1975 in Michigan
1975 in Michigan |
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History of Michigan |
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License plate |
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Events from the year 1975 in Michigan.
The Associated Press (AP) selected the state's top news stories of 1975 as follows:[1]
- The disappearance of former Teamsters president Jimmy Hoffa on July 30 from the parking lot of the Machus Red Fox restaurant in Bloomfield Township where he had planned to meet with organized crime figures, Anthony Provenzano and Anthony Giacalone;[2]
- The resignation of Michigan Supreme Court Justice and former Governor John Swainson on November 7, five days after his conviction on three counts of perjury charges for lying to a federal grand jury investigating Swainson's role in a bribery conspiracy involving an effort to secure a new trial for a convicted burglar;[3]
- An upturn in the automobile business following a major slump in 1974;
- The June 6 escape by helicopter of con man Dale Otto Remling from the nation's largest walled prison (Southern Michigan Prison in Jackson, Michigan) and his capture one day later at a bar 10 miles away in Leslie, Michigan;[4]
- The Michigan Legislature's struggles with a budget deficit;
- Flooding in southern lower Michigan reported to be the worst since 1947;
- The sinking of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald, an ore carrier, in Lake Superior during a storm on November 10 with the loss of life of all 29 crew members;[5]
- Continued fallout from the Michigan PBB contamination incident in which a flame retardant chemical feed was mixed with livestock feed, distributed to Michigan farms, and fed to 1.5 million chickens, 30,000 cattle, 5,900 pigs, and 1,470 sheep;
- The Ann Arbor Hospital Murders in which 10 patients at the Veterans Hospital in Ann Arbor died mysteriously from respiratory failure, later resulting in the 1976 trial and conviction of two nurses, Filipina Narciso and Leonora Perez; and
- The automobile industry introduces rebates to spur sales.
The AP also selected the state's top sports stories as follows:[6]
- Hudson High School setting a national high school record by extending its winning streak to 72 games (before losing to Ishpeming in the Class C championship game);
- The trade that sent Mickey Lolich from the Detroit Tigers to the New York Mets for Rusty Staub;
- The NCAA investigation into Michigan State Spartans football;
- The opening of the Pontiac Silverdome, a domed stadium built at a cost of $55.7 million;
- The Detroit Tigers have a 19-game losing streak to set a modern American League record;
- The Northern Michigan Wildcats football team won the NCAA Division II Football Championship;
- The 1975 Michigan Wolverines football team compiles an 8–1–2 record in the regular season, loses to Ohio State, and goes on to lose to Oklahoma in the 1976 Orange Bowl;
- The 1975 Detroit Tigers compile a 57–102 record, the second worst season in club history to that time;
- Ten black players from the Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team were suspended after walking out; three white players later transferred;
- Michigan high school football begins a playoff system with championships won by Livonia Franklin, Dearborn Divine Child, Ishpeming, and Crystal Falls Forest Park;
- The trade of Dave Bing for Kevin Porter;
- Mount Pleasant declaring itself the "City of Champions"; and
- Marcel Dionne signing with the Los Angeles Kings and the Detroit Red Wings get Terry Harper and Don Maloney as compensation.
Office holders
State office holders
- Governor of Michigan: William Milliken (Republican)
- Lieutenant Governor of Michigan: James Damman (Republican)
- Michigan Attorney General: Frank J. Kelley (Democrat)
- Michigan Secretary of State: Richard H. Austin (Democrat)
- Speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives: William A. Ryan (Democrat)
- Majority Leader of the Michigan Senate: Robert VanderLaan (Republican)/Milton Zaagman (Republican)
- Chief Justice, Michigan Supreme Court: Thomas M. Kavanagh
Mayors of major cities
- Mayor of Detroit: Coleman Young
- Mayor of Grand Rapids: Lyman Parks
- Mayor of Flint: Paul Calvin Visser
- Mayor of Lansing: Gerald W. Graves
- Mayor of Ann Arbor: James E. Stephenson (Republican)
Federal office holders
- United States Senator from Michigan: Philip Hart (Democrat)
- United States Senator from Michigan: Robert P. Griffin (Republican)
- United States Representative, District 1: John Conyers (Democrat)
- United States Representative, District 2: Marvin L. Esch (Republican)
- United States Representative, District 3: Garry E. Brown (Republican)
- United States Representative, District 4: J. Edward Hutchinson (Republican)
- United States Representative, District 5: Richard Vander Veen (Democrat)
- United States Representative, District 6: Bob Carr (Democrat)
- United States Representative, District 7: Donald W. Riegle Jr. (Democrat)
- United States Representative, District 8: J. Bob Traxler (Democrat)
- United States Representative, District 9: Guy Vander Jagt (Republican)
- United States Representative, District 10: Elford Albin Cederberg (Republican)
- United States Representative, District 11: Philip Ruppe (Republican)
- United States Representative, District 12: James G. O'Hara (Democrat)
- United State Representative, District 13: Charles Diggs (Democrat)
- United States Representative, District 14: Lucien N. Nedzi (Democrat)
- United States Representative, District 15: William D. Ford (Democrat)
- United States Representative, District 16: John Dingell (Democrat)
- United States Representative, District 17: William M. Brodhead (Democrat)
- United States Representative, District 18: James Blanchard (Democrat)
- United States Representative, District 19: William Broomfield (Republican)
Population
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
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 |
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1 | Detroit | Wayne | 1,670,144 | 1,514,063 | 1,203,368 | −20.5% |
2 | Grand Rapids | Kent | 177,313 | 197,649 | 181,843 | −8.0% |
3 | Flint | Genesee | 196,940 | 193,317 | 159,611 | −17.4% |
4 | Warren | Macomb | 89,246 | 179,260 | 161,134 | −10.1% |
5 | Lansing | Ingham | 107,807 | 131,403 | 130,414 | −0.8% |
6 | Livonia | Wayne | 66,702 | 110,109 | 104,814 | −4.8% |
7 | Dearborn | Wayne | 112,007 | 104,199 | 90,660 | −13.0% |
8 | Ann Arbor | Washtenaw | 67,340 | 100,035 | 107,969 | 7.9% |
9 | Saginaw | Saginaw | 98,265 | 91,849 | 77,508 | −15.6% |
10 | St. Clair Shores | Macomb | 76,657 | 88,093 | 76,210 | −13.5% |
11 | Westland | Wayne | 60,743 | 86,749 | 84,603 | −2.5% |
12 | Royal Oak | Oakland | 80,612 | 86,238 | 70,893 | −17.8% |
13 | Kalamazoo | Kalamazoo | 82,089 | 85,555 | 79,722 | −6.8% |
14 | Pontiac | Oakland | 82,233 | 85,279 | 76,715 | −10.0% |
15 | Dearborn Heights | Wayne | 61,118 | 80,069 | 67,706 | −15.4% |
16 | Taylor | Wayne | na | 70,020 | 77,568 | 10.8% |
Counties
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% |
2 | Oakland | Pontiac | 690,259 | 907,871 | 1,011,793 | 11.4% |
3 | Macomb | Warren | 405,804 | 625,309 | 694,600 | 11.1% |
4 | Genesee | Flint | 374,313 | 444,341 | 450,449 | 1.4% |
5 | Kent | Grand Rapids | 363,187 | 411,044 | 444,506 | 8.1% |
6 | Ingham | Lansing | 211,296 | 261,039 | 275,520 | 5.5% |
7 | Washtenaw | Ann Arbor | 172,440 | 234,103 | 264,748 | 13.1% |
8 | Saginaw | Saginaw | 190,752 | 219,743 | 228,059 | 3.8% |
9 | Kalamazoo | Kalamazoo | 169,712 | 201,550 | 212,378 | 5.4% |
10 | Berrien | Benton Harbor | 149,865 | 163,875 | 171,276 | 4.5% |
11 | Muskegon | Muskegon | 129,943 | 157,426 | 157,589 | 0.1% |
12 | Jackson | Jackson | 131,994 | 143,274 | 151,495 | 5.7% |
13 | Calhoun | Battle Creek | 138,858 | 141,963 | 141,557 | −0.3% |
14 | Ottawa | Holland | 98,719 | 128,181 | 157,174 | 22.6% |
15 | St. Clair | Port Huron | 107,201 | 120,175 | 138,802 | 15.5% |
16 | Monroe | Monroe | 101,120 | 118,479 | 134,659 | 13.7% |
17 | Bay | Bay City | 107,042 | 117,339 | 119,881 | 2.2% |
Sports
Baseball
American football
Basketball
Ice hockey
Music
Chronology of events
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
Births
- January 2 - Dax Shepard, actor (Parenthood, CHiPs), in Highland Township, Oakland County, Michigan
- July 1 - Sufjan Stevens, singer/songwriter, in Detroit
Gallery of 1975 births
Deaths
- March 18 - Biggie Munn, American football player and coach and athletic director, at age 66 in Lansing, Michigan
- July 30 - Jimmy Hoffa, labor leader, disappeared at age 62 in Bloomfield Township
References
- ↑ "Hoffa, Swainson top state stories of year". Lansing State Journal. December 26, 1975. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Jimmy Hoffa Is Missing: Mystery Call Leads To Car". Detroit Free Press. August 1, 1975. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Swainson quits supreme court". Lansing State Journal. November 8, 1975. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Bizarre Copter Plot Flops: Con Captured After Daring Jailbreak". Detroit Free Press. June 8, 1975. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Ore Carrier Sinks In Lake Storm". The Holland Evening Sentinel. November 11, 1975. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Hudson's streak state's top '75 story". Lansing State Journal. December 28, 1975. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.