Saturday, June 22, 2013

Major League Sports in Detroit

By Abbey Skyler


The Detroit area has always been known as Motor City. Serving as the home of Ford Motor Company and Chrysler, Detroit has an exciting history as the center of the American auto industry. Many individuals may not realize the wealthy sporting history the Detroit area enjoys. Big league sports in Detroit play a very important role in the city, both as an industrial economy and source of entertainment and city pride.

Tigers Baseball in Detroit

While it is often outshined by cities like New York, Philadelphia and Boston, baseball in Detroit has a history as wealthy as either of its East Coast rivals. The Detroit Tigers are members of major league baseball's American League Central Division and have been playing in Detroitsince 1894. The club is a charter member of the American League and one of just four franchises still located in its original home. The Tigers have won four World Series titles ('35, '68, '45 and '84), 10 American League pennants, and gave a home to unforgettable baseball figure Ty Cobb for 22 seasons. The Tigers played all of their baseball in the same location, Tiger Stadium, up until the completion of Comerica Park in 2000.

Rockers Soccer in Detroit

Despite lacking a representative club in America's premier soccer league (MLS), soccer in Detroit has still been well represented thoughout the past. The Detroit has been home to two pro indoor soccer teams. The Detroit Rockers were members of the National Professional Soccer League from 1990-2001, winning a championship in 1992. The Detroit Ignition started play as members of the Major Indoor Soccer League before joining the Xtreme Soccer League.

Lions Football in Detroit

NFL football in the Motor City has a history almost as honored as that of baseball in Detroit. Detroit's Lions represent Detroit as members of the North Division in the NFC (National Football Conference) in the N. F. L. The Lions commenced play in 1929 as the Portsmouth Spartans in Portsmouth, Ohio. During the height of the Great Depression the team was bought and moved to Detroit in 1934. The Lions have won four NFL Championships (1957, 1953, 1952 and 1935) and made the playoffs at the end of the 2011 NFL season with a 10-6 record. The Lions now play soccer at Ford Field in downtown Detroit.

Red Wings Hockey in Detroit

No debate about sports and Detroit would be acceptable without addressing the impact of hockey on Detroit. The Detroit Red Wings have been playing professional hockey in Detroit since 1926 and the franchise was a founding member of the Original Six. The esteem the franchise has earned are so many it would be difficult to count them all. The Red Wings have won most Stanley Cup titles of any franchise based in the US with 11 and trail only the Montreal Canadiens (24) and Toronto Maple Leafs (13). The Red Wings missed the NHL playoffs just four times between the 1934-35 and 1965-66 seasons. Now the organisation has made the postseason in 25 of the last 27 seasons, including 20 straight appearances. The Red Wings play all regular season home games at Joe Louis Arena.




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