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1973 in Michigan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1973
in
Michigan

Decades:
See also:

Events from the year 1973 in Michigan.

The Associated Press (AP) selected the top news stories for 1973 in Michigan as follows:[1]

  1. The selection of Michigan Congressman Gerald Ford as Vice President of the United States following the resignation of Spiro Agnew;
  2. The 1973 oil crisis;
  3. Layoffs in the automobile industry following a drop in sales;
  4. Negotiations between the United Auto Workers and the Big Three automobile manufacturers;
  5. Coleman Young's election victory on November 6 over former police commissioner John F. Nichols to become the first African-American Mayor of Detroit;[2]
  6. (tie) The Michigan State Lottery earned $61 million in its first full year;
  7. (tie) Natural gas forced residents to evacuate their homes in Williamsburg, Michigan;
  8. Severe winter storms struck the state in March;
  9. Union construction workers protested at nonunion work sites in Kalkaska and Midland; and
  10. Col. William Nolde of Michigan was the last American soldier to die in combat in the Vietnam War; he was killed on January 27 when artillery blew up his bunker 11 hours before the ceasefire.[3]

The AP also chose the state's top sports stories as follows:[4]

  1. The 1973 Michigan Wolverines football team's being passed over for the 1974 Rose Bowl despite its undefeated season and playing Ohio State to a 10–10 tie on November 24;
  2. John Hiller's comeback from a heart attack to set a major league record with 34 saves;
  3. Gordie Howe signing a contract on June 19 to play with his sons for the Houston Aeros of the World Hockey Association;[5]
  4. The Saginaw Arthur Hill High School football team compiling an undefeated season and outscoring opponents, 443–0;
  5. The September 2 firing of Billy Martin as manager of the Detroit Tigers;[6]
  6. Joe Schmidt's January 12 resignation as head coach of the Detroit Lions;[7]
  7. The hiring of Alex Delvecchio as general manager of the Detroit Red Wings and the firing of Ted Garvin as coach;
  8. The rise of girls' athletics in the state, including Carolyn King playing for a boys' Little League team in Ypsilanti;
  9. The October 11 hiring of Ralph Houk as the new manager of the Detroit Tigers;[8] and
  10. The firing of Johnny Wilson as head coach of the Detroit Red Wings and the naming of Ted Garvin as coach.

Office holders

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Gov. Milliken

State office holders

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Mayors of major cities

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Mayor Gribbs

Federal office holders

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Sen. Griffin
Sen. Hart

Population

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In the 1970 United States census, Michigan was recorded as having a population of 8,875,083 persons, ranking as the seventh most populous state in the country. By 1980, the state's population had grown 4.4% to 9,262,078 persons.

Cities

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The following is a list of cities in Michigan with a population of at least 70,000 based on 1970 U.S. Census data. Historic census data from 1960 and 1980 is included to reflect trends in population increases or decreases. Cities that are part of the Detroit metropolitan area are shaded in tan.

1970
Rank
City County 1960 Pop. 1970 Pop. 1980 Pop. Change 1970-80
1 Detroit Wayne 1,670,144 1,514,063 1,203,368 −20.5% Decrease
2 Grand Rapids Kent 177,313 197,649 181,843 −8.0% Decrease
3 Flint Genesee 196,940 193,317 159,611 −17.4% Decrease
4 Warren Macomb 89,246 179,260 161,134 −10.1% Decrease
5 Lansing Ingham 107,807 131,403 130,414 −0.8% Decrease
6 Livonia Wayne 66,702 110,109 104,814 −4.8% Decrease
7 Dearborn Wayne 112,007 104,199 90,660 −13.0% Decrease
8 Ann Arbor Washtenaw 67,340 100,035 107,969 7.9% Increase
9 Saginaw Saginaw 98,265 91,849 77,508 −15.6% Decrease
10 St. Clair Shores Macomb 76,657 88,093 76,210 −13.5% Decrease
11 Westland Wayne 60,743 86,749 84,603 −2.5% Decrease
12 Royal Oak Oakland 80,612 86,238 70,893 −17.8% Decrease
13 Kalamazoo Kalamazoo 82,089 85,555 79,722 −6.8% Decrease
14 Pontiac Oakland 82,233 85,279 76,715 −10.0% Decrease
15 Dearborn Heights Wayne 61,118 80,069 67,706 −15.4% Decrease
16 Taylor Wayne na 70,020 77,568 10.8% Increase

Counties

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The following is a list of counties in Michigan with populations of at least 120,000 based on 1970 U.S. Census data. Historic census data from 1960 and 1980 are included to reflect trends in population increases or decreases. Counties that are part of the Detroit metropolitan area are shaded in tan.

1970
Rank
County Largest city 1960 Pop. 1970 Pop. 1980 Pop. Change 1970-80
1 Wayne Detroit 2,666,297 2,666,751 2,337,891 −12.3% Decrease
2 Oakland Pontiac 690,259 907,871 1,011,793 11.4% Increase
3 Macomb Warren 405,804 625,309 694,600 11.1% Increase
4 Genesee Flint 374,313 444,341 450,449 1.4% Increase
5 Kent Grand Rapids 363,187 411,044 444,506 8.1% Increase
6 Ingham Lansing 211,296 261,039 275,520 5.5% Increase
7 Washtenaw Ann Arbor 172,440 234,103 264,748 13.1% Increase
8 Saginaw Saginaw 190,752 219,743 228,059 3.8% Increase
9 Kalamazoo Kalamazoo 169,712 201,550 212,378 5.4% Increase
10 Berrien Benton Harbor 149,865 163,875 171,276 4.5% Increase
11 Muskegon Muskegon 129,943 157,426 157,589 0.1% Increase
12 Jackson Jackson 131,994 143,274 151,495 5.7% Increase
13 Calhoun Battle Creek 138,858 141,963 141,557 −0.3% Decrease
14 Ottawa Holland 98,719 128,181 157,174 22.6% Increase
15 St. Clair Port Huron 107,201 120,175 138,802 15.5% Increase
16 Monroe Monroe 101,120 118,479 134,659 13.7% Increase
17 Bay Bay City 107,042 117,339 119,881 2.2% Increase

Sports

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Baseball

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American football

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Basketball

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Ice hockey

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Golf

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Boat racing

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Other

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Music

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Albums and singles by Michigan artists or centered on Michigan topics that were released or became hits in 1973 include the following:

Chronology of events

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January

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February

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March

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  • March 5 - Pizza manufacturer Mario Fabbrini publicly disposes of 29,188 frozen cheese-and-mushroom pizzas after a recall from the Food and Drug Administration, dubbed the Great Michigan Pizza Funeral.[16]

April

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May

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June

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July

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August

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September

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October

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November

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December

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Births

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Deaths

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Ford's Selection Top Michigan News Story In 1973". The News-Palladium. December 26, 1973. p. 40 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Nichols Loses Cliff-Hanger: Young Elected City's 1st Black Mayor". Detroit Free Press. November 7, 1973. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Nolde eulogized: Soldier for peace". Battle Creek Enquirer and News. February 4, 1973. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "AP Selects Top Ten Stories For Michigan Sports Fans". The Hillsdale Daily News. December 31, 1973. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "It's Goodby Gordie . . . He Signs with Aeros". Detroit Free Press. June 20, 1973. p. 1D – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Jim Hawkins (September 3, 1973). "Billy Martin Fired by Tigers: Off-Field Capers Cost Job". Detroit Free Press. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "'Fun' Gone . . . Schmidt Quits". Detroit Free Press. January 13, 1973. p. 1D – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Tiger Manager Houk: No Major Rebuilding". Detroit Free Press. October 12, 1973. p. 1D – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Riegle switched his party affiliation from Republican to Democrat in 1973.
  10. ^ "1973 Detroit Tigers Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
  11. ^ "1973 Detroit Lions Statistics & Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
  12. ^ "1973 Michigan Wolverines Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
  13. ^ "1972–73 Detroit Pistons Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
  14. ^ "1972–73 Michigan Wolverines Schedule and Results". SR/CBB. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
  15. ^ "1972–73 Detroit Red Wings Roster and Statistics". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
  16. ^ "Forty-Five Years Ago This Small Michigan Town Had a Pizza Funeral". No. February 28, 2018. Michigan Radio. Archived from the original on November 23, 2020.