1977 in Michigan

Events from the year 1977 in Michigan.

The Associated Press (AP) selected Michigan's top stories of 1977 as follows:[1]

  1. The emergence of the Michigan PBB contamination scandal as a political issue and related medical investigation and legislative actions (the PBB scandal was one of the state's top stories for the fourth consecutive year dating back to 1974);
  2. Cold weather through the winter of 1977 with many cities recording the coldest temperatures of the century, Lake Michigan frozen solid, several deaths due to exposure, closure of automobile plants due to natural gas shortages, and snow closing U.S. Route 131 between Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo for a week;
  3. The Oakland County Child Killings involving the unsolved murders of at least four Oakland County youths reportedly tied to the driver of a blue Gremlin;
  4. The 13-week trial, conviction, and subsequent new trial order in the prosecution of two Filipina nurses, Filipina Narciso and Leonora Perez, in the Ann Arbor Hospital Murders in which 10 patients at the Veterans Hospital in Ann Arbor died mysteriously from respiratory failure (the Ann Arbor Hospital Murders were one of the state's top stories for the third consecutive year dating back to 1975);
  5. The case of Francine Hughes (subsequently the topic of The Burning Bed), a 29-year-old woman from Danville who killed her husband by setting his bed on fire in March after years of domestic abuse and was found not guilty in November by reason of temporary insanity;
  6. Gov. William Milliken's veto of Project Seafarer, a proposed underground military extremely low frequency (ELF) network in the Upper Peninsula;
  7. A civil lawsuit by farmers Roy and Marilyn Tacoma against several parties for the loss of cattle in connection with the Michigan PBB contamination scandal (See #1 above) and resulting in the longest court case in Michigan history;
  8. The August 25 abduction of Evelyn Van Tassel from her Upper Peninsula home and the subsequent trial and conviction of her abductor, Douglas Henry, for kidnapping and rape;
  9. The closure of Kincheloe Air Force Base in the eastern Upper Peninsula; and
  10. The April announcement by U.S. Senator Robert P. Griffin that he would not run for reelection in 1978.

The AP and the United Press International (UPI) each selected the state's top sports stories of 1977 as follows:[2][3]

  1. The second season of Detroit Tigers pitcher Mark Fidrych (2.89 ERA in 11 games) which was shortened by injuries (AP-1, UPI-1);
  2. The 1977 Michigan Wolverines football team led by quarterback Rick Leach and running back Russell Davis compiling a 10–1 record in the regular season, including a victory over Ohio State (AP-3, UPI-3 [tie]);
  3. The Detroit Red Wings' firing of Alex Delvecchio after the 1976–77 team compiled a 16–55–9 record, the hiring of Ted Lindsay as the team's general manager, and Lindsay's rebuilding program and promise to bring back aggressive hockey (AP-5, UPI-2);
  4. The 1976–77 Detroit Titans men's basketball team led by John Long and Terry Tyler compiling a 25–4 record followed by Dick Vitale's resignation as head coach (AP-4 [season], AP-6 [resignation], UPI-5 [season]);
  5. Magic Johnson's decision to attend Michigan State University after leading Lansing's Everett High School to the Michigan Class A high school basketball championship (AP-2, UPI-9);
  6. The 1976–77 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team led by Phil Hubbard and Rickey Green compiling a 26–4 record, receiving the No. 1 ranking at the end of the regular season, and advancing to the Elite Eight round in the NCAA tournament (AP-8, UPI-3 [tie])
  7. The 1976 Michigan Wolverines football team's 14–6 loss to USC in the 1977 Rose Bowl (AP-7, UPI-7);
  8. The performances of Detroit Tigers players Dave Rozema (15-7 record, 3.09 ERA), Ron LeFlore (.325 batting average, 212 hits), and Steve Kemp (18 home runs, 88 RBIs) (AP-9 [Rozema and LeFlore], UPI-8 [Rozema and Kemp]);
  9. The trade of highly touted 1976 draft pick Marvin Barnes on November 23 after appearing in only 65 games for the Detroit Pistons to the Buffalo Braves in exchange for Gus Gerard, John Shumate and a 1979 first round draft pick (Roy Hamilton was selected) (UPI-6); and
  10. The April 12 trade of designated hitter Willie Horton, who had played for the Detroit Tigers since 1963, to the Texas Rangers in exchange for pitcher Steve Foucault (UPI-10).

Office holders

State office holders

Gov. Milliken
Sen. Griffin
Sen. Riegle

Mayors of major cities

Federal office holders

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
1DetroitWayne1,670,1441,514,0631,203,368−20.5% Decrease
2Grand RapidsKent177,313197,649181,843−8.0% Decrease
3FlintGenesee196,940193,317159,611−17.4% Decrease
4WarrenMacomb89,246179,260161,134−10.1% Decrease
5LansingIngham107,807131,403130,414−0.8% Decrease
6LivoniaWayne66,702110,109104,814−4.8% Decrease
7DearbornWayne112,007104,19990,660−13.0% Decrease
8Ann ArborWashtenaw67,340100,035107,9697.9% Increase
9SaginawSaginaw98,26591,84977,508−15.6% Decrease
10St. Clair ShoresMacomb76,65788,09376,210−13.5% Decrease
11WestlandWayne60,74386,74984,603−2.5% Decrease
12Royal OakOakland80,61286,23870,893−17.8% Decrease
13KalamazooKalamazoo82,08985,55579,722−6.8% Decrease
14PontiacOakland82,23385,27976,715−10.0% Decrease
15Dearborn HeightsWayne61,11880,06967,706−15.4% Decrease
16TaylorWaynena70,02077,56810.8% Increase

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
1WayneDetroit2,666,2972,666,7512,337,891−12.3% Decrease
2OaklandPontiac690,259907,8711,011,79311.4% Increase
3MacombWarren405,804625,309694,60011.1% Increase
4GeneseeFlint374,313444,341450,4491.4% Increase
5KentGrand Rapids363,187411,044444,5068.1% Increase
6InghamLansing211,296261,039275,5205.5% Increase
7WashtenawAnn Arbor172,440234,103264,74813.1% Increase
8SaginawSaginaw190,752219,743228,0593.8% Increase
9KalamazooKalamazoo169,712201,550212,3785.4% Increase
10BerrienBenton Harbor149,865163,875171,2764.5% Increase
11MuskegonMuskegon129,943157,426157,5890.1% Increase
12JacksonJackson131,994143,274151,4955.7% Increase
13CalhounBattle Creek138,858141,963141,557−0.3% Decrease
14OttawaHolland98,719128,181157,17422.6% Increase
15St. ClairPort Huron107,201120,175138,80215.5% Increase
16MonroeMonroe101,120118,479134,65913.7% Increase
17BayBay City107,042117,339119,8812.2% Increase

Sports

Baseball

American football

Basketball

Ice hockey

Music

Albums and singles by Michigan artists or centered on Michigan topics that were released or became hits in 1977 include the following:

Chronology of events

Births

Deaths

References

  1. ↑ "PBB Poisoning Rated Top Michigan Story of 1977". Ironwood Daily Globe. December 27, 1977. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ↑ "Bird's injuries voted top '77 sports story". Traverse City Record-Eagle (UPI story). December 29, 1977. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ "Injured Fidrych Voted Top State Sports Story". The News-Palladium (AP story). December 28, 1977. p. 22 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ "1977 Detroit Tigers Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  5. ↑ "2012 University of Michigan Baseball Record Book" (PDF). University of Michigan. 2012. pp. 22, 71. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  6. ↑ "1977 Detroit Lions Statistics & Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  7. ↑ "1977 Michigan Wolverines Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  8. ↑ "1977 Michigan State Spartans Stats". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 13, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Central Michigan 2015 Football Media Guide" (PDF). Central Michigan University. 2015. pp. 100, 110. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  10. ↑ "2014 Digital Media Guide: Eastern Michigan University" (PDF). Eastern Michigan University Football. pp. 169, 176. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  11. ↑ "Football Records: Annual Results". Western Michigan University. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  12. ↑ "1976–77 Detroit Pistons Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  13. ↑ "1976–77 Michigan Wolverines Schedule and Results". SR/CBB. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  14. ↑ "1975–76 Detroit Titans Roster and Stats". SR/CBB. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  15. ↑ "1976–77 Detroit Red Wings Roster and Statistics". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  16. ↑ "Michigan Team History". College Hockey News. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  17. ↑ "Michigan Tech Team History". College Hockey News. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  18. ↑ "Michigan State Team History". College Hockey News. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
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