Sports · 1871–1935
Frank Navinpresident and owner of the Detroit TigersInsurance bookkeeper who became the Tigers' president for 27 years, signed Ty Cobb and built Navin Field at Michigan and Trumbull.DETROIT / A living lexicon / ¼
Famous Detroiters
People who were born here, moved here or built their careers in Detroit: musicians, carmakers, athletes, writers, inventors, civil-rights leaders and a few notorious names. With their dates, their Detroit story and the places where they lived, worked and played, closed ones included.
- 1,940 famous people
- 515 Detroit places
- 22 fields
Hungarian ties 22 Detroiters with Hungarian ties →
Origin and citizenship
Field
Connection
Born in
A–Z (family name)
450 people · 10/10 page
Clear filtersSports · 1871–1935Frank Navinpresident and owner of the Detroit TigersInsurance bookkeeper who became the Tigers' president for 27 years, signed Ty Cobb and built Navin Field at Michigan and Trumbull.
Press & broadcasting · 1916–1974Van PatricksportscasterPlay-by-play voice of the Detroit Lions and Tigers in the 1950s and 1960s and a fixture of Detroit sports television.
Sports · 1910–1961Schoolboy Rowebaseball pitcherFolksy Arkansas right-hander who won 16 straight games for the 1934 Tigers and became one of Depression-era Detroit's favorite players.
Sports · 1915–1977Mayo Smithbaseball managerManager of the 1968 world champion Tigers, remembered for his daring World Series move of center fielder Mickey Stanley to shortstop.Turkey Stearnesbaseball player, center fielderHall of Fame slugger of the Negro-league Detroit Stars who made Detroit his home for more than fifty years; Hamtramck Stadium's field bears his name.
Politics · 1842–1904William G. Thompsonlawyer, Union officer, mayor of Detroit, baseball club founderCivil War veteran and lawyer who was mayor of Detroit from 1880 to 1883 and founded the Detroit Wolverines, the city's first major-league baseball team, in 1881.Joe Fallssportswriter, columnistDetroit's most widely read sportswriter for half a century, covering the Tigers for the Times and Free Press and later writing for the Detroit News.
Budd Lynchhockey broadcaster, public-address announcerOne-armed World War II veteran who spent 63 years with the Red Wings, first as play-by-play voice from 1949 and later as the beloved PA announcer at Joe Louis Arena.Bruce Martynhockey radio broadcasterRadio voice of the Detroit Red Wings from 1964 to 1995, famous for his call "He shoots, he scores!"Bill Munceyunlimited hydroplane racerDetroit-area hydroplane racer, "Mr. Unlimited", who won a record 62 races and eight Gold Cups after starting out on the Detroit River.
Sports · 1939–2011Jim Northrupbaseball player, outfielderMichigan-born Tigers outfielder whose grand slam and Game 7 triple were key blows in the 1968 World Series.George Blahasports broadcasterDetroit-born play-by-play voice of the Detroit Pistons since 1976, the longest-serving broadcaster in the team's history.Jean Hoxietennis coachHamtramck tennis coach who turned the children of Polish immigrant autoworkers into state and national champions, producing more than 300 national titlists.
MusicKaren NewmansingerSinger known as “the voice” of the Detroit Red Wings for more than 30 years of national anthems, and for the local holiday favorite “Christmas Eve on Woodward Avenue.”
Sports · 1885–1941Bruce Petwaybaseball catcher and managerStrong-armed Negro-league catcher who played for and managed the Detroit Stars from 1919 to 1925 and scouted Turkey Stearnes for them.
Bert Rubyprofessional wrestler, trainer, promoterHungarian-Jewish wrestler from Transylvania who became a fixture of Detroit professional wrestling as a barefoot grappler, trainer and the right-hand man of promoter Harry Light.
Business & brands · 1854–1924Frederick K. Stearnspharmaceutical manufacturer, owner of the Detroit Wolverines, DSO founderPresident of Detroit's Frederick Stearns & Company who owned the 1887 champion Detroit Wolverines and organized what became the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.Ty Tysonradio sports announcerWWJ announcer who called the first Detroit Tigers radio broadcast in 1927 and became the city's first great sports voice.The lexicon keeps growing. Every entry lists its sources at the bottom. Dates were checked against Wikidata and Wikipedia. The texts are our own. Famous people's places among the sights ↗