1963 in Michigan

1963 in Michigan
History of Michigan
Locator Map
License plate
← 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 →

Events from the year 1963 in Michigan.

The Detroit Free Press^[1] and the Associated Press^[2] each selected the top 10 news stories in Michigan. The top stories included the following:

1. The voters' adoption of a new Michigan Constitution (AP-1, DFP-1);
2. Gov. George W. Romney's fiscal reform campaign, including a proposed state income tax that was defeated by the Legislature (AP-2, DFP-4);
3. A boom year for the automobile industry (AP-6, DFP-2);
4. Racial demonstrations, including the June 23 Detroit Walk to Freedom that drew crowds of an estimated 125,000 or more and was known as "the largest civil rights demonstration in the nation's history" up to that date (AP-7, DFP-3);
5. A botulism outbreak that (i) killed two Grosse Ile women in March tied to canned tun, (ii) resulted in two additional deaths in October tied to smoked whitefish, and (iii) caused five deaths in the south traced to Michigan-packaged smoked chubs; some of the botulism was traced to smoked fish canned in Grand Haven (AP-4, DFP-7);
6. The ouster of Joe Collins led by former Gov. John Swainson and selection of Zoltan Ferency as chairman of the state Democratic Party at the February convention in Grand Rapids (AP-9, DFP-6);
7. Detroit's bid to host the 1968 Summer Olympics, ending with the International Olympic Committee's selection of Mexico City on October 18 (AP-8, DFP-8);
8. The April escape of four prisoners from the Michigan State Prison in Jackson leading to an intensive manhunt (AP-11 [tie], DFP-9);
9. The disappearance and murder of Joan Watkins, a 28-year-old housewife and mother from Brooklyn, Michigan (AP-11 [tie], DFP-10);
10. The impact on Michigan of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy (AP-3);
11. Gov. George W. Romney's first year in office (AP-5);
12. An April election in which Detroit voters rejected school millage and building bonds (a schools only proposal passed in November) (DFP-5); and
13. The suspension of Alex Karras by the Detroit Lions as a result of a betting scandal (AP-10).

The United Press International (UPI) selected the state's top sports stories as follows:^[3]

1. The suspension of Alex Karras by the Detroit Lions;
2. The June 18 firing of Bob Scheffing as manager of the Detroit Tigers;
3. Detroit's loss of its bid to host the 1968 Summer Olympics;
4. Gordie Howe's 545th regular season goal on November 10, breaking the NHL record set by Maurice Richard;
5. The 1963 Michigan State Spartans football team's unsuccessful bid to play in the 1964 Rose Bowl, losing to Illinois in the final game of the season;
6. William Clay Ford Sr.'s November 22 purchase of a controlling interest in the Detroit Lions;
7. The November 18 trade of Rocky Colavito by the Detroit Tigers to the Kansas City Athletics;
8. The collapse of the 1962 Detroit Lions season after numerous injuries;
9. The July 27 collapse of a bridge into the Clinton River, causing injury to 48 persons, during a golf tournament at Hillcrest Country Club in Macomb County; and
10. The 1962–63 Detroit Red Wings playing in the 1963 Stanley Cup Finals.

Office holders

State office holders

Gov. Romney

• Governor of Michigan: George W. Romney (Republican)
• Lieutenant Governor of Michigan: T. John Lesinski (Democrat)
• Michigan Attorney General: Frank J. Kelley (Democrat)
• Michigan Secretary of State: James M. Hare (Democrat)
• Speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives: Allison Green (Republican)
• Majority Leader of the Michigan Senate: Stanley G. Thayer (Republican)
• Chief Justice, Michigan Supreme Court:

Mayors of major cities

Mayor Cavanagh

• Mayor of Detroit: Jerome Cavanagh
• Mayor of Grand Rapids: Stanley J. Davis
• Mayor of Flint: George R. Poulos
• Mayor of Saginaw: G. Stewart Francke
• Mayor of Dearborn: Orville L. Hubbard
• Mayor of Lansing: Willard I. Bowerman, Jr.
• Mayor of Ann Arbor: Cecil Creal (Republican)

Federal office holders

Sen. McNamara

Sen. Hart

• U.S. Senator from Michigan: Patrick V. McNamara (Democrat)
• U.S. Senator from Michigan: Philip Hart (Democrat)
• House District 1: Lucien N. Nedzi (Democrat)
• House District 2: George Meader (Republican)
• House District 3: August E. Johansen (Republican)
• House District 4: J. Edward Hutchinson (Republican)
• House District 5: Gerald Ford (Republican)
• House District 6: Charles E. Chamberlain (Republican)
• House District 7: James G. O'Hara (Democrat)
• House District 8: R. James Harvey (Republican)
• House District 9: Robert P. Griffin (Republican)
• House District 10: Elford Albin Cederberg (Republican)
• House District 11: Victor A. Knox (Republican)
• House District 12: John B. Bennett (Republican)
• House District 13: Charles Diggs (Democrat)
• House District 14: Harold M. Ryan (Democrat)
• House District 15: John Dingell (Democrat)
• House District 16: John Lesinski Jr. (Democrat)
• House District 17: Martha Griffiths (Democrat)
• House District 18: William Broomfield (Republican)
• House At Large: Neil Staebler (Democrat)

Population

In the 1960 United States Census, Michigan was recorded as having a population of 7,823,194 persons, ranking as the seventh most populous state in the country. By 1970, the state's population had grown 13.4% to 8,875,083 persons.

Cities

The following is a list of cities in Michigan with a population of at least 60,000 based on 1960 U.S. Census data. Historic census data from 1950 and 1970 is included to reflect trends in population increases or decreases. Cities that are part of the Detroit metropolitan area are shaded in tan.

1960 Rank	City	County	1950 Pop.	1960 Pop.	1970 Pop.	Change 1960-70
1	Detroit	Wayne	1,849,568	1,670,144	1,514,063	−9.3%
2	Flint	Genesee	163,143	196,940	193,317	−1.8%
3	Grand Rapids	Kent	176,515	177,313	197,649	11.5%
4	Dearborn	Wayne	94,994	112,007	104,199	−7.0%
5	Lansing	Ingham	92,129	107,807	131,403	21.9%
6	Saginaw	Saginaw	92,918	98,265	91,849	−6.5%
7	Warren	Macomb	42,653	89,246	179,260	100.2%
8	Pontiac	Oakland	73,681	82,233	85,279	3.7%
9	Kalamazoo	Kalamazoo	57,704	82,089	85,555	4.1%
10	Royal Oak	Oakland	46,898	80,612	86,238	7.0%
11	St. Clair Shores	Macomb	19,823	76,657	88,093	14.9%
12	Ann Arbor	Washtenaw	48,251	67,340	100,035	48.6%
13	Livonia	Wayne	17,634	66,702	110,109	65.1%
14	Dearborn Heights	Wayne	20,235	61,118	80,069	31.0%
15	Westland	Wayne	30,407	60,743	86,749	42.8%

Counties

The following is a list of counties in Michigan with populations of at least 100,000 based on 1960 U.S. Census data. Historic census data from 1950 and 1970 are included to reflect trends in population increases or decreases. Counties that are part of the Detroit metropolitan area are shaded in tan.

1960 Rank	County	Largest city	1950 Pop.	1960 Pop.	1970 Pop.	Change 1960-70
1	Wayne	Detroit	2,435,235	2,666,297	2,666,751	0.0%
2	Oakland	Pontiac	396,001	690,259	907,871	31.5%
3	Macomb	Warren	184,961	405,804	625,309	54.1%
4	Genesee	Flint	270,963	374,313	444,341	18.7%
5	Kent	Grand Rapids	288,292	363,187	411,044	13.2%
6	Ingham	Lansing	172,941	211,296	261,039	23.5%
7	Saginaw	Saginaw	153,515	190,752	219,743	15.2%
8	Washtenaw	Ann Arbor	134,606	172,440	234,103	35.8%
9	Kalamazoo	Kalamazoo	126,707	169,712	201,550	18.8%
10	Berrien	Benton Harbor	115,702	149,865	163,875	9.3%
11	Calhoun	Battle Creek	120,813	138,858	141,963	2.2%
12	Jackson	Jackson	108,168	131,994	143,274	8.5%
13	Muskegon	Muskegon	121,545	129,943	157,426	21.2%
14	St. Clair	Port Huron	91,599	107,201	120,175	12.1%
15	Bay	Bay City	88,461	107,042	117,339	9.6%
16	Monroe	Monroe	75,666	101,120	118,479	17.2%

Sports

Ice hockey

Gordie Howe

• 1962–63 Detroit Red Wings season – Under head coach Sid Abel, the Red Wings compiled a 32–25–13 record, finished fourth in the NHL, and lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs in five games in the 1963 Stanley Cup Finals. Gordie Howe led the team with 38 goals, 48 assists, and 86 points. The team's regular goaltender was Terry Sawchuk, and Hank Bassen was the backup.^[15]
• 1962–63 Michigan Tech Huskies men's ice hockey team – Under head coach John MacInnes, Michigan Tech compiled a 17–10–2 record.^[16]
• 1962–63 Michigan Wolverines men's ice hockey season – Under head coach Al Renfrew, the Wolverines compiled a 7–14–3 record.^[17]
• 1963–64 Michigan State Spartans men's ice hockey team – Under head coach Amo Bessone, the Spartans compiled an 11–12 record.^[18]

Music

Little Stevie Wonder

Detroit's Motown record label had several hits in 1963, including the following:

• "Pride and Joy" by Marvin Gaye was released on September 12, 1962, became a hit in 1963 reaching No. 2 on the R&B chart and No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, and was ranked No. 72 on the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1963;
• "You've Really Got a Hold on Me" by The Miracles was released on November 9, 1962, became a hit in 1963 reaching No. 1 on the R&B chart and No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100, and was ranked No. 65 on the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1963;
• "Come and Get These Memories" by Martha and the Vandellas was released on February 22, 1963, reached No. 6 on the R&B chart and No. 29 on the Billboard Hot 100, and was ranked No. 94 on the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1963;
• "Fingertips" by Little Stevie Wonder was released on May 21, reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and ranked No. 8 on the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1963;
• "Heat Wave" by Martha & the Vandellas was released on July 9, ranked No. 1 on the R&B chart and No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, and ranked No. 32 on the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1963;
• "Mickey's Monkey" by The Miracles was released on July 26, reached No. 3 on the R&B chart and No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100, and ranked No. 85 on the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1963;
• "Can I Get a Witness" by Marvin Gaye was released on September 20 and reached No. 22 on the Billboard Hot 100; and
• "Quicksand" by Martha and the Vandellas was released on November 4 and reached No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Chronology of events

Births

• March 18 - Mario Impemba, sportscaster and TV voice of the Detroit Tigers (2002-present), in Detroit
• March 19 - Neil LaBute, film director and screenwriter (Possession, The Shape of Things, The Wicker Man, Some Velvet Morning, Dirty Weekend), playwright (In the Company of Men), and actor, in Detroit
• March 22 - John Rienstra, guard in NFL (1986-1992), in Grand Rapids
• June 2 - Mike Rogers, U.S. Congressman (2001-2015) and host of CNN series Declassified (2017), in Livingston County, Michigan
• June 11 - Bruce Kimball, diver and coach who won a silver medal for the 10 meter platform at the 1984 Summer Olympics, in Ann Arbor, Michigan
• August 19 - Matthew Glave, actor (Picket Fences, ER, Stargate SG-1, Army Wives), in Saginaw
• August 22 - James DeBarge, R&B/soul singer and one of the members of the singing family vocal group DeBarge, in Detroit

Deaths

• January 29 - Robert Frost, poet and a teaching fellow at University of Michigan from 1921 to 1927, at age 88 in Boston
• August 1 - Theodore Roethke, Pulitzer Prize winning poet, Saginaw native, and University of Michigan alumnus, at age 59 in Bainbridge Island, Washington
• September 9 - Willie Heston, University of Michigan halfback (1901-1904) and member of College Football Hall of Fame, at age 85 in Traverse City
• December 14 - Dinah Washington, jazz and blues singer who was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, at age 39 in Detroit

See also

• History of Michigan
• History of Detroit

References