Executive Committee Meeting 10-15-24

President's Report

Page 90 of 95

THE CITY OF CHAMPIONS

The City of Champions On April 18, 1936, around twenty teams and athletes gathered at the Masonic

The “Brown Bomber” Detroit dedicated a stadium—the Joe Louis Arena (now demolished)—to the hardest puncher in boxing history, Joe Louis (1914–1981), a local and national hero. Born in Alabama to a family of sharecroppers, Louis arrived with his family in Detroit at the age of 12, to escape the Ku Klux Klan and the misery that weighed down on the Black people who made the Great Migration from south to north. An amateur boxer in his youth, he turned professional in 1934 and quickly established a reputation, despite the obstacles linked to his skin color. Joe Louis eventually won the world heavyweight title, and remained unbeaten between 1937 and 1949. Among his legendary achievements, he triumphed twice, in 1936 and 1938, in bouts against the German Max Schmeling, thus demolishing the alleged superiority of the “Aryan race”. This did not prevent the two men from forming a bond of friendship in the 1950s. In memory of the Brown Bomber, the giant sculpture of a fist stretched out towards the river, The Fist , has had pride of place on Hart Plaza since 1986 ( T p. 23).

Wings and the Pistons moved into the Little Caesars Arena , Midtown’s omnisports and entertainment complex opened in September 2017, Detroit stands proud as the only city in the US to boast four major league teams playing in the city center. Previously, the home of the Red Wings was the Joe Louis Arena , erected in the city center in 1979, demolished in 2020. While there are plenty of self proclaimed hockey towns in the US, the Red Wings registered

Temple to celebrate an exceptional sporting season for Detroit. In the spirit of celebration, Governor of Michigan Frank Fitzgerald decreed that the day would henceforth be called Champions Day . That’s how Detroit earned its nickname the City of Champions . Sports in the City While this date eventually faded in the collective memory, swept away by the difficulties of the post-war years, the racial riots of the late 1960s, and bankruptcy, the heritage of this fabulous 1935–1936 season is still palpable in this city, which has taken sport firmly to its heart. The facts speak for themselves: that year marked a first World Series for the baseball team, a first NFL championship, and the first Stanley Cup for its ice hockey team. It was a feat never since equaled by Detroit. The city is one of the few in the country to host a team from the four major North American team sports: the Lions in the NFL (American football, since 1930); the Tigers in the MLB (baseball, since 1894); the Pistons in the NBA (basketball, since 1941); and the Red Wings in the NHL (ice hockey, since 1929). The first two teams are respectively based in the Fort Field and Comerica Park Downtown stadiums. Since the Red

University teams Lastly, of course, in Detroit as in the rest of the US, university sport is a big deal. Several establishments take part in the country's various conferences (leagues or championships), such as the Detroit Mercy Titans (lacrosse, softball, fencing, golf, etc.) and the Wayne State Warriors (swimming, cross-country, athletics, tennis, etc.).

use it for marketing purposes. The sobriquet is no misnomer, considering that the red-and-whites have a massive fan base, and the team is the third winningest in the NHL championship. A Super Super Bowl Even if they won four titles in 1935 and the 1950s, the Lions have not yet had the opportunity to compete in a Super Bowl, the legendary American football final that has ended the season since 1966. However, on February 5, 2006, Detroit did host Super Bowl XL (the 40th edition). The half-time show put on by Aretha Franklin and the Rolling Stones even outshone the victory of the Pittsburgh Steelers over the Seattle Seahawks, and the event undoubtedly helped to burnish once again the image of a city mired in the economic crisis, shape its current identity, and restore hope and pride to its residents.

the nickname Hockeytown in 1996 to make it official and

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Comerica Park, the Tigers Stadium.