1978 in Michigan

The Associated Press (AP) rated the top Michigan news stories of 1978 as follows:[1]

  1. The Great Blizzard of 1978 leaving 400,000 homes and businesses without power;
  2. The passage of one of three tax proposals on the November ballot—a measure requiring voter approval for new tax increases above authorized levels;
  3. The reelection of William Milliken as Governor, easily defeating challenger William Fitzgerald, and Carl Levin's defeat of Robert P. Griffin in the election for a U.S. Senate seat from Michigan;
  4. The ruling of Wexford County Circuit Judge William Peterson dismissing all charges against three defendants in the first PBB lawsuit, a 14-month trial that was the longest in Michigan history;
  5. The recall of 1.5 million pre-1977 Ford Pintos for modifications to the fuel tanks;
  6. The passage of a ballot proposal in November increasing Michigan's legal drinking age to 21;
  7. The implementation of Michigan's deposit law following the 1976 measure banning throwaway bottles and cans;
  8. Disclosures of patient abuse at Michigan's state mental health facilities beginning with a series of articles published in February in the Detroit Free Press and resulting in the resignation of the state's mental health director;
  9. The conviction of Congressman Charles Diggs for mail fraud and making false statements in connection with a scheme in which staffers were required to kick back a portion of their pay to Diggs; and
  10. The passage of $168.5 million in transportation spending funded by an additional two cent per gallon tax on gasoline and increased vehicle registration fees.
1978 in Michigan
History of Michigan
Locator Map
License plate

Events from the year 1978 in Michigan.

The AP also selected the state's top sports stories as follows:[2]

  1. The 1977–78 Detroit Red Wings season which rebounded from the worst record in the NHL one year earlier and won a berth in the playoffs for the first time in a decade;
  2. The 1977–78 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team led by Magic Johnson and Greg Kelser that compiled a 25–5 record, won the Big Ten Conference championship, and advanced to the Elite Eight round of the NCAA tournament;
  3. Michigan State's upset victory on October 14 over Michigan in football;
  4. Improvements in the Detroit Lions under head coach Monte Clark;
  5. The hiring of Dick Vitale as head coach of the Detroit Pistons;
  6. The selection of Detroit Tigers second baseman Lou Whitaker as the American League Rookie of the Year;
  7. The resignation of Ralph Houk as manager of the Detroit Tigers;
  8. Rick Leach finishing his four-year career as Michigan's quarterback;
  9. The Detroit Tigers' signing of Michigan State football star Kirk Gibson; and
  10. Former Dearborn prep player Gary Danielson taking over as quarterback of the Detroit Lions.

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

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

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 1978 include the following:

Chronology of events

Births

Deaths

References
  1. "Brutal blizzard was year's top story in Michigan". The Lansing State Journal. December 26, 1978. p. B7 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. "Red Wings' playoff berth selected top sports story". The Times Herald. December 31, 1978. p. 3C – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "1978 Detroit Tigers Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  4. "1978 Detroit Lions Statistics & Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  5. "1978 Michigan Wolverines Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  6. "1978 Michigan State Spartans Stats". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 13, 2017.
  7. "1977–78 Detroit Pistons Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  8. "1977–78 Michigan State Spartans Roster and Stats". SR/CBB. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
  9. "1977–78 Detroit Titans Roster and Stats". SR/CBB. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  10. "1977–78 Michigan Wolverines Schedule and Results". SR/CBB. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  11. "1977–78 Detroit Red Wings Roster and Statistics". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.