1977 in Michigan

Events from the year 1977 in Michigan.

1977 in Michigan
History of Michigan
Locator Map
License plate
← 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 →

The Associated Press (AP) selected Michigan's top stories of 1977 as follows:[1]

1. The emergence of the Michigan PBB contamination scandal as a political issue and related medical investigation and legislative actions (the PBB scandal was one of the state's top stories for the fourth consecutive year dating back to 1974);
2. Cold weather through the winter of 1977 with many cities recording the coldest temperatures of the century, Lake Michigan frozen solid, several deaths due to exposure, closure of automobile plants due to natural gas shortages, and snow closing U.S. Route 131 between Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo for a week;
3. The Oakland County Child Killings involving the unsolved murders of at least four Oakland County youths reportedly tied to the driver of a blue Gremlin;
4. The 13-week trial, conviction, and subsequent new trial order in the prosecution of two Filipina nurses, Filipina Narciso and Leonora Perez, in the Ann Arbor Hospital Murders in which 10 patients at the Veterans Hospital in Ann Arbor died mysteriously from respiratory failure (the Ann Arbor Hospital Murders were one of the state's top stories for the third consecutive year dating back to 1975);
5. The case of Francine Hughes (subsequently the topic of The Burning Bed), a 29-year-old woman from Danville who killed her husband by setting his bed on fire in March after years of domestic abuse and was found not guilty in November by reason of temporary insanity;
6. Gov. William Milliken's veto of Project Seafarer, a proposed underground military extremely low frequency (ELF) network in the Upper Peninsula;
7. A civil lawsuit by farmers Roy and Marilyn Tacoma against several parties for the loss of cattle in connection with the Michigan PBB contamination scandal (See #1 above) and resulting in the longest court case in Michigan history;
8. The August 25 abduction of Evelyn Van Tassel from her Upper Peninsula home and the subsequent trial and conviction of her abductor, Douglas Henry, for kidnapping and rape;
9. The closure of Kincheloe Air Force Base in the eastern Upper Peninsula; and
10. The April announcement by U.S. Senator Robert P. Griffin that he would not run for reelection in 1978.

The AP and the United Press International (UPI) each selected the state's top sports stories of 1977 as follows:[2][3]

1. The second season of Detroit Tigers pitcher Mark Fidrych (2.89 ERA in 11 games) which was shortened by injuries (AP-1, UPI-1);
2. The 1977 Michigan Wolverines football team led by quarterback Rick Leach and running back Russell Davis compiling a 10–1 record in the regular season, including a victory over Ohio State (AP-3, UPI-3 [tie]);
3. The Detroit Red Wings' firing of Alex Delvecchio after the 1976–77 team compiled a 16–55–9 record, the hiring of Ted Lindsay as the team's general manager, and Lindsay's rebuilding program and promise to bring back aggressive hockey (AP-5, UPI-2);
4. The 1976–77 Detroit Titans men's basketball team led by John Long and Terry Tyler compiling a 25–4 record followed by Dick Vitale's resignation as head coach (AP-4 [season], AP-6 [resignation], UPI-5 [season]);
5. Magic Johnson's decision to attend Michigan State University after leading Lansing's Everett High School to the Michigan Class A high school basketball championship (AP-2, UPI-9);
6. The 1976–77 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team led by Phil Hubbard and Rickey Green compiling a 26–4 record, receiving the No. 1 ranking at the end of the regular season, and advancing to the Elite Eight round in the NCAA tournament (AP-8, UPI-3 [tie])
7. The 1976 Michigan Wolverines football team's 14–6 loss to USC in the 1977 Rose Bowl (AP-7, UPI-7);
8. The performances of Detroit Tigers players Dave Rozema (15-7 record, 3.09 ERA), Ron LeFlore (.325 batting average, 212 hits), and Steve Kemp (18 home runs, 88 RBIs) (AP-9 [Rozema and LeFlore], UPI-8 [Rozema and Kemp]);
9. The trade of highly touted 1976 draft pick Marvin Barnes on November 23 after appearing in only 65 games for the Detroit Pistons to the Buffalo Braves in exchange for Gus Gerard, John Shumate and a 1979 first round draft pick (Roy Hamilton was selected) (UPI-6); and
10. The April 12 trade of designated hitter Willie Horton, who had played for the Detroit Tigers since 1963, to the Texas Rangers in exchange for pitcher Steve Foucault (UPI-10).