
The 1974 Central Michigan Chippewas football team was an American football team that represented Central Michigan University as an independent during the 1974 NCAA Division II football season. In their eighth season under head coach Roy Kramer, t ...
winning the
NCAA Division II Football Championship
The NCAA Division II Football Championship is an American college football tournament played annually to determine a champion at the NCAA Division II level. It was first held in 1973, as a single-elimination tournament with eight teams. The tourna ...
;
# The
1973–74 Detroit Pistons compiling a 52–30 record, the best in franchise history to that point;
# The rise and fall of the
Detroit Wheels
The Detroit Wheels were an American football team, a charter member of the defunct World Football League.
Founding
Soon after Gary Davidson announced the WFL's formation in October 1973, he was approached by a man named Bud Hucul about putting ...
of the
World Football League
The World Football League (WFL) was an American football league that played one full season in 1974 and most of its second in 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a worldwide stage, the farthest t ...
;
# The
1974 Detroit Lions compiling a 7–7 record under new head coach
Rick Forzano
Richard Eugene Forzano (November 20, 1928 – January 10, 2019) was an American football coach at the high school, collegiate and professional levels, most prominently as head coach of the National Football League's Detroit Lions from 1974 to 1976 ...
;
#
Hudson High School won the Class C state football championship and kept its winning streak alive; and
#
John Hiller
John Frederick Hiller (born April 8, 1943) is a Canadian former baseball relief pitcher who played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers between 1965 and 1980. A native of Toronto, he joined the Tigers in 1965 and w ...
of the Detroit Tigers set an American League record with 17 wins as a relief pitcher and was named to the All-Star team.
The year's highlights in Michigan music included the releases of
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...
's ''
Fulfillingness' First Finale
''Fulfillingness' First Finale'' is the seventeenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder, released on July 22, 1974 by Tamla, a subsidiary of Motown Records. It is the fourth of five albums from what is considered Wonder's "cla ...
'' which reached #1 and won the Grammy for Album of the Year,
Grand Funk Railroad
Grand Funk Railroad (often shortened to Grand Funk) is an American rock band formed in 1968 in Flint, Michigan, by Mark Farner (vocals, guitar), Don Brewer (drums, vocals), and Mel Schacher (bass). The band achieved peak popularity and succes ...
's ''
Shinin' On
''Shinin' On'' is the eighth studio album by American rock band Grand Funk Railroad. The album was released in March 1974, by Capitol Records. Although not as successful as its predecessor, ''We're an American Band'' (1973), it peaked at #5 in the ...
'' album with the #1 hit ''
The Loco-Motion
"The Loco-Motion" is a 1962 pop song written by American songwriters Gerry Goffin and Carole King. "The Loco-Motion" was originally written for R&B singer Dee Dee Sharp, but Sharp turned the song down.
The song is notable for appearing in the ...
'', and
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...
's ''
Let Me in Your Life
''Let Me in Your Life'' is the twentieth studio album by American singer Aretha Franklin, released on February 25, 1974, by Atlantic Records.
It was one of Aretha's top-selling Atlantic Records albums. The album hit #1 on '' Billboard''s R&B a ...
'' album that reached #1 on Billboard's R&B albums chart.
Office holders
State office holders
![John Dingell earlier official portrait](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/John_Dingell_earlier_official_portrait.gif)
*
Governor of Michigan
The governor of Michigan is the head of state, head of government, and chief executive of the U.S. state of Michigan. The current governor is Gretchen Whitmer, a member of the Democratic Party, who was inaugurated on January 1, 2019, as the stat ...
:
William Milliken
William Grawn Milliken (March 26, 1922 – October 18, 2019) was an American businessman and politician who served as the 44th governor of Michigan. A member of the Republican Party, he is the longest-serving governor in Michigan history, serv ...
(
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
)
*
Lieutenant Governor of Michigan
The lieutenant governor of Michigan is the second-ranking official in U.S. state of Michigan, behind the governor.
The current lieutenant governor by default is Garlin Gilchrist, a Democrat, who has held the office since January 1, 2019.
Proce ...
:
James Damman (Republican)
*
Michigan Attorney General
The Attorney General of the State of Michigan is the fourth-ranking official in the U.S. state of Michigan. The officeholder is elected statewide in the November general election alongside the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, me ...
:
Frank J. Kelley
Frank Joseph Kelley (December 31, 1924 – March 5, 2021) was an American politician who served as the 50th Attorney General of the U.S. state of Michigan. His 37-year term of office, from 1961 to 1999, made him both the youngest (36 years old ...
(
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
)
*
Michigan Secretary of State
The Michigan Department of State is administered by the Secretary of State, who is elected on a partisan ballot for a term of four years in gubernatorial elections.
The Secretary of State is the third-highest official in the State of Michigan. A ...
:
Richard H. Austin (Democrat)
*
Speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives:
William A. Ryan (Democrat)
*
Majority Leader of the Michigan Senate:
Robert VanderLaan
Robert "Robbie" VanderLaan (c. 1930-November 1, 2015) was a former majority leader of the Michigan State Senate. A Republican, he ran to replace Gerald Ford as representative for Michigan's 5th congressional district in a 1974 special election, ...
(Republican)/
Milton Zaagman
Milton Zaagman (March 28, 1926 – February 3, 2012) was a Republican member of the Michigan Senate from 1963 through 1974 who was its majority leader in his final year.
Early life
A native of Grand Rapids, Zaagman attended Calvin College and ea ...
(Republican)
* Chief Justice,
Michigan Supreme Court
The Michigan Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is Michigan's court of last resort and consists of seven justices. The Court is located in the Michigan Hall of Justice at 925 Ottawa Street in Lansing, the state ...
:
Thomas M. Kavanagh
Mayors of major cities
*
Mayor of Detroit
This is a list of mayors of Detroit, Michigan. See History of Detroit, Michigan, for more information about the history of the incorporation of the city.
The current mayor is Mike Duggan, who was sworn into office on January 1, 2014.
History o ...
:
Coleman Young
Coleman Alexander Young (May 24, 1918 – November 29, 1997) was an American politician who served as mayor of Detroit, Michigan, from 1974 to 1994. Young was the first African-American mayor of Detroit.
Young had emerged from the far-left ele ...
*
Mayor of Grand Rapids
This is a list of mayors of Grand Rapids, Michigan. The current mayor is Rosalynn Bliss, who was sworn into office on January 1, 2016.
References
{{Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids is a city and county seat ...
:
Lyman Parks
*
Mayor of Flint
The mayor position of Flint, Michigan is a strong mayor-type. In Flint's previous 1929 charter, the mayor was one of the City Commissioners, as the council in a council-manager type government.
1855–1888
The mayor was one of many citywide ele ...
:
Paul Calvin Visser
*
Mayor of Lansing List
Lansing, Michigan, was incorporated as a city on February 15, 1859.
* Hiram H. Smith, 1859
* John A. Kerr, 1860
* William H. Chapman, 1861–62
* Dr. Ira H. Bartholomew, 1863–65
* Dr. William H. Haze, 1866
* George W. Peck, 1867
* ...
: Gerald W. Graves
*
Mayor of Ann Arbor
This is a list of mayors of Ann Arbor, Michigan, beginning with Ann Arbor's incorporation as a city on April 4, 1851.
References
Ann Arbor mayors, Political Graveyard website* Samuel W. Beakes, Past and Present of Washtenaw County' (Washtenaw C ...
: James E. Stephenson (Republican)
Federal office holders
* United States Senator from Michigan:
Philip Hart
Philip Aloysius Hart (December 10, 1912December 26, 1976) was an American lawyer and politician. A Democrat, he served as a United States Senator from Michigan from 1959 until his death from cancer in Washington, D.C. in 1976. He was known as t ...
(
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
)
* United States Senator from Michigan:
Robert P. Griffin
Robert Paul Griffin (November 6, 1923 – April 16, 2015) was an American politician. A member of the Republican Party, he represented Michigan in the United States House of Representatives and United States Senate and was a Justice of the M ...
(
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
)
*
United States Representative, District 1:
John Conyers
John James Conyers Jr. (May 16, 1929October 27, 2019) was an American politician of the Democratic Party who served as a U.S. representative from Michigan from 1965 to 2017. The districts he represented always included part of western Detroit. ...
(Democrat)
*
United States Representative, District 2:
Marvin L. Esch
Marvin Leonel Esch (August 4, 1927 – June 19, 2010) was an American politician from the U.S. state of Michigan and a member of the Republican Party. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1967 to 1977 before unsuccessfully seekin ...
(Republican)
*
United States Representative, District 3:
Garry E. Brown
Garry Eldridge Brown (August 12, 1923 – August 27, 1998) was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan. He served six terms in the United States House of Representatives from 1967 to 1979.
Biography
Brown was born in Schoolcraft, Michiga ...
(Republican)
*
United States Representative, District 4:
J. Edward Hutchinson
J. Edward Hutchinson (October 13, 1914 – July 22, 1985) was an American lawyer and politician from the state of Michigan. A member of the Republican Party, he represented Michigan's 4th congressional district in the United States House of R ...
(Republican)
*
United States Representative, District 5:
Richard Vander Veen
Richard Franklin Vander Veen (November 26, 1922 – March 3, 2006) was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan.
Early life and education
Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Vander Veen attended the local public schools and graduated from Muskego ...
(Democrat)
*
United States Representative, District 6:
Charles E. Chamberlain
Charles Ernest Chamberlain (July 22, 1917 – November 25, 2002) was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan.
Life and career
Chamberlain was born in Locke Township, Michigan and after graduating from Lansing Central High School in Lans ...
(Republican)
*
United States Representative, District 7:
Donald W. Riegle Jr.
Donald Wayne Riegle Jr. (born February 4, 1938) is an American politician, author, and businessman from Michigan. He served for five terms as a Representative and for three terms as a Senator in the U.S. Congress.
Early life and family
Donald W ...
(Republican)
*
United States Representative, District 8:
R. James Harvey
Russell James Harvey (July 4, 1922 – July 20, 2019) usually known as James Harvey, was a United States representative from Michigan and an inactive Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern Distric ...
(Republican)/
J. Bob Traxler
Jerome Bob Traxler (July 21, 1931 – October 30, 2019), also known as J. Bob Traxler or Bob Traxler, was an American lawyer and politician from Michigan. He served ten terms in the United States House of Representatives from 1974 to 1993.
Early ...
(Democrat)
*
United States Representative, District 9:
Guy Vander Jagt
Guy Adrian Vander Jagt ( ; August 26, 1931 – June 22, 2007) was a Republican politician from Michigan. He was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and Chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee.
Vander Jagt was descri ...
(Republican)
*
United States Representative, District 10:
Elford Albin Cederberg
Elford Albin "Al" Cederberg (March 6, 1918 – April 17, 2006) was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan.
Biography
Cederberg was born to dairy farmers Albin and Helen (Olson) Cederberg in Bay City, Michigan; his father and maternal grand ...
(Republican)
*
United States Representative, District 11: Philip Ruppe (Republican)
*
United States Representative, District 12:
James G. O'Hara
James Grant O'Hara (November 8, 1925 – March 13, 1989) was a soldier and politician from the U.S. state of Michigan, serving as U.S. Representative from 1959 to 1977.
Early life
O'Hara was born in Washington, D.C. He moved with his parents to ...
(Democrat)
*
United States Representative, District 13:
Charles Diggs
Charles Coles Diggs Jr. (December 2, 1922 – August 24, 1998) was an American politician from the U.S. state of Michigan who served in the state senate and U.S. House of Representatives. He was the first African American elected to Congress ...
(Democrat)
*
United States Representative, District 14:
Lucien N. Nedzi
Lucien is a male given name. It is the French form of Luciano or Latin ''Lucianus'', patronymic of Lucius.
Lucien, Saint Lucien, or Saint-Lucien may also refer to:
People
Given name
* Lucien of Beauvais, Christian saint
*Lucien, a band member ...
(Democrat)
*
United States Representative, District 15:
William D. Ford
William David Ford (August 6, 1927 – August 14, 2004) was a U.S. Representative from Michigan and namesake of the Federal Direct Student Loan Program. Ford was known for his support of workers and educational opportunity. Among his significant ...
(Democrat)
*
United States Representative, District 16:
John Dingell
John David Dingell Jr. (July 8, 1926 – February 7, 2019) was an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1955 until 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he holds the record for longest ...
(Democrat)
*
United States Representative, District 17:
Martha Griffiths
Martha Wright Griffiths (January 29, 1912 – April 22, 2003) was an American lawyer and judge before being elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1954. Griffiths was the first woman to serve on the House Committee on Ways and M ...
(Democrat)
*
United States Representative, District 18:
Robert J. Huber
Robert James Huber (August 29, 1922 - April 23, 2001) was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan.
Huber was born in Detroit, Michigan, where he attended the public schools. He attended the University of Detroit 1935–1937, and graduated f ...
(Republican)
*
United States Representative, District 19:
William Broomfield
William S. Broomfield, (April 28, 1922 – February 20, 2019) was an American politician from the U.S. state of Michigan.
Early life
Broomfield, the son of Scevillian C. and Fern Broomfield was born in Royal Oak, Michigan. His father was a d ...
(Republican)
Population
Sports
Baseball
![Al Kaline 1957](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/Al_Kaline_1957.jpg)
*
1974 Detroit Tigers season
The 1974 Detroit Tigers compiled a record of 72–90. They finished in last place in the American League East, 19 games behind the Baltimore Orioles. They were outscored by their opponents 768 to 620.
Offseason
* October 25, 1973: Frank Howard ...
– compiled a 72–90 record and finished in last place in the American League East; in his final season,
Al Kaline
Albert William Kaline ( ; December 19, 1934 – April 6, 2020), nicknamed "Mr. Tiger", was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers. For most of his career, Kal ...
became the 12th player to join the
3,000 hit club
The 3,000 hit club is the group of 33 Batter (baseball), batters who have collected 3,000 or more regular-season Hit (baseball), hits in their careers in Major League Baseball (MLB), achieving a milestone "long considered the greatest measure of s ...
* 1974
Michigan Wolverines baseball
The Michigan Wolverines baseball team represents the University of Michigan in NCAA Division I college baseball. Along with most other Michigan athletic teams, the baseball team participates in the Big Ten Conference. They play their home games ...
team - Under head coach
Moby Benedict
Milbry Eugene "Moby" Benedict (born March 29, 1935) was a former baseball shortstop and University of Michigan coach.
A native of Detroit, Michigan, Benedict played baseball and basketball at Detroit's Southeastern High School before attending th ...
, the Wolverines compiled an 18–14–1 record. John Lonchar was the team captain.
American football
*
1974 Detroit Lions season
The 1974 Detroit Lions season was the 45th season in franchise history. It was the Lions' final season playing at Detroit's Tiger Stadium; the team moved to the Pontiac Silverdome the following season and played home games there until the end of ...
– compiled a 7–7 record and finished in second place in the
NFC Central
The National Football Conference – Northern Division or NFC North is one of the four divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). Nicknamed the "Black and Blue Division" for the rough and tough ri ...
in their final season playing in
Tiger Stadium; head coach
Don McCafferty
Donald William McCafferty (March 12, 1921 – July 28, 1974) was an American football player and coach who, in his first year as head coach of the Baltimore Colts, led the team to a victory in Super Bowl V, and became the first rookie head coach ...
died before the season began and was replaced by
Rick Forzano
Richard Eugene Forzano (November 20, 1928 – January 10, 2019) was an American football coach at the high school, collegiate and professional levels, most prominently as head coach of the National Football League's Detroit Lions from 1974 to 1976 ...
*
Detroit Wheels
The Detroit Wheels were an American football team, a charter member of the defunct World Football League.
Founding
Soon after Gary Davidson announced the WFL's formation in October 1973, he was approached by a man named Bud Hucul about putting ...
– compiled a 1–13 record in the
World Football League
The World Football League (WFL) was an American football league that played one full season in 1974 and most of its second in 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a worldwide stage, the farthest t ...
before ceasing operations and cancelling the final six games
*
1974 Michigan Wolverines football team
The 1974 Michigan Wolverines football team was an American football team that represented the University of Michigan in the 1974 Big Ten Conference football season. In their sixth year under head coach Bo Schembechler, the Wolverines compiled a 1 ...
– compiled a 10–1 record, won the Big Ten co-championship, and was ranked No. 3 in the final AP Poll; cornerback
Dave Brown was a consensus All-American
*
1974 Michigan State Spartans football team
The 1974 Michigan State Spartans football team was an American football team that represented Michigan State University in the 1974 Big Ten Conference football season. In their second season under head coach Denny Stolz, the Spartans compiled a ...
– compiled a 7–3–1 record and was ranked No. 12 in the final AP Poll
*
1974 Central Michigan Chippewas football team
The 1974 Central Michigan Chippewas football team was an American football team that represented Central Michigan University as an independent during the 1974 NCAA Division II football season. In their eighth season under head coach Roy Kramer, t ...
– compiled a 12–1 record and won the
NCAA Division II Football Championship
The NCAA Division II Football Championship is an American college football tournament played annually to determine a champion at the NCAA Division II level. It was first held in 1973, as a single-elimination tournament with eight teams. The tourna ...
*
1974 Eastern Michigan Hurons football team
The 1974 Eastern Michigan Hurons football team represented Eastern Michigan University as an independent during the 1974 NCAA Division II football season. In their first season under head coach George Mans, the Hurons compiled a 4–6–1 record ...
– compiled a 4–6–1 record
*
1974 Western Michigan Broncos football team
The 1974 Western Michigan Broncos football team represented Western Michigan University in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) during the 1974 NCAA Division I football season. In their 11th season under head coach Bill Doolittle, the Broncos comp ...
– compiled a 3–8 record and finished last in the
Mid-American Conference
The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I collegiate athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twel ...
*
1974 Wayne State Tartars football team – compiled a 7–3 record
Basketball
![Dave bing pistons (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/Dave_bing_pistons_%28cropped%29.JPG)
*
1973–74 Detroit Pistons season
The 1973-74 NBA season was the Detroit Pistons' 26th season in the NBA and 17th season in the city of Detroit. The team played at Cobo Arena in downtown Detroit.
The Pistons finished with a 52-30 (.634) record, 3rd place in the Midwest Divis ...
– compiled a 52–30 record and finished in third place in the Midwest Division of the NBA's Western Conference;
Dave Bing
David Bing (born November 24, 1943) is an American former professional basketball player, businessman, and politician who served as the 74th mayor of Detroit, Michigan from 2009 to 2013. He is a member of the Democratic Party.
After starring a ...
led the team in minutes played and assists
*
1973–74 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team – compiled a 22–5 record, won the Big Ten co-championship, and advanced to the
Elite Eight
In the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship or the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship, the "Elite Eight" comprises the final eight teams, representing the regional finals, or national quarterfinals. In Division I and Divis ...
*
1973–74 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team – compiled a 13–11 record and finished in fifth place in the Big Ten
Ice hockey
*
1973–74 Detroit Red Wings season – compiled a 29–39–10 record and finished in sixth place in the NHL East;
Marcel Dionne
Marcel Elphège "Little Beaver" Dionne (born August 3, 1951) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers. Marcel Dionn ...
led the team in points scored
*
Great Lakes Invitational
The Great Lakes Invitational (GLI) is a four-team National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men's ice hockey tournament held annually at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit around the New Year's holiday as part of College Hockey in the D.
The ...
-
Michigan Tech
Michigan Technological University (Michigan Tech, MTU, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Houghton, Michigan, founded in 1885 as the Michigan Mining School, the first post-secondary institution in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. ...
defeated
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
, 3–2, in the championship game at
Olympia Stadium
Detroit Olympia, also known as Olympia Stadium, was a multi-purpose arena in Detroit. Nicknamed "The Old Red Barn", it was best known as the home of the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL) from its opening in 1927 to 1979.
Histo ...
in Detroit (December 29)
Motor sports
*
Michigan 400
The NASCAR Cup Series has held stock car races annually at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan since 1969. Traditionally, the track held two Cup Series races, one in June, around Father's Day weekend and another in August. The A ...
-
Richard Petty
Richard Lee Petty (born July 2, 1937), nicknamed "The King", is an American former stock car racing driver who raced from 1958 to 1992 in the former NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most notabl ...
won the race in front of 51,500 spectators at the
Michigan International Speedway
Michigan International Speedway (MIS) is a moderate-banked D-shaped speedway located off U.S. Highway 12 on more than approximately south of the village of Brooklyn, in the scenic Irish Hills area of southeastern Michigan. The track is ...
(June 16)
* Gar Wood Trophy Race - For the third consecutive year, the
Miss Budweiser
The ''Miss Budweiser'' were 22 hydroplanes sponsored by Budweiser beer that raced in the unlimited class under the U-12 banner. They were owned (some were leased backups) by Bernie Little. Anheuser-Busch sponsorship began in 1963, thanks to the ...
, piloted by rookie Howie Benns, won the unlimited hydrofoil race on the
Detroit River
The Detroit River flows west and south for from Lake St. Clair to Lake Erie as a strait in the Great Lakes system. The river divides the metropolitan areas of Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario, Windsor, Ontario—an area collectively refe ...
(June 30)
![Billie Jean King ©Lynn Gilbert 1978](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a7/Billie_Jean_King_%C2%A9Lynn_Gilbert_1978.jpg)
*
Michigan 200
The Henry Ford Health System 200 was a NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series race that took place at Michigan International Speedway. The event was started in 1999 and was won by Greg Biffle. In 2001 Michigan did not hold a Truck race because ...
-
Bobby Unser
Robert William Unser (February 20, 1934 – May 2, 2021) was an American automobile racer. At his induction into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1994, he had the fourth most IndyCar Series wins at 35 (behind his brother Al, A. J. Fo ...
won the race in front of 46,180 spectators at Michigan International Speedway (July 21)
Other
*
1974 Virginia Slims of Detroit –
Billie Jean King
Billie Jean King (née Moffitt; born November 22, 1943) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. King won 39 major titles: 12 in singles, 16 in women's doubles, and 11 in mixed doubles. King was a member of the victorious United States ...
defeated
Rosemary Casals
Rosemary "Rosie" Casals (born September 16, 1948) is an American former professional tennis player.
Casals earned her reputation as a rebel in the tennis world when she began competing in the early 1960s. During a tennis career that spanned mor ...
in the singles; King and Casals defeated
Françoise Dürr
Françoise Dürr (born 25 December 1942; sometimes referred to by English writers as Frankie Durr) is a retired French tennis player. She won 50 singles titles and over 60 doubles titles.
According to Lance Tingay, Bud Collins, and the Women' ...
and
Betty Stöve
Betty Flippina Stöve (born 24 June 1945) is a Dutch former professional tennis player. She is best remembered for reaching the ladies' singles final, the ladies' doubles final and the mixed doubles final during the same year at Wimbledon in 19 ...
in the doubles (February 24)
*
1974 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships – The
UTEP Miners
The UTEP Miners is the name given to the sports teams of the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). They are informally referred to as the Miners, UTEP, or Texas–El Paso. UTEP was a member of the Western Athletic Conference from 1967 to 2005, ...
won the team championship at Cobo Arena in Detroit (March 8-9)
*
Port Huron to Mackinac Boat Race The Bayview Mackinac Boat Race is run by the Bayview Yacht Club of Detroit, Michigan. It is one of the longest fresh-water races in the world with over two hundred boats entering the race each year.
There have been at least six changes to the cou ...
- the "Dora IV", captained by
Lynn Williams of Chicago, was the overall winner (July 22)
Music
![Alice Cooper 1977](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Alice_Cooper_1977.JPG)
* February -
Ted Nugent
Theodore Anthony Nugent (; born December 13, 1948) is an American rock musician and activist. He initially gained fame as the lead guitarist and occasional lead vocalist of The Amboy Dukes, a band formed in 1963 that played psychedelic rock an ...
, a
Redford native, released his ''
Call of the Wild
''The Call of the Wild'' is a short adventure novel by Jack London, published in 1903 and set in Yukon, Canada, during the 1890s Klondike Gold Rush, when strong sled dogs were in high demand. The central character of the novel is a dog named Bu ...
'' album
* February -
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...
, who was raised in Detroit, released her ''
Let Me in Your Life
''Let Me in Your Life'' is the twentieth studio album by American singer Aretha Franklin, released on February 25, 1974, by Atlantic Records.
It was one of Aretha's top-selling Atlantic Records albums. The album hit #1 on '' Billboard''s R&B a ...
'' album; it reached #1 on Billboard's R&B albums chart
* March -
Bob Seger
Robert Clark Seger ( ; born May 6, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. As a locally successful Detroit-area artist, he performed and recorded as Bob Seger and the Last Heard and The Bob Seger System throughout the 1960s, break ...
, a Detroit native, released his album ''
Seven
7 is a number, numeral, and glyph.
7 or seven may also refer to:
* AD 7, the seventh year of the AD era
* 7 BC, the seventh year before the AD era
* The month of
July
Music Artists
* Seven (Swiss singer) (born 1978), a Swiss recording artist ...
''
* March -
Grand Funk Railroad
Grand Funk Railroad (often shortened to Grand Funk) is an American rock band formed in 1968 in Flint, Michigan, by Mark Farner (vocals, guitar), Don Brewer (drums, vocals), and Mel Schacher (bass). The band achieved peak popularity and succes ...
, from
Flint
Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and start fir ...
, released its ''
Shinin' On
''Shinin' On'' is the eighth studio album by American rock band Grand Funk Railroad. The album was released in March 1974, by Capitol Records. Although not as successful as its predecessor, ''We're an American Band'' (1973), it peaked at #5 in the ...
'' album; it peaked at #5 in the US and was certified gold, and its first single, a cover of ''
The Loco-Motion
"The Loco-Motion" is a 1962 pop song written by American songwriters Gerry Goffin and Carole King. "The Loco-Motion" was originally written for R&B singer Dee Dee Sharp, but Sharp turned the song down.
The song is notable for appearing in the ...
'' was a #1 hit in the US
* March -
Smokey Robinson
William "Smokey" Robinson Jr. (born February 19, 1940) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive director. He was the founder and front man of the Motown vocal group the Miracles, for which he was also chief ...
, a Detroit native, released his ''
Pure Smokey'' album
* March 30 - An
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...
concert in
São Paulo
São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...
draws a crowd estimated at 100,000; days later, he drew a crowd of 120,000 in Rio
* April - The
Four Tops
The Four Tops are an American vocal quartet from Detroit who helped to define the city's Motown sound of the 1960s. The group's repertoire has included soul music, R&B, disco, adult contemporary, doo-wop, jazz, and show tunes.
Founded as the ...
, from Detroit, released their ''Meeting of the Minds'' album
* May -
Diana Ross
Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups o ...
, a Detroit native, released her ''
Live at Caesars Palace
''Live at Caesars Palace'' is a live album by the American singer Diana Ross, released in 1974. It was recorded during a 1973 performance at Las Vegas' Caesars Palace. It was the first of two live albums Ross recorded for Motown. It reached No. ...
'' album
![Stevie Wonder 1973](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Stevie_Wonder_1973.JPG)
* July -
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...
, a
Saginaw
Saginaw () is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Saginaw County. The city of Saginaw and Saginaw County are both in the area known as Mid-Michigan. Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township and considered part of Greater ...
native who was raised in Detroit, released his ''
Fulfillingness' First Finale
''Fulfillingness' First Finale'' is the seventeenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder, released on July 22, 1974 by Tamla, a subsidiary of Motown Records. It is the fourth of five albums from what is considered Wonder's "cla ...
''; the album reached #1 in the US and received the Grammy for Album of the Year; the song ''
You Haven't Done Nothin'
"You Haven't Done Nothin" is a 1974 funk single by Stevie Wonder, taken from his album ''Fulfillingness' First Finale'' and featuring background vocals by The Jackson 5. The politically aware song became Wonder's fourth Number 1 pop hit and his te ...
'' also topped the singles chart
* August -
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...
, a Detroit native, released his ''
Greatest Hits
A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...
'' album, including a new remix of ''
I'm Eighteen
"I'm Eighteen" is a song by rock band Alice Cooper, first released as a single in November 1970 backed with "Is It My Body". It was the band's first top-forty success—peaking at number 21—and convinced Warner Bros. that Alice Cooper had the c ...
''
* September -
Ted Nugent
Theodore Anthony Nugent (; born December 13, 1948) is an American rock musician and activist. He initially gained fame as the lead guitarist and occasional lead vocalist of The Amboy Dukes, a band formed in 1963 that played psychedelic rock an ...
released his ''
Tooth Fang & Claw
''Tooth, Fang & Claw'' is the sixth studio album by the Amboy Dukes, credited as "Ted Nugent's Amboy Dukes". The band's second release on DiscReet Records, it was the final album released under the Amboy Dukes name before Ted Nugent launched his ...
'' album
* September 27 -
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...
performed a concert at
Olympia Stadium
Detroit Olympia, also known as Olympia Stadium, was a multi-purpose arena in Detroit. Nicknamed "The Old Red Barn", it was best known as the home of the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL) from its opening in 1927 to 1979.
Histo ...
in Detroit; Mayor Young pronounced September 27 Stevie Wonder Day in Detroit and presented Wonder with a key to the city
* September 29 -
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
performed a concert before a crowd of 17,105 at Olympia Stadium in Detroit
* October 5 -
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...
attended a party in Bloomfield Hills for the premiere of his film, "Good to See You Again, Alice Cooper".
* October 12 -
Bachman Turner Overdrive Bachman may refer to:
*Bachman (surname)
*Bachman, Ohio
*Bachman, West Virginia
*Bachman Khan (1210–1239 or 1240), a Kimak khan
*Bachmann knot, often used in mountaineering for ascending on ropes
* Bachman Station, a train station on the Dallas A ...
played a sold-out concert at Cobo Arena in Detroit; warm up artist
Bob Seger
Robert Clark Seger ( ; born May 6, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. As a locally successful Detroit-area artist, he performed and recorded as Bob Seger and the Last Heard and The Bob Seger System throughout the 1960s, break ...
"knocked 'em out with 'Travelin' Man'"
* November 13-15 -
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...
performed three sold-out concerts at Olympia Stadium in Detroit
* December -
Grand Funk Railroad
Grand Funk Railroad (often shortened to Grand Funk) is an American rock band formed in 1968 in Flint, Michigan, by Mark Farner (vocals, guitar), Don Brewer (drums, vocals), and Mel Schacher (bass). The band achieved peak popularity and succes ...
released its ''
All the Girls in the World Beware!!!
''All the Girls in the World Beware!!!'' is the ninth studio album by American hard rock band Grand Funk Railroad. The album was released by Capitol Records in December 1974 and was the group's second album released that year. The first single fr ...
''
Companies
The following is a list of major companies based in Michigan in 1974.
Chronology of events
![Fort Street Union Depot](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Fort_Street_Union_Depot.jpg)
January
* January 1 – Detroit began the new year with five homicides on New Year's Day.
* January 2 –
Coleman Young
Coleman Alexander Young (May 24, 1918 – November 29, 1997) was an American politician who served as mayor of Detroit, Michigan, from 1974 to 1994. Young was the first African-American mayor of Detroit.
Young had emerged from the far-left ele ...
was sworn in as the first black mayor of Detroit and warned criminals to "hit the road".
* January 9 – State Senator
Charles N. Youngblood, Jr. resigned his Michigan Senate seat following his conviction for bribe conspiracy.
* January 10 – Gov.
William Milliken
William Grawn Milliken (March 26, 1922 – October 18, 2019) was an American businessman and politician who served as the 44th governor of Michigan. A member of the Republican Party, he is the longest-serving governor in Michigan history, serv ...
in his annual State of the State message called for $53 million in tax cuts.
* January 14 – The
Detroit Institute of Arts
The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA), located in Midtown Detroit, Michigan, has one of the list of largest art museums, largest and most significant art collections in the United States. With over 100 galleries, it covers with a major renovation a ...
unveiled its recent acquisition, ''
The Conversion of Magdalene by
Caravaggio
Michelangelo Merisi (Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi) da Caravaggio, known as simply Caravaggio (, , ; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the final four years of hi ...
.
* January 15 – The Teamsters began a strike at five supermarket chains representing 80% of the food sales in southeastern Michigan. The strike ended on January 28.
* January 16 – Two Detroit police officers were killed in a shootout with a tool and die worker in northeast Detroit.
* January 24 – General Motors announced plans to lay off 75,000 hourly workers, 50,000 in Michigan, at 14 plants by March.
* January 30 – UAW President
Leonard Woodcock
Leonard Freel Woodcock (February 15, 1911 – January 16, 2001) was President of the United Auto Workers (UAW) and the first US ambassador to China after being the last Chief of the US Liaison Office in Beijing.
Early life
Woodcock was born in ...
called for a temporary curb on foreign automobile imports in the wake of high unemployment in the automobile industry.
* January 28–30 –
Fort Street Union Depot
The Fort Street Union Depot was a passenger train station located at the southwest corner of West Fort Street and Third Street in downtown Detroit, Michigan. It served the city from 1893 to 1971, then demolished in 1974. Today, the downtown campus ...
in Detroit, built in 1891, was demolished.
* January 31 – General Motors announced record profits of $2.4 billion for 1973.
February
* February – Michigan's unemployment rate reaches 10.6%, the highest in the country with large layoffs in the automobile industry, including almost 21,000 General Motors workers laid off in Flint alone.
* February 8 - Amid violence against independent truckers continuing to drive despite a truckers strike, Gov. Milliken ordered the Michigan National Guard placed on alert and doubled patrols by the Michigan State Police.
* February 9 - A foreman at Chrysler's Huber Avenue Foundry in Detroit died from multiple head injuries after being beaten by an auto worker in the plant's finishing room.
* February 13 – Detroit Mayor
Coleman Young
Coleman Alexander Young (May 24, 1918 – November 29, 1997) was an American politician who served as mayor of Detroit, Michigan, from 1974 to 1994. Young was the first African-American mayor of Detroit.
Young had emerged from the far-left ele ...
announced the abolition of the Detroit Police Department's controversial
STRESS
Stress may refer to:
Science and medicine
* Stress (biology), an organism's response to a stressor such as an environmental condition
* Stress (linguistics), relative emphasis or prominence given to a syllable in a word, or to a word in a phrase ...
(Stop the Robberies and Enjoy Safe Streets) unit and plans to open 50 "mini-stations" and to increase the Department's black representation to 50% by 1977. The STRESS unit had been accused of killing 22 residents and arresting hundreds more without cause during its two-and-a-half-year existence.
* February 15 – The Department of Housing and Urban Development announced a plan to sell 2,000 abandoned homes in Detroit to the city for sale to homesteaders at a price of not more than five dollars per house.
* February 18 – In a special election to fill Vice President
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...
's Grand Rapids Congressional seat, Democrat
Richard Vander Veen
Richard Franklin Vander Veen (November 26, 1922 – March 3, 2006) was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan.
Early life and education
Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Vander Veen attended the local public schools and graduated from Muskego ...
upset the Republican in what had long been a safe Republican seat. The result was deemed to be a message that Watergate could lead to significant Republican losses in the fall.
* February 24 -
Billie Jean King
Billie Jean King (née Moffitt; born November 22, 1943) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. King won 39 major titles: 12 in singles, 16 in women's doubles, and 11 in mixed doubles. King was a member of the victorious United States ...
defeated
Rosemary Casals
Rosemary "Rosie" Casals (born September 16, 1948) is an American former professional tennis player.
Casals earned her reputation as a rebel in the tennis world when she began competing in the early 1960s. During a tennis career that spanned mor ...
in the singles of the
1974 Virginia Slims of Detroit at Cobo Arena. King and Casals teamed up to win the doubles.
March
* March 2 – Amid the gasoline shortage, a survey showed that 58% of the gas stations in the Detroit area were closed and only three percent of the open stations had gas to sell.
* March 4 – Signs were posted for Michigan's reduced 55 mile per hour speed limit on 1,550 miles of the state's freeways.
* March 6 – The EPA, in its second ever recall order, directed Chrysler to recall 826,000 vehicles to replace temperature sensors in 1973 automobiles.
* March 7 –
William Milliken
William Grawn Milliken (March 26, 1922 – October 18, 2019) was an American businessman and politician who served as the 44th governor of Michigan. A member of the Republican Party, he is the longest-serving governor in Michigan history, serv ...
announced that he would run for a second four-year term as Governor of Michigan.
* March 7 – Hundreds of
streakers exposed themselves as part of the growing fad. Five days later, another 60 streakers participated in the "First Annual Streak In" on the Diag at the University of Michigan, and four streakers stopped traffic on State Street in Ann Arbor.
Ray Stevens
Harold Ray Ragsdale (born January 24, 1939), known professionally as Ray Stevens, is an American country and pop singer-songwriter and comedian, known for his Grammy-winning recordings "Everything Is Beautiful" and "Misty", as well as novelty ...
' song ''
The Streak
Streak or streaking may refer to:
*Streaking, running naked in a public place
*Streaking or surfactant leaching in acrylic paints
* Streaking (microbiology), a method of purifying micro-organisms
*Streak (mineralogy), the color left by a mineral ...
'' was released later in the month.
* March 13 – ''
The Execution of Private Slovik
''The Execution of Private Slovik'' is a nonfiction book by William Bradford Huie, published in 1954, and an American made-for-television movie that aired on NBC on March 13, 1974. The film was written for the screen by Richard Levinson, Wil ...
'', a television film based on the life of Detroit resident
Eddie Slovik
Edward Donald Slovik (February 18, 1920January 31, 1945) was a United States Army soldier during World War II and the only American soldier to be court-martialled and executed for desertion since the American Civil War. Although over 21,000 Amer ...
who was the only soldier executed for desertion in World War II, aired on ABC.
* March 16 – Harvey Leach, chairman of the Joshua Doore furniture company, was killed and found in the trunk of a Lincoln Continental; the crime was considered to be a professional hit. Five months later, a controlling interest in the company was acquired by a firm owned in part by an associate of Mafia boss
Anthony Giacolone
Anthony “Tony Jack” Joseph Giacalone (January 9, 1919 – February 23, 2001), also known as Tony Jocks, was a Sicilian-American organized crime figure in Detroit. He served as a capo in the Detroit Partnership, and later as a street boss. In ...
.
* March 27 – Former Detroit Mayor
Jerome Cavanagh
Jerome Patrick Cavanagh (June 16, 1928 – November 27, 1979) was an American politician who served as the mayor of Detroit, Michigan from 1962 to 1970. Initially seen as another John F. Kennedy, his reputation was doomed by the 1967 riots. He w ...
announced at a press conference that he was calling off his campaign for governor after learning he would be required to undergo surgery to remove a kidney on which a malignant tumor had been discovered. He later re-entered the race but lost the Democratic nomination to
Sander Levin
Sander Martin Levin (born September 6, 1931) is an American politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1983 to 2019, representing (numbered as the from 1983 to 1993 and as the from 1993 to 2013). Levin, a member o ...
.
April
![Super Outbreak Map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/Super_Outbreak_Map.jpg)
* April 1 – Voters in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti passed amendments to their city charters reducing the penalty for possession or use of marijuana to a fine of five dollars.
* April 4 – In the
1974 Tornado Super Outbreak that left 320 dead from Alabama to Canada, three persons in Michigan.
* April 10 – President Nixon appeared in Michigan's Thumb to campaign for James Sparling in Michigan's 8th Congressional District One week later, Sparling lost to
J. Bob Traxler
Jerome Bob Traxler (July 21, 1931 – October 30, 2019), also known as J. Bob Traxler or Bob Traxler, was an American lawyer and politician from Michigan. He served ten terms in the United States House of Representatives from 1974 to 1993.
Early ...
, the first Democrat to win the District since 1932.
* April 18 – The U.S Navy suspended
Project Sanguine
Project Sanguine was a U.S. Navy project, proposed in 1968 for communication with submerged submarines using extremely low frequency (ELF) radio waves. The originally proposed system, hardened to survive a nuclear attack, would have required a ...
(later known as Seafarer), a proposed extremely low frequency (ELF) radio antenna intended to cover up to 3,000 square miles of the
Upper Peninsula
The Upper Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. – is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula by t ...
.
* April 26 – General Motors announced that its first quarter profits were down 85% for the company's worst showing since 1948.
* April 29 – Chrysler announced that its first quarter profits were down 98%.
May
![Rabinowitz-BillBonds-1985](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/Rabinowitz-BillBonds-1985.JPG)
* May 5 - The ''Detroit Free Press'' reported that Detroit experienced 89 homicides in April, the highest monthly total in city history.
* May 5 - Television newsman
Bill Bonds
Bill Bonds (February 23, 1932 – December 13, 2014) was an American television news anchor and reporter, best known for his work at WXYZ-TV in Detroit, Michigan. Bonds became an Action News anchorman beginning in the early 1970s.
Early caree ...
was arrested for drunk driving in West Bloomfield. He pleaded guilty to driving while visibly impaired in October.
* May 10 - Two Teamsters locals at the Stroh Brewery approved a new contract, ending a 40-day strike at the Detroit brewery.
* May 28 - In a
growing scandal arising out of cattle feed from the
Farm Bureau Service found to be contaminated with the flamer retardant
PBB, five more herds of cattle were found to be contaminated. The Public Health Department warned on May 29 that contaminated milk and dairy products from the cows had been distributed statewide and could cause cancer. By May 30, state officials were developing plans to destroy 115,000 chickens, 3,000 cows, and 150 pigs exposed to the contaminated feed.
June
![RichardPetty1985Pocono](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/RichardPetty1985Pocono.jpg)
* June - The Michigan Institute of Improved Sexual Response in Detroit offered weekly sessions, including sexual intercourse with surrogates, to treat sex problems. City and county officials were investigating the clinic's legality.
* June 16 -
Richard Petty
Richard Lee Petty (born July 2, 1937), nicknamed "The King", is an American former stock car racing driver who raced from 1958 to 1992 in the former NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most notabl ...
won the
Michigan 400
The NASCAR Cup Series has held stock car races annually at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan since 1969. Traditionally, the track held two Cup Series races, one in June, around Father's Day weekend and another in August. The A ...
before a crowd of 51,500 at
Michigan International Speedway
Michigan International Speedway (MIS) is a moderate-banked D-shaped speedway located off U.S. Highway 12 on more than approximately south of the village of Brooklyn, in the scenic Irish Hills area of southeastern Michigan. The track is ...
.
[ The race was reduced by ten percent to 360 miles due to the energy crisis.
* June 24 - The Michigan House of Representatives began an investigation into payments totaling more than $70,000 to Rep. John Smeekens. On August 8, the special panel investigating Smeekens recommended that he be censured for being an expense account cheat. The censure was approved on September 19.
]
July
* July 1 - Detroit became the largest city in the United States to adopt a provision in its city charter banning discrimination against homosexuals in employment, housing, and public accommodations.
* July 3 - Gordie Howe
Gordon Howe (March 31, 1928 – June 10, 2016) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. From 1946 to 1980, he played 26 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) and six seasons in the World Hockey Association (WHA); his first 25 seaso ...
and his family were presented with the Freedom Award as part of the annual Detroit-Windsor International Freedom Festival.
* July 9 - Jac LeGoff, anchorman on Detroit's CBS affiliate (WJBK) since 1962, signed a 10-year contract with the city's ABC affiliate WXYZ at $100,000 a year.
* July 9 - Unemployment figures for June showed a 70,000 person increase in unemployment with the state's unemployment rate climbing to 10.9%.
* July 19 – A federal judge in Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, upheld a presidential ban on Jimmy Hoffa
James Riddle Hoffa (born February 14, 1913 – disappeared July 30, 1975; declared dead July 30, 1982) was an American labor union leader who served as the president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) from 1957 until 1971.
F ...
's participation in union affairs until 1980.
* July 21 - Bobby Unser
Robert William Unser (February 20, 1934 – May 2, 2021) was an American automobile racer. At his induction into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1994, he had the fourth most IndyCar Series wins at 35 (behind his brother Al, A. J. Fo ...
won the Michigan 200
The Henry Ford Health System 200 was a NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series race that took place at Michigan International Speedway. The event was started in 1999 and was won by Greg Biffle. In 2001 Michigan did not hold a Truck race because ...
automobile race in front of 46,180 spectators at Michigan International Speedway
* July 22 - In the 50th Port Huron to Mackinac Boat Race The Bayview Mackinac Boat Race is run by the Bayview Yacht Club of Detroit, Michigan. It is one of the longest fresh-water races in the world with over two hundred boats entering the race each year.
There have been at least six changes to the cou ...
, the "Dora IV", a 61-foot customed cutter captained by Lynn Williams of Chicago, was the overall winner, completing the race in 51 hours and 22 minutes, corrected to 49 hours, 20 minutes with its handicap.[
* July 25 – The United States Supreme Court ruled in '']Milliken v. Bradley
''Milliken v. Bradley'', 418 U.S. 717 (1974), was a significant Supreme Court of the United States, United States Supreme Court case dealing with the planned desegregation busing in the United States, desegregation busing of public school students ...
'' reversed a lower court order requiring cross-district busing of public school students among 53 school districts in metropolitan Detroit and instead directed the creation of a desegregation plan limited to the Detroit schools.
* July 28 – Detroit Lions head coach Don McCafferty
Donald William McCafferty (March 12, 1921 – July 28, 1974) was an American football player and coach who, in his first year as head coach of the Baltimore Colts, led the team to a victory in Super Bowl V, and became the first rookie head coach ...
died of a heart attack while mowing the lawn at his home in West Bloomfield.
* July 30 – A station wagon filled with four women, one of whom was pregnant, and four children returning from picking blueberries was struck by a Soo Line freight train in the Upper Peninsula 25 miles southwest of Sault Ste. Marie; only one person survived.
August
* August 5 – U. S. Senate Republican Whip Robert P. Griffin
Robert Paul Griffin (November 6, 1923 – April 16, 2015) was an American politician. A member of the Republican Party, he represented Michigan in the United States House of Representatives and United States Senate and was a Justice of the M ...
of Michigan held a press conference in which he stated that the national interest and President Nixon's interest would be served by Nixon's resigning.
* August 6 – With 61% of the votes in the Democratic primary, Sander Levin
Sander Martin Levin (born September 6, 1931) is an American politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1983 to 2019, representing (numbered as the from 1983 to 1993 and as the from 1993 to 2013). Levin, a member o ...
won the Democratic nomination for governor.
* August 9 – Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...
of Michigan was sworn in as the 38th President of the United States and declared "our long national nightmare is over".
* August 12 – President Ford announced that his first priority was a fight against inflation and criticized General Motors for its plan for substantial price increases on 1975 models. Ten days later, General Motors agreed to a partial rollback of its price increases.
September
* September 7 – Members of the United Steel Workers
The United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union, commonly known as the United Steelworkers (USW), is a general trade union with members across North America. Headqua ...
voted to end a 25-week strike against Dow Chemical Co. in Midland. The strike was the longest in the company's history.
* September 24 - Al Kaline
Albert William Kaline ( ; December 19, 1934 – April 6, 2020), nicknamed "Mr. Tiger", was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers. For most of his career, Kal ...
of the Detroit Tigers became the 13th member of baseball's 3,000 hit club with a stand-up double off Dave McNally
David Arthur McNally (October 31, 1942 – December 1, 2002) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from 1962 through 1975, most notably as a member of the Baltimore Orioles dyn ...
.
* September 30 - General Motors named Thomas Murphy as its new chairman and CEO, effective December 1. Pete Estes Elliot Marantette "Pete" Estes (January 7, 1916 – March 24, 1988) was an American automotive engineer and executive; he is best known as the fifteenth president of General Motors, from 1974 to 1981. He had previously been the Chief Engineer at Pon ...
was named president.
October
* October 3 - The federal government gave Detroit $8.7 million to create 700 jobs for persons unemployed or underemployed.
* October 4 - A federal bankruptcy judge granted the World Football League
The World Football League (WFL) was an American football league that played one full season in 1974 and most of its second in 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a worldwide stage, the farthest t ...
permission to find a buyer for the Detroit Wheels
The Detroit Wheels were an American football team, a charter member of the defunct World Football League.
Founding
Soon after Gary Davidson announced the WFL's formation in October 1973, he was approached by a man named Bud Hucul about putting ...
after the team filed for bankruptcy.
* October 4 - A gambling raid in northeast Detroit resulted in 98 arrests in the city's largest crackdown on gambling since 1968.
* October 10 - Four gunmen held the family of Ypsilanti bank manager Richard Green at gunpoint, forcing him to rob his own bank of $35,000 as ransom.
* October 13 - A nationwide survey conducted by the University of Michigan found consumer sentiment about the economy to be at its lowest point in 25 years with conditions that "might make for a real recession".
* October 20 - Altie Taylor
Altie Taylor (September 29, 1947 – March 14, 2010) was an American football running back. He played eight seasons in the National Football League, including seven with the Detroit Lions. He led the Lions in rushing for three consecutive years ...
scored two touchdowns, and Errol Mann
Errol Denis Mann (June 27, 1941 – April 11, 2013) was an American football placekicker. He played in the National Football League from 1968 to 1978, and was a member of the Oakland Raiders' Super Bowl XI winning team. When attempting kicks, M ...
kicked two field goals, as the Detroit Lions ended a 13-game losing streak against the Minnesota Vikings with a 20–16 victory in Minneapolis.
* October 23 - Chrysler announced that it had sustained an $8 million loss in the third quarter.
* October 25 - General Motors announced that its third quarter profits were down 94% from $267 million in 1973 to $16 million.
* October 25 - The City of Detroit settled a racial discrimination lawsuit against the Detroit Boat Club and Detroit Yacht Club, both of which leased space on Belle Isle from the city; the settlement required both clubs to admit additional black members within 90 days.
November
* November 2 - UAW vice president and civil rights leader Nelson "Jack" Edwards
Nelson "Jack" Edwards (1917–1974) was Vice President of the UAW (United Auto Workers), and a founder of CBTU, the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists.
Nelson Edwards was born in 1917 on a farm in Lowndes County, Alabama. In 1937 he moved to Detr ...
was killed by a stray bullet in a Detroit bar.
* November 3 - Dearborn Mayor and segregationist Orville L. Hubbard
Orville Liscum Hubbard (April 2, 1903 – December 16, 1982) was an American politician who served as the mayor of Dearborn, Michigan from 1942 to 1978. Hubbard was an effective administrator who served 15 consecutive terms while being national ...
suffered a stroke and underwent brain surgery the following day. Officially, Hubbard remained mayor until 1978, but the City Council president served as mayor pro tem
''Pro tempore'' (), abbreviated ''pro tem'' or ''p.t.'', is a Latin phrase which best translates to "for the time being" in English. This phrase is often used to describe a person who acts as a ''locum tenens'' (placeholder) in the absence of ...
, running the city on a day-to-day basis, for the rest of Hubbard's final term.
* November 5
:* William Milliken
William Grawn Milliken (March 26, 1922 – October 18, 2019) was an American businessman and politician who served as the 44th governor of Michigan. A member of the Republican Party, he is the longest-serving governor in Michigan history, serv ...
was re-elected as Governor with 51.07% of the vote over Sander Levin
Sander Martin Levin (born September 6, 1931) is an American politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1983 to 2019, representing (numbered as the from 1983 to 1993 and as the from 1993 to 2013). Levin, a member o ...
who garnered 46.75% of the vote and Zolton Ferency who garnered 1.08% of the vote.
:* In elections for the U. S. House of Representatives, Democrats gained ground. Democrat James Blanchard
James Johnston Blanchard (born August 8, 1942) is an American retired attorney, diplomat, and politician who served as the 45th governor of Michigan from 1983 to 1991. A member of the Democratic Party, Blanchard previously served in the United ...
(59.0%) unseated Republican incumbent Robert J. Huber
Robert James Huber (August 29, 1922 - April 23, 2001) was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan.
Huber was born in Detroit, Michigan, where he attended the public schools. He attended the University of Detroit 1935–1937, and graduated f ...
(40.4%). Democrat Milton Robert Carr
Milton Robert Carr, commonly known as Bob Carr, (born March 27, 1943) is an American lawyer, academic, and politician from the U.S. state of Michigan.
Carr served in the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan's 6th and 8th congressional d ...
also won in a previously Republican district. Democrat William M. Brodhead won the seat previously held by Martha Griffiths
Martha Wright Griffiths (January 29, 1912 – April 22, 2003) was an American lawyer and judge before being elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1954. Griffiths was the first woman to serve on the House Committee on Ways and M ...
. Donald W. Riegle Jr.
Donald Wayne Riegle Jr. (born February 4, 1938) is an American politician, author, and businessman from Michigan. He served for five terms as a Representative and for three terms as a Senator in the U.S. Congress.
Early life and family
Donald W ...
was reelected after changing his party affiliation from Republican to Democrat. Democrats Richard Vander Veen
Richard Franklin Vander Veen (November 26, 1922 – March 3, 2006) was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan.
Early life and education
Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Vander Veen attended the local public schools and graduated from Muskego ...
and J. Bob Traxler
Jerome Bob Traxler (July 21, 1931 – October 30, 2019), also known as J. Bob Traxler or Bob Traxler, was an American lawyer and politician from Michigan. He served ten terms in the United States House of Representatives from 1974 to 1993.
Early ...
were reelected in historically Republican district which they had won earlier in the year in special elections.
:* Attorney General Frank J. Kelley
Frank Joseph Kelley (December 31, 1924 – March 5, 2021) was an American politician who served as the 50th Attorney General of the U.S. state of Michigan. His 37-year term of office, from 1961 to 1999, made him both the youngest (36 years old ...
(D) and Secretary of State Richard H. Austin (D) were reelected by two-to-one margins.
:*The Democratic Party also won control over the Michigan legislature for the first time since the early 1960s, winning control of the Senate and retaining control of the House of Representatives.
:* Proposition C, a statewide ballot initiative to repeal the state sales tax on food and drugs, was approved by a margin of 56% to 44%.
* November 9 - The Michigan State Spartans football team upset Ohio State (ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll) by a score of 16 to 13 in East Lansing. The Spartans held Ohio State at its own one-yard line as the game ended.
* November 19 - Chrysler announced plans to close four of its five automobile assembly plants due to slow sales of its automobiles.
* November 21 - Ford Motor announced that it was indefinitely laying off 3,000 white collar workers.
* November 22 - Ford Motor announced that it would temporarily lay off an additional 35,000 workers as part of a December production cut back. Ford's announcement raised the total planned layoffs in the automobile industry to more than 200,000 workers.
* November 23 - The undefeated Michigan Wolverines football team (ranked No. 2 in the UPI Poll) lost to Ohio State (ranked No. 3 in the UPI Poll) by a score of 12 to 10. With 18 second remaining, Michigan kicker Mike Lantry
Mike Lantry (born c. 1948) is a former All-American football player. He was a left-footed place-kicker who played for Bo Schembechler at the University of Michigan from 1972 through 1974. He was selected as a first-team All-American in 1973 and ...
attempted a 33-yard field goal which was called wide left by the officials.
* November 27 - Ford Motor announced plans to lay off an addition 7,950 workers, 2,300 of them indefinitely.
* November 28 - An estimated 500,000 persons lined the route of the Hudson's Thanksgiving Day Parade along Woodward Avenue in Detroit.
* November 29 - General Motors announced plans to place an additional 24,000 hourly workers on indefinite layoff in January. The decision brought the total of General Motors layoffs to 41,000.
December
* December 1–2 - A snowstorm dropped 18.9 inches of snow on metropolitan Detroit in a 24-hour period. The snowfall was the most in the area since 1886 and resulted in 32 deaths from heart attacks to persons shoveling snow or pushing automobiles.
* December 12 - At an automobile industry summit meeting, President Ford pledged support for measures to increase automobile sales, including a freeze on new anti-pollution and safety regulations, a tax cut, and rebates for new car buyers.
* December 14 - The 1974 Central Michigan Chippewas football team
The 1974 Central Michigan Chippewas football team was an American football team that represented Central Michigan University as an independent during the 1974 NCAA Division II football season. In their eighth season under head coach Roy Kramer, t ...
defeated Delaware in the Camellia Bowl
Camellia Bowl can refer to one of three college football bowl games:
* Camellia Bowl (1948)
The Camellia Bowl was a post-season major college football bowl game played at McNaspy Stadium in Lafayette, Louisiana, on December 30, 1948, between t ...
to win the NCAA Division II football championship.
* December 16 - American Motors announced plans to lay off 15,150 workers in January.
* December 18 - General Motors announced additional layoffs, increasing to 132,000 the number of the company's hourly workers to be laid off in the first quarter of 1975.
* December 19 - Ford Motor announced additional layoff, increasing to 90,00 the number of its hourly workers to be laid off in the first quarter of 1975.
* December 20 - The Pontiac City Commission voted to approve a $7.1 million loan to allow a roof to be added to a stadium (the Pontiac Silverdome
The Pontiac Silverdome (also known simply as the Silverdome) was a stadium in Pontiac, Michigan. It opened in 1975 and sat on 199 acres (51 ha) of land. When the stadium opened, it featured a fiberglass fabric roof held up by air pressure, ...
) planned for the city to host Detroit Lions games starting in 1975.
* December 23 - The Detroit Housing and Urban Development office announced plans to increase demolition of homes in Detroit. It was estimated that 500 HUD houses were being abandoned each month in Detroit.
Undated
Births
* January 4 - Carl Powell
Carl Demetris Powell (born January 4, 1974) is a former American football defensive tackle.
High school
He played high school football at Kettering High School in Detroit.
College
Later, he played college football at the University of Loui ...
, American football defensive tackle, in Detroit
* January 4 - Zak Knutson
Zak Knutson (born January 4, 1974 in Detroit, Michigan) is a director, producer, writer, and actor.
Career
1990s
Starting in 1993, Knutson acted in multiple television programs including ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'', ''Coach'', ''Beverly Hil ...
, director, producer, writer, and actor, in Detroit
* January 11 - Rod Jones Rod Jones may refer to:
Sports American football
*Rod Jones (cornerback) (born 1964), American football cornerback in the National Football League
*Rod Jones (offensive lineman) (born 1974), American football tackle in the National Football League
...
, American football offensive lineman (started in Super Bowl XXXVI
Super Bowl XXXVI was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion St. Louis Rams and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...
for the St. Louis Rams), in Detroit
* January 13 - Mary Jo Sanders
Mary Jo Sanders (born January 13, 1974) is an American retired professional boxer. She is also daughter of NFL Hall of Famer, Charlie Sanders.
In a highly anticipated bout in 2008 with Holly Holm
Holly Rene Holm (born October 17, 1981) is a ...
, boxer (daughter of Charlie Sanders
Charles Alvin Sanders (August 25, 1946 July 2, 2015) was an American professional football player who was a tight end for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL) from 1968 to 1977. Sanders was chosen for the NFL's 1970s All-D ...
), in Auburn Hills
* January 17 - Derrick Mason
Derrick James Mason (born January 17, 1974) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for fifteen seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Tennessee Oilers in the fourth round of the ...
, American football wide receiver (first-team All-Pro, 2000), in Detroit
* January 23 - Christian Longo
Christian Michael Longo (born January 23, 1974) is a convicted murderer who killed his wife and three children in Oregon.
Background
Originating from Ypsilanti Township, Michigan, Longo married Mary Jane Baker at age 19 and had three children w ...
, murderer who was subject of film '' True Story'', in Ypsilanti Township
* February 2 - Jeff Cassar
Jeff Cassar (born February 2, 1974) is an American soccer coach and former goalkeeper who last coached Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer.
Playing career
Cassar played college soccer at Florida International University, where he was roommat ...
, soccer goalkeeper and coach, in Livonia
* February 7 - J Dilla
J, or j, is the tenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its usual name in English is ''jay'' (pronounced ), with a now-uncommon varia ...
(1974–2006), record producer and rapper (part of Slum Village), in Detroit
* February 8 - Susan May Pratt, actress (including ''10 Things I Hate About You
''10 Things I Hate About You'' is a 1999 American teen romantic comedy film directed by Gil Junger and starring Julia Stiles, Heath Ledger, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Larisa Oleynik. The screenplay, written by Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten ...
'' and '' Center Stage''), in Lansing
* March 3 - Dayne Walling
Dayne Walling (born ) is an American politician who was the mayor of Flint, Michigan from 2009 to 2015. Although the Flint mayor's office is a nonpartisan position, Walling is a member of the Democratic Party.
Life
Early life and education
Wa ...
, mayor of Flint, in Flint
* March 5 - Jill Ritchie
Jill Susanne Ritchie (born March 5, 1974) is an American actress and the younger sister of rapper-singer-songwriter Kid Rock.
Career
Ritchie starred in the 2004 film '' D.E.B.S.'' and in ''Breakin' All the Rules'', and had a guest role as Bluth ...
, actress (including '' D.E.B.S.''), in Romeo
* March 24 - Jamie Arnold, baseball pitcher (MLB 1999-2000), in Dearborn
* April 5 - Colette Nelson, professional bodybuilder, in Southfield
* April 15 - Tim Thomas, ice hockey goaltender (2x Vezina Trophy
The Vezina Trophy is awarded annually to the National Hockey League's (NHL) goaltender who is "adjudged to be the best at this position". At the end of each season, the thirty-two NHL general managers vote to determine the winner. It is named in ...
, 2011 Conn Smythe Trophy
The Conn Smythe Trophy (french: Trophée Conn Smythe) is awarded annually to the most valuable player (MVP) of his team during the National Hockey League's (NHL) Stanley Cup playoffs. It is named after Conn Smythe, the longtime owner, general man ...
and Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...
, in Flint
* April 23 - Barry Watson, actor (including '' 7th Heaven'', ''Samantha Who?
''Samantha Who?'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on ABC from October 15, 2007, to July 23, 2009. The series was created by Cecelia Ahern and Donald Todd, who also served as producers. Although highly rated during its first ...
'') in Traverse City
* April 25 - Grant Achatz
Grant Achatz ( ) (born April 25, 1974) is an American chef and restaurateur often recognized for his contributions to molecular gastronomy or progressive cuisine. His Chicago restaurant Alinea has won numerous accolades and Achatz himself has won ...
, chef and restaurateur (Alinea Alinea may refer to:
* Alinea (restaurant) in Chicago
* In several languages : an indenting or a pilcrow
The pilcrow, ¶, is a handwritten or typographical character used to identify a paragraph. It is also called the paragraph ma ...
, "Best Chef in the United States" for 2008), in St. Clair
* April 26 - Sydney Johnson, college basketball coach, in Lansing
* May 10 - Travis Roy
Travis Matthew Roy (April 17, 1975 – October 29, 2020) was an American college ice hockey player, author and philanthropist.
In 1995, he was injured in his first shift as a college hockey player for Boston University and was paralyzed from the ...
, soccer player (1998 NPSL Rookie of the Year), in Detroit
* June 2 - Skillz, rapper (including acclaimed 1996 album ''From Where???
''From Where???'' is the debut studio album by American hip hop artist Mad Skillz. It was released on February 13, 1996, via Big Beat/Atlantic Records. Production was handled by Buckwild, Shawn J. Period, J Dilla, DJ Clark Kent, EZ Elpee, Large P ...
'') in Detroit
* June 6 - Uncle Cracker
Matthew Shafer (born June 6, 1974), also known by his stage name Uncle Kracker, is an American singer and musician. He was previously a turntablist for Kid Rock's backing group Twisted Brown Trucker and since 1999 has recorded as a solo artist. ...
, musician and singer (including top 10 hits "Follow Me
Follow may refer to:
* ''Follow'' (album), the third album by Pakho Chau
*Follow (dancer), one member of a partner dance
*"Follow", a song by Jerry Merrick, popularized by Richie Havens on his 1966 album ''Mixed Bag''
*"Follow", a song by Drowning ...
" and "Drift Away
"Drift Away" is a song by Mentor Williams written in 1970 and originally recorded by John Henry Kurtz on his 1972 album ''Reunion''. Mentor Williams was a country songwriter, and John Henry Kurtz was an actor and swamp rock singer. It was later ...
" ) in Mount Clemens
* July 2 - Kerry Zavagnin
Kerry Zavagnin (; born July 2, 1974 in Plymouth, Michigan) is an American former Association football, soccer midfielder, who last played midfielder, defensive midfielder for the Kansas City Wizards of Major League Soccer, and sparingly for the US ...
, soccer midfielder ( USA national team, 2000–2006), in Plymouth
* July 12 - Trent Vanegas
Trent Vanegas (born 12 July 1974) is an American blogger from Michigan who is best known for his celebrity gossip blog, ''Pink is the New Blog'' (PITNB for short), which he launched in 2004.
Early life and education
Vanegas is originally from the ...
, blogger (''Pink is the New Blog''), in Detroit
* July 20 - Andrea Phillips
Andrea Phillips (born 20 July 1974) is an American transmedia game designer and writer. She has been active in the genres of transmedia storytelling and alternate reality games (ARGs), in a variety of roles, since 2001. She has written for, desig ...
, transmedia game designer and writer (including Perplex City
Perplex City was an alternate reality game created by the London-based developer Mind Candy under the direction of the lead producer and designer, Adrian Hon, that ran from April 2005 to February 2007. The first "season" of the game had playe ...
), in Michigan (city unknown)
* July 21 - Brett Hinchliffe
Brett Hinchliffe (born July 21, 1974) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He was born with a genetic defect called syndactylism, a condition wherein two or more digits are fused together. As a result, the middle finger of his lef ...
, baseball pitcher born with fused fingers, in Detroit
* July 27 - Brian Sikorski
Brian Patrick Sikorski (born July 27, 1974) is an American former professional baseball pitcher.
Although Sikorski made his MLB debut in , he didn't play another game in the big leagues until . He played professional baseball in Japan for five y ...
, baseball relief pitcher, in Detroit
* August 2 - Paul Grasmanis
Paul Ryan Grasmanis (born August 2, 1974) is a former American football defensive lineman from Jenison, Michigan of Latvian American, Latvian descent.
He was a ten-year veteran of the NFL and was picked in the fourth round of the 1996 NFL Dr ...
, American football defensive lineman, in Grand Rapids
* August 13 - Scott MacRae
Scott Patrick MacRae (born August 13, 1974) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds. He was active in the Cincinnati Reds organization from June 1, 1995, to October 1 ...
, relief pitcher, in Dearborn
* August 16 - John Snyder, baseball pitcher, in Southfield
* August 22 - Iris Kyle
Iris Floyd Kyle (born August 22, 1974) is an African-Indian American professional female bodybuilder. She is currently the most successful female professional bodybuilder ever with seventeen titles including ten overall Ms. Olympia wins (the m ...
, professional bodybuilder (10x Ms. Olympia
The IFBB Ms. Olympia is both the highest ranking professional female bodybuilding competition and the title of the winner of the competition. It was first organized in 1980, and was held as part of the Joe Weider's Olympia Fitness & Performance ...
), in Benton Harbor
* August 24 - Eric Menk
Eric Conrad Menk (born August 24, 1974) is a Filipino-American former professional basketball player who played in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) and the Asean Basketball League. Known as Major Pain, Menk is a four-time PBA champion ...
, basketball player (3x PBL MVP 1997–1999, PBA MVP 2005), in Grand Rapids
* September 2 - Inari Vachs, pornographic actress (2012 AVN Hall of Fame
The ''AVN'' (''Adult Video News'') Hall of Fame has honored people for their work in the adult entertainment industry since 1995.Xzibit
Alvin Nathaniel Joiner (born September 18, 1974), better known by his stage name Xzibit (pronounced "exhibit"), is an American rapper, actor, television presenter, and radio personality.
Xzibit began his musical career after the release of his ...
, rapper, actor, television host, and record producer (host of ''Pimp My Ride
''Pimp My Ride'' is an American television series produced by MTV and hosted by rapper Xzibit, which ran for six seasons on MTV from 2004 to 2007. In each episode, a car in poor condition is both restored and customized. The work on the show w ...
''), in Detroit
* October 6 - Jim Bundren
Jim G. Bundren (born October 6, 1974) is a former American football offensive guard who played two seasons with the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the seventh round of the 1998 NFL D ...
, American football offensive lineman, in Pontiac
* October 14 - Shaggy 2 Dope
Joseph William Utsler (; born October 14, 1974), known by his stage name Shaggy 2 Dope, is an American rapper, record producer, DJ, podcast host of Shaggy and The Creep Show, and professional wrestler. He is part of the hip hop duo Insane Clo ...
of Insane Clown Posse
Insane Clown Posse, often abbreviated as ICP, is an American hip hop duo. Formed in Detroit in 1989 as a gangsta rap group, ICP's best known lineup consists of rappers Violent J (Joseph Bruce) and Shaggy 2 Dope (originally 2 Dope; Joseph Utsler ...
in Wayne
* October 27 - Harold Cronk
Harold David Cronk (born October 27, 1973) is an American writer, director and producer best known for his work in Christian films, and for being a founding partner in 10 West Studios and EMC Productions. Cronk won the Best Director award at the ...
, motion picture director (including '' God's Not Dead''), in Reed City
* October 28 - Jake Kasdan
Jacob Kasdan (born October 28, 1974) is an American filmmaker and actor. He is best known for directing ''Walk Hard'' (2007), ''Bad Teacher'' (2011), ''Sex Tape'' (2014), '' Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle'' (2017) and '' Jumanji: The Next Level'' ...
, motion picture and television director, in Detroit
* October 28 - Justin Hicks
Justin Hicks (born October 28, 1974) is an American professional golfer.
Hicks was born in Wyandotte, Michigan. He graduated from the University of Michigan and currently plays on the Web.com Tour.
After one day at the 2008 U.S. Open, Hicks was ...
, professional golfer, in Wyandotte
* November 8 - Ryan Folmar
Ryan Folmar (born November 8, 1974) in an American baseball coach and former catcher. He is the current head baseball coach of the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles. He played college baseball at Oklahoma State from 1994 to 1997 for head coaches Gary War ...
, college baseball coach, in Hillsdale
* November 9 - Joe C.
Joseph Michael Calleja (November 9, 1974 – November 16, 2000), known by his stage name Joe C., was an American rapper, best known for being a hype man for fellow rapper Kid Rock.
...
(1974–2000), hype man and comic relief for Kid Rock
Robert James Ritchie (born January 17, 1971), known professionally as Kid Rock (also known as Bobby Shazam), is an American singer, songwriter and rapper. His style alternates between rock, hip hop, country, and metal. A self-taught musician, ...
, in Taylor
* November 9 - Richard H. Bernstein
Richard H. Bernstein (born November 9, 1974) is an American lawyer and Michigan Supreme Court Justice. He practiced at The Law Offices of Sam Bernstein, his father's law office, in Farmington Hills, Michigan, before being elected to the Michigan ...
, legally blind member of Michigan Supreme Court, in Detroit
* November 9 - Rico Hoye
Rico Hoye (born November 9, 1974) is an American professional boxer who current competes in the Cruiserweight division. He resides Phoenix, Arizona, and is a former number one ranked light heavyweight contender (IBF) and a former world title ch ...
, boxer, in Monroe
* November 15 - Kathleen Rose Perkins
Kathleen Rose Perkins (born November 15, 1974) is an American actress.
Life and career
Perkins was born in New Baltimore, Michigan, the daughter of Leonard and Donna Perkins. She graduated from Anchor Bay High School (1992) and enrolled in Wes ...
, actress (including ''Episodes
Episodes may refer to:
* Episode
An episode is a narrative unit within a larger dramatic work or documentary production, such as a series intended for radio, television or streaming consumption.
The noun ''episode'' is derived from the Gree ...
''), in New Baltimore
* December 5 - Stacey Lovelace-Tolbert, basketball player in WNBA, in Detroit
* December 7 - Annette Salmeen, Rhodes Scholar and gold medalist in swimming at 1996 Olympics, in Ann Arbor
* December 9 - Sam Sword
Sam Lee-Arthur Sword (born December 9, 1974) is a former American football player.
A native of Saginaw, Michigan, Sword played college football as a linebacker for the University of Michigan from 1995 to 1998. He was the leading tackler on the ...
, American football linebacker, in Saginaw
* December 9 - Sarah Roberts, state legislator, in St. Clair Shores
* December 10 - Meg White
Megan Martha White (born December 10, 1974) is an American former musician and singer who was the drummer of Detroit rock duo The White Stripes. Her music career began when, on a whim, she played on her future White Stripes bandmate Jack White' ...
of The White Stripes
The White Stripes were an American rock duo from Detroit formed in 1997. The group consisted of Jack White (songwriter, vocals, guitar, piano, and mandolin) and Meg White (drums and vocals). After releasing several singles and three albums with ...
in Grosse Pointe Farms
* December 17 - Duff Goldman
Jeffrey Adam "Duff" Goldman is a pastry chef, television personality, and cookbook author. He is the executive chef of the Baltimore-based Charm City Cakes shop, which was featured in the Food Network reality television show ''Ace of Cakes'', a ...
, pastry chef and television personality (including ''Ace of Cakes
''Ace of Cakes'' is an American reality television show that aired on the Food Network. The show focused on the daily operations of Duff Goldman's custom cake shop, Charm City Cakes, in Baltimore, Maryland; including small-business ownership, wor ...
'', in Detroit
* December 20 - Jennifer Haase, state legislator, in Detroit
* December 27 - Daniel Way
Daniel Way is an American comic book writer, known for his work on Marvel Comics series such as '' Wolverine: Origins'' and ''Deadpool''.
Career
Way received the Xeric Grant in 2000 for his debut publication, '' Violent Lifestyle''. Through ''Vio ...
, writer for Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
(including '' Wolverine: Origins'' and ''Deadpool
Deadpool is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Fabian Nicieza and artist/writer Rob Liefeld, the character first appeared in ''New Mutants'' #98 (cover-dated Feb. 1991). Initially, Deadp ...
''), in West Branch
* Date unknown - David Robert Mitchell
David Robert Mitchell (born October 19, 1974) is an American film director and writer. He received significant recognition as a director after completing his second feature, the critically acclaimed horror film ''It Follows'' (2014).
Early life ...
, film director and writer (including ''It Follows
''It Follows'' is a 2014 American supernatural psychological horror film written and directed by David Robert Mitchell. It stars Maika Monroe as a young woman who is pursued by a supernatural entity after a sexual encounter and must have sex with ...
''), in Clawson
* Date unknown - Ray Chi, architect, cellist, film editor, and furniture designer, in Okemos
Gallery of 1974 births
File:DerrickMason.jpg, Derrick Mason
Derrick James Mason (born January 17, 1974) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for fifteen seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Tennessee Oilers in the fourth round of the ...
File:Cassar.jpg, Jeff Cassar
Jeff Cassar (born February 2, 1974) is an American soccer coach and former goalkeeper who last coached Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer.
Playing career
Cassar played college soccer at Florida International University, where he was roommat ...
File:Colette Nelson and Debbie Patton 2005.jpg, Colette Nelson (left)
File:Sydney Johnson.jpg, Sydney Johnson
File:Andrea Phillips headshot.jpg, Andrea Phillips
Andrea Phillips (born 20 July 1974) is an American transmedia game designer and writer. She has been active in the genres of transmedia storytelling and alternate reality games (ARGs), in a variety of roles, since 2001. She has written for, desig ...
File:Xzibit W.jpg, Xzibit
Alvin Nathaniel Joiner (born September 18, 1974), better known by his stage name Xzibit (pronounced "exhibit"), is an American rapper, actor, television presenter, and radio personality.
Xzibit began his musical career after the release of his ...
File:Inari Vachs iafd adjust.jpg, Inari Vachs
File:Jake Kasdan.jpg, Jake Kasdan
Jacob Kasdan (born October 28, 1974) is an American filmmaker and actor. He is best known for directing ''Walk Hard'' (2007), ''Bad Teacher'' (2011), ''Sex Tape'' (2014), '' Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle'' (2017) and '' Jumanji: The Next Level'' ...
File:Duff goldman.jpg, Duff Goldman
Jeffrey Adam "Duff" Goldman is a pastry chef, television personality, and cookbook author. He is the executive chef of the Baltimore-based Charm City Cakes shop, which was featured in the Food Network reality television show ''Ace of Cakes'', a ...
File:Daniel way.JPG, Daniel Way
Daniel Way is an American comic book writer, known for his work on Marvel Comics series such as '' Wolverine: Origins'' and ''Deadpool''.
Career
Way received the Xeric Grant in 2000 for his debut publication, '' Violent Lifestyle''. Through ''Vio ...
Deaths
* January 6 - Rev. William Foley, former athletic director at the University of Detroit, in Clarkston at age 96
* January 7 - Sam "Singing Sam" Bolgona, tenor and restaurant operator who for 45 years entertained patrons by singing Italian opera
* January 8 - Kreigh Collins, creator of the comic strips "Kevin the Bold" and "Up Anchor", in Grand Rapids at age 66
* January 12 - John Elias, co-founder of the Elias Brothers Big Boy restaurants, the largest restaurant chain in Michigan, at age 54
* January 14 - Wilbur M. Cunningham
Wilbur Morrill Cunningham (February 4, 1886 – January 14, 1974) was an American college football player and coach, attorney, historian and author.
Early years
Cunningham was born in 1886 in Benton Harbor, Michigan. His father, George Cunningham ...
, American football player and coach, attorney, historian and author, in Benton Harbor at age 87
* January 16 - Roy Bargy
Roy Fredrick Bargy (July 31, 1894 – January 16, 1974) was an American composer and pianist.
Biography
Born in Newaygo, Michigan, he grew up in Toledo, Ohio. In 1919, he began working with Charley Straight at the Imperial Piano Roll Company in ...
, composer and pianist, in Vista, CA, at age 79
* January 17 - Arthur Radebaugh
Arthur Radebaugh (1906–1974) was an American futurist, illustrator, airbrush artist, and industrial designer. He produced a significant body of work for the automotive industry. He was noted for his artistic experimentation with fluorescent pai ...
, futurist, illustrator, airbrush artist, and industrial designer, in Grand Rapids at age 67
* February 14 - Frank "Bullet" Miller, baseball pitcher, in Allegan at age 87
* February 15 - Maurice Sugar, pioneer labor lawyer, general counsel to UAW (1937-1948), at his home on Black Lake at age 81
* February 17 - Ralph W. Gerard
Ralph Waldo Gerard (7 October 1900 – 17 February 1974) was an American neurophysiologist and behavioral scientist known for his wide-ranging work on the nervous system, nerve metabolism, psychopharmacology, and biological basis of schizophrenia. ...
, neurophysiologist and behavioral scientist, at age 73
* March 9 - Felix Schlag
Felix Oscar Schlag (September 4, 1891 – March 9, 1974) was a German born American sculptor who was the designer of the United States five cent coin in use from 1938 to 2004.
He was born to Karl and Teresa Schlag in Frankfurt, Germany wher ...
, sculptor and designer of the U.S. five cent coin in use from 1938 to 2004), in Owosso at age 82
* March 16 - Daniel Frank Gerber
Daniel Frank Gerber (May 6, 1898 – March 16, 1974) was an American manufacturer of baby food, and founder of Gerber Food Products. He had a management college education and then started working for his father's canning company in Michigan and ...
, who built baby food manufacturer Gerber Products Co. into a Fortune 500 company, at Gerber Memorial Hospital in Fremont, Michigan
Fremont is a city in Newaygo County, Michigan, United States. The population was 4,516 at the time of the 2020 census.
History
The first inhabitants of the Fremont area were Native Americans. A group of settlers led by Daniel Weaver first se ...
, at age 73
* March 22 - Sam Donahue
Samuel Koontz Donahue (March 18, 1918 – March 22, 1974) was an American jazz saxophonist, trumpeter, and musical arranger. He performed with Gene Krupa, Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Billy May, Woody Herman, and Stan Kenton.
Biography
Donahue ...
, swing musician, at age 56
* March 31 - Dirk Gringhuis, artist and illustrator, at age 55
* April 3 - Marston Bates
Marston Bates (July 23, 1906 – April 3, 1974) was an American zoologist and environmental author. Bates' studies on mosquitoes contributed to the understanding of the epidemiology of yellow fever in northern South America.
Born in Michigan, Ba ...
, biologist and leading expert on mosquitoes, malaria, and yellow fever, in Ann Arbor at age 67
* April 4 - Leland I. Doan, former president of Dow Chemical Co., in Midland at age 79
* May 7 - Hobart Hurd Willard, analytical chemist and inorganic chemist, in Ann Arbor at age 92
* May 16 - William Hayes, burlesque actor, in Detroit at age 81
* May 24 - Clyde Cowan
Clyde Lorrain Cowan Jr (December 6, 1919 – May 24, 1974) was an American physicist, the co-discoverer of the neutrino along with Frederick Reines. The discovery was made in 1956 in the neutrino experiment.
Frederick Reines received the Nobel Pr ...
, physicist and co-discoverer of the neutrino
A neutrino ( ; denoted by the Greek letter ) is a fermion (an elementary particle with spin of ) that interacts only via the weak interaction and gravity. The neutrino is so named because it is electrically neutral and because its rest mass ...
, in Bethesda, MD, at age 54
* June 30 - Tony Fontane
Tony Fontane (born Anthony Trankina; September 18, 1925 – June 30, 1974) was an American recording artist in the 1940s and 1950s who gave up his career in popular music to become a gospel singer following a near-fatal car accident in 1957. His cl ...
, gospel singer, in California at age 48
* July 10 – Stephen John Roth
Stephen John Roth (April 21, 1908 – July 11, 1974) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
Education and career
Born on April 21, 1908, in Hungary, Roth received a Bachelor ...
, U.S. District Court Judge who ordered cross-district busing in metropolitan Detroit, in Flint at age 66
* July 24 - Carl E. Guthe Carl Eugen Guthe ( June 1, 1893 – July 24, 1974) was an American academic and anthropologist, son of Karl Eugen Guthe, Professor of Physics and Dean of the Graduate Department of the University of Michigan, and Clara Belle née Ware of Grand Rapid ...
, academic, anthropologist, and dean, at age 81
* July 27 - Blues musician Lightnin' Slim
Otis Verries Hicks, known as Lightnin' Slim (March 13, 1913 – July 27, 1974), was an American blues musician who played Louisiana blues and swamp blues for Excello Records. The blues critic ED Denson ranked him as one of the five great blu ...
in Detroit
* July 28 – Don McCafferty
Donald William McCafferty (March 12, 1921 – July 28, 1974) was an American football player and coach who, in his first year as head coach of the Baltimore Colts, led the team to a victory in Super Bowl V, and became the first rookie head coach ...
, head coach of the Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...
, in Pontiac at age 53[
* June 30 - Gene Gazlay, director of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, from a heart attack at Groesbeck Golf Course in Lansing, at age 50
* August 19 - ]Augie Bergamo
August Samuel Bergamo (February 14, 1917 – August 19, 1974) was a Major League Baseball outfielder who played for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1944 and 1945. A native of Detroit, Michigan, he stood 5'9" and weighed 165 lbs.
Bergamo is one ...
, baseball player, in Grosse Pointe at age 56
* August 26 – Charles Lindbergh
Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, and activist. On May 20–21, 1927, Lindbergh made the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris, a distance o ...
, aviator and Detroit native, in Hawaii at age 72
* September 15 - John Challis
John Spurley Challis (16 August 1942 – 19 September 2021) was an English actor. He had an extensive theatre and television career but is best known for portraying Terrance Aubrey "Boycie" Boyce in the long-running BBC Television sitcom ''Onl ...
, builder of harpsichords and clavichords, at age 67
* September 29 - Van Patrick
Van Patrick (August 15, 1916 – September 29, 1974) was an American sportscaster, best known for his play-by-play work with the Detroit Lions and Detroit Tigers.
Patrick, self-nicknamed "The Ole Announcer", called Lions games from 1950 until hi ...
, sportscast who did play-by-play for Detroit Tigers and Detroit Lions, in South Bend, IN, at age 58
* September 29 - Herbert C. Holdridge, U.S. Army brigadier general, in Toledo
* October 5 - Robert G. Robinson, the first aviator to receive the Medal of Honor, for his service in World War I, in St. Ignace at age 80
* October 13 - Otto Binder
Otto Oscar Binder (; August 26, 1911 – October 13, 1974) was an American author of science fiction and non-fiction books and stories, and comic books. He is best known as the co-creator of Supergirl and for his many scripts for '' Captain Ma ...
, comic book author (including Captain Marvel), in Chestertown, NY, at age 63
* October 18 - Tate Houston
Tate Houston (November 30, 1924 – October 18, 1974) was a Detroit-based American baritone and tenor saxophonist.
He played with Lionel Hampton's band and in 1946, he recorded with the Billy Eckstine band. In 1947, he played with Sonny Stitt ...
, jazz saxophonist, at age 49
* October 21 - Donald Goines
Donald Goines (pseudonym: Al C. Clark; December 15, 1936 – October 21, 1974) was an African-American writer of urban fiction. His novels were deeply influenced by the work of Iceberg Slim.
Early life and family
Goines was born in Detroit, Mich ...
, novelist (including the Kenyatta series), in Detroit at age 37
* October 27 - Jay Datus, artist known primarily for his mural painting in Arizona
* November 2 - Nelson "Jack" Edwards
Nelson "Jack" Edwards (1917–1974) was Vice President of the UAW (United Auto Workers), and a founder of CBTU, the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists.
Nelson Edwards was born in 1917 on a farm in Lowndes County, Alabama. In 1937 he moved to Detr ...
, UAW vice president and civil rights leader, in Detroit at age 57[
* November 15 - ]Nathaniel B. Wales
Nathaniel Brackett Wales (11 July 1883, Braintree, Massachusetts – November 15, 1974) was an American inventor credited with early patents on refrigerators, washers, vacuum cleaners, and co-inventor with his son of the proximity detonator used ...
, inventor credited with inventing the Kelvinator refrigerator and early patents on washers, vacuum cleaners, and a proximity detonator for bombs
* November 15 - Myrtle Craig Mowbray, first African American woman to graduate from Michigan Agricultural College
* November 23 - Jerry Benjamin
Jerry Charles Benjamin (November 9, 1909 – November 23, 1974) was an American Negro league baseball center fielder who played from 1931 to 1948. He played for the Knoxville Giants, Memphis Red Sox, Indianapolis ABCs/Detroit Stars, Birmingham ...
, baseball outfielder (3x Negro leagues All-Star), in Detroit at age 65
* December 19 - Russell D. Oliver, American football player, in South Bend, IN
* December 23 - John Hiemenga
John J. Hiemenga (January 22, 1877 - 1974) was a Dutch-American pastor and educator and first President of Calvin College from 1919-1925.
Born Jan Hiemenga to Jan Hiemenga Sr. and Romkje Zoodsma in Arum, Friesland, the Netherlands, he emigrate ...
, first president of Calvin College
Calvin University, formerly Calvin College, is a private Christian university in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Founded in 1876, Calvin University is an educational institution of the Christian Reformed Church and stands in the Reformed (Calvinist) ...
* December 25 - Frederick L. Conklin, American football player, doctor, and Navy officer, in San Diego, CA, at age 86
* December 31 - Former Lieutenant Governor George W. Welsh
George W. Welsh was a Republican politician from Michigan who served as the 37th lieutenant governor of Michigan, in the Michigan House of Representatives including as its Speaker during the 52nd Legislature, and as the mayor of Grand Rapids, Mic ...
Gallery of 1974 deaths
File:Dan & Grandkids.tif, Daniel Frank Gerber
Daniel Frank Gerber (May 6, 1898 – March 16, 1974) was an American manufacturer of baby food, and founder of Gerber Food Products. He had a management college education and then started working for his father's canning company in Michigan and ...
File:Sam Donahue, Aquarium NYC, ca December 1946 (Gottlieb).jpg, Sam Donahue
Samuel Koontz Donahue (March 18, 1918 – March 22, 1974) was an American jazz saxophonist, trumpeter, and musical arranger. He performed with Gene Krupa, Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Billy May, Woody Herman, and Stan Kenton.
Biography
Donahue ...
File:Frank Miller (baseball).jpg, Frank "Bullet" Miller
File:Gunnery Sergeant Robert G. Robinson, USMC.jpg, Robert G. Robinson
File:Clyde Cowan.jpg, Clyde Cowan
Clyde Lorrain Cowan Jr (December 6, 1919 – May 24, 1974) was an American physicist, the co-discoverer of the neutrino along with Frederick Reines. The discovery was made in 1956 in the neutrino experiment.
Frederick Reines received the Nobel Pr ...
File:Van Patrick.jpg, Van Patrick
Van Patrick (August 15, 1916 – September 29, 1974) was an American sportscaster, best known for his play-by-play work with the Detroit Lions and Detroit Tigers.
Patrick, self-nicknamed "The Ole Announcer", called Lions games from 1950 until hi ...
File:Russell Oliver.jpg, Russell D. Oliver
File:Frederick Conklin.jpg, Frederick L. Conklin
File:RoyBargyRufenreddyCover.jpg, Roy Bargy
Roy Fredrick Bargy (July 31, 1894 – January 16, 1974) was an American composer and pianist.
Biography
Born in Newaygo, Michigan, he grew up in Toledo, Ohio. In 1919, he began working with Charley Straight at the Imperial Piano Roll Company in ...
File:Jefferson-Nickel-Unc-Obv.jpg, Nickel designed by Felix Schlag
Felix Oscar Schlag (September 4, 1891 – March 9, 1974) was a German born American sculptor who was the designer of the United States five cent coin in use from 1938 to 2004.
He was born to Karl and Teresa Schlag in Frankfurt, Germany wher ...
References
{{Michigan year nav