Detroit Red Wings star Gordie Howe suffered a near-fatal injury after he tried to slam into Toronto Maple Leafs captain Ted (Teeder) Kennedy during the opening game of the playoffs at Olympia Stadium on March 28, 1950.
Howe crashed into the boards headfirst and had to be carried away on a stretcher as fans in the stands silently watched, shocked.
It was three days before his 22nd birthday.
The brain hemorrhage Howe suffered landed him in critical condition at Harper Hospital; he also had a broken nose, a shattered cheekbone and a seriously scratched right eye. His mother was summoned to his side.
Emergency neurosurgery to relieve the pressure saved his life, along with some time in an oxygen tank. According to legend, Howe apologized to coach Tommy Ivan.
The NHL found allegations that Kennedy heat-butted him unfounded.
The Red Wings lost that night, 5-0, but went on to win the series, 4-3, and, ultimately, the Stanley Cup against the New York Rangers, 4-3.
For the full article, see Zlati Meyer, “Flashback: Mid-game accident left Gordie Howe close to death”, Detroit Free Press, March 22, 2015.
On March 28, 1977, the worst outbreak of botulism in the nation’s history occurred when 59 people contracted the disorder after eating food at a Pontiac Mexican restaurant. The source : home canned peppers.
Though all but two of the victims were hospitalized — some in critical condition — through quick identification of the toxin, which was one of the deadliest poisons known, fatalities were averted.
Bryan Times via Google News, April 4, 1977.
Source: Mich-Again’s Day
“Michigan State was doing well in the NCAA basketball tournament back in 1979. One day, [Sportscaster] Tim Stoudt and I were on a street corner in downtown Lansing talking. ‘What could we do if they went to the Final Four?’” Duane Vernon recalls. The optimistic men approached coach Jud Heathcote, and he agreed to a parade if the team made the Final Four, so they got to work planning the march. Two days after the Spartans won it all against Larry Bird and the Indiana State Sycamores, the team was joined by students, family, friends and fans in a celebratory strut from East Lansing to the Capitol, where the State Legislature recognized the team.
Source : Laurence Consentino, ” The Long March : Lansing’s Sesquicentennial Parade forms Up with its Forerunners”, Lansing City Pulse, May 13-10, 2009.
After news arrived regarding the signing of the Treaty of Ghent, officially ending the War of 1812, Detroiters and Canadians threw a Grand Pacification Ball at the Steamboat Hotel (formerly called the Woodworth Hotel) on March 29, 1815 to show the world that there were no hard feelings. British officers from Fort Malden, the leading citizens of Detroit, and civilian dignitaries from the Canadian side of the river attended. The fiddles played late into the night, glasses were filled and emptied many times as toasts to peace and brotherhood rang out. Uncle Ben Woodworth put on a feast that banished all remembrances of the famine that was experienced the year before.
To celebrate the 200th anniversary a “Grand Pacification Ball” Commemorative Remembrance Event is scheduled for the Detroit Historical Museum, Detroit (March 28, 2015). Updates will be posted at http://www.michigan.gov/war1812 as details are developed.
Sources :
Frank Bury Woodford, Arthur M. Woodford, All Our Yesterdays: A Brief History of Detroit, Wayne State University Press, 1969, p.125.
Michigan Commission on the Commemoration of the Bicentennial of the War of 1812
On March 29, 1823, Henry Schoolcraft married an Ojibwa woman from Sault Saine Marie name O-bah-bahm-wawa-ge-zhe-go-qua which translates “Woman of the Sound Which Stars Make Rushing Through the Sky”. Conveniently for most Michiganders, she was also known as Jane Johnston. While Henry Schoolcraft was known as a geographer, geologist, and ethnologist , noted for his early studies of Native American cultures, Jane Johnston was also a writer and poet of note, writing in both English and Ojibwa. In fact, many credit her as the source of many of Schoolcraft’s writing. Her writing is also credited as the inspiration for Longfellow’s poem “Song of Hiawatha”.
Source : Bill Loomis, On This Day in Detroit History (2016), p.53
The Detroit Free Press of 150 years ago was dominated by articles about the Civil War, including accounts of mishaps and victories around the country. The Drummer-Boy of Marblehead recounts the exploits of a young lad who met his maker on Roanoke Island, N.C. And as the editors assert, we have assurances that this story is literally true!
MARY MOORE.: THE DRUMMER-BOY OF. [PDF] Detroit Free Press, March 29, 1862, p.4.
Note : The Main Library now provides the MSU community online access to the historical Detroit Free Press from 1858 through 1922.
Due to growth of population and industry, Detroit’s manufacturers are facing problems of getting delivery of goods by train. Some companies are rebuilding factories elsewhere. A central railroad terminal might help solve the problem.
SUGGESTS TERMINAL CLEARING-HOUSE HERE: GEORGE H. BARBOUR OFFERS PLAN. THINKS CO-OPERATION BETWEEN MANUFACTURERS AND RAILROADS WILL SOLVE PROBLEMS OF TRAFFIC. GREAT GROWTH OF CITY TROUBLE CAUSE BELIEVES TERMINAL THROUGH WHICH ALL FREIGHT SHOULD PASS WOULD OBVIATE DIFFICULTIES. Detroit Free Press, March 29, 1912.
Note : The Main Library now provides the MSU community online access to the historical Detroit Free Press from 1858 through 1922.
The Michigan House passed a Women’s Suffrage Resolution. Voters will be allowed to vote on it in next general election.
WOMEN WIN OVER HOUSE: SUFFRAGE RESOLUTION FOR SUBMISSION TO PEOPLE PASSES, 75 TO 19, YAPLE TIPPING THE BALANCE AND CAUSING STAMPEDE OF ANTIS. SOME YEAS BASED ON FINAL DEFEAT OPPONBORN PRIMARY AND COPLEY CORRUPT PRACTICE ELECTION BILLS ALSO PASSED–BALL SALOON MEASURE COMES UP TODAY. Detroit Free Press, March 29, 1912.
Note : The Main Library now provides the MSU community online access to the historical Detroit Free Press from 1831 through 1922.
Michigan becomes the first state in the Union to ban fireworks when the legislature adopts a law banning the use of fireworks by the general public. The law only allows displays by licensed operators.
Source : Michigan is Amazing
Mr. Baseball, Bob Uecker, provided some comic relief for WrestleMania III, especially during his pre-match interview with Andre the Giant.
WrestleMania III was the third annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). The event was held on March 29, 1987 at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan.
For the record, Hulk Hogan defeated Andre the Giant in the final event.
The event is particularly notable for the record attendance of 93,173, the largest recorded attendance for a live indoor sporting event in North America. The event is considered to be the pinnacle of the 1980s wrestling boom. The record itself stood until February 14, 2010 when the 2010 NBA All-Star Game broke the indoor sporting event record with an attendance of 108,713 at Cowboys Stadium. The WWF generated $1.6 million in ticket sales. Almost one million fans watched the event at 160 closed circuit locations in North America. The number of people watching via pay-per-view was estimated at several million, and pay-per-view revenues were estimated at $10 million.
Source : Wikipedia entry
Eric Lacey, “Andre the Giant’s legendary drinking tales tied to Wrestlemania III match with Hulk Hogan at Pontiac Silverdome”, MLive, January 27, 2013.
Do You Have A Favorite Drunkard?, Modern Drunkard Magazine.