Detroit Stand Up!

Detroit was given the name "City of Champions" in the 1930s for a series of successes both in individual and in team sport.[39] Gar Wood (a native Detroiter) won the Harmsworth Trophy for unlimited powerboat racing on the Detroit River in 1931. In the next year, 1932, Eddie "The Midnight Express" Tolan, a black student from Detroit's Cass Technical High School, won the 100- and 200-meter races and two gold medals at the 1932 Olympics. Joe Louis won the heavyweight championship of the world in 1937. Also, surprisingly in 1935, the Detroit Lions won the National Football League championship. The Detroit Tigers won the American League pennant in 1934 and again in 1935. And the Tigers won the World Series in 1935, defeating the Chicago Cubs. The Detroit Red Wings won the National Hockey League's Stanley Cup in 1936 and 1937[40][41]

The Red Wings would go on to become Detroit's most successful sports team, winning the Stanley Cup again in 1943, 1950, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1997, 1998, and 2002.

The Detroit Pistons have also had eras of glory, with championships in 1989, 1990, and 2004.

Comerica Park hosted the MLB All-Star Game on July 12, 2005 and Ford Field hosted Super Bowl XL on February 5, 2006. On December 13, 2003, the largest crowd in basketball history (78,129) packed Ford Field to watch the University of Kentucky defeat Michigan State University, 79-74.[42]

The Detroit Tigers experienced a renaissance of their own in 2006, becoming an elite team again after decades of losing. After defeating the New York Yankees in the ALDS, and the Oakland Athletics in the ALCS, Comerica Park hosted games 1 and 2 of the 2006 World Series, as the Tigers lost to the St. Louis Cardinals.

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