1997 in Michigan

Top news stories in Michigan in 1997 included:

• The January 9 nose-down crash of Comair Flight 3272 in Monroe County on its approach to Detroit Metropolitan Airport, killing all 29 people on board;
• The tornado outbreak of July 1–3, 1997 resulting in 16 deaths, five of them in Grosse Pointe Farms;
• Jack Kevorkian's continued participation in assisted suicides and national publicity (including an HBO special and repeated jokes on late-night television) associated with his actions;
• The trial and conviction of Lapeer native Terry Nichols of conspiring with Timothy McVeigh in connection with the 1995 bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building that killed 168 people;
• The March 12 Detroit bank shooting in which a 21-year-old man opened fire with a 12-gauge pump shotgun in a Detroit bank branch, killing three people and wounding two others;
• The end of the Detroit newspaper strike of 1995–1997;
• The Michigan Gaming Control and Revenue Act becoming effective to legalize casino gambling;
• The death of Coleman Young, Detroit mayor 1974–1994, his body lying in state at the newly built Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History; and
• Astronaut Jerry Linenger, born and raised in East Detroit, spending four months on the Mir space station.

The state's top sports stories included:

• The 1996–97 Detroit Red Wings season winning the 1997 Stanley Cup Final, the team's first Stanley Cup in 42 years;
• The 1997 Michigan Wolverines football team going undefeated and winning a national championship, and Charles Woodson winning the Heisman Trophy.
• Tara Lipinski of Bloomfield Hills, at age 14, winning the ladies singles title at the 1997 World Figure Skating Championships;
• The Colorado Avalanche–Detroit Red Wings brawl, featuring Darren McCarty taking revenge on Claude Lemieux and a total of 18 major penalties for fighting;
• The University of Michigan basketball scandal resulting from the activities of booster Ed Martin and resulting in the firing of head coach Steve Fisher and the NCAA vacating wins from all or part of the previous five seasons;
• The June 13 limousine crash on Woodward Avenue in Birmingham, resulting in brain injury and paralysis of Red Wings defenseman Vladimir Konstantinov; and
• The Detroit Tigers retiring the No. 16 jersey in honor of Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Hal Newhouser who in 1945 won his second consecutive MVP award and pitching triple crown while leading the Tigers to the World Series championship.

The state's top cultural stories of 1997 included Toni Braxton's Un-Break My Heart winning a Grammy and becoming one of the top-selling singles of all time; the formation of The White Stripes; and Madonna winning a Golden Globe Award as best actress in a musical or comedy for her performance in Evita.

• Toni Braxton's Un-Break My Heart won Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 39th Annual Grammy Awards in 1997. It sold over 10 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best selling singles of all time.
• The White Stripes began their career as part of the Michigan underground garage rock scene.
• Madonna won Best Actress In A Motion Picture, Musical Or Comedy, for her part in Evita, at the 54th annual Golden Globe Awards.
• Disney-owned Hollywood Records dropped Insane Clown Posse from their roster and pulled the album The Great Milenko after only six hours of release, in an attempt to placate the Southern Baptist Church that was threatening to boycott the company for straying from its family-friendly image. The controversy generated tremendous publicity for the band, who then signed with Island Records.^[5]
• Vocalist Vinnie Dombroski of Sponge was arrested for allegedly violating a state obscenity law during a R.O.A.R. Tour performance in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The band's single "Have You Seen Mary" was included in the 1997 film Chasing Amy.
• A Fistful of Alice by Alice Cooper was released featuring backup from Slash and Rob Zombie.
• Kid Rock signed with Lava Records.
• Moodymann released his debut album, Silentintroduction.
• The new Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History opened in Detroit.

• August 28 - Bazzi, singer, in Canton
• September 22 - Baby Money, rapper, in Detroit
• October 10 - DDG, rapper, in Pontiac

• January 17 - Jug Girard, end and back for Lions (1952–1956), 2x NFL champion, at age 69^[21]
• January 27 - Bill Kennedy, actor and longtime host of Bill Kennedy at the Movies, at age 88^[22]
• January 27 - Gerald Marks, composer of American music ("All of Me") and Saginaw native, at age 96^[23]
• January 31 - Seth Lover, designer of amplifiers and musical instrument electronics and effects, including the Gibson humbucker, at age 87^[24]
• March 17 - Charles G. Overberger, chemist, polymer researcher, and professor, at age 76^[25]
• April 25 - Pat Paulsen, co-owner of Cherry County Playhouse in Traverse City and later Muskegon, at age 69^[26]
• May 9 - Bob Devaney, Michigan native and head football coach Nebraska (1962–1972), at age 82^[27]
• May 14 - Harry Blackstone Jr., magician, at age 62^[28]
• May 22 - Alfred Hershey, Nobel-winning bacteriologist and geneticist from Owosso and Lansing, at age 88^[29]
• May 26 - William T. Cunningham, Catholic priest and co-founder of Focus: HOPE, at age 66^[30]
• June 11 - Ralph Kohl, football player at UM (1947-48) and head coach at Eastern Michigan (1952-53), at age 73^[31]
• June 20 - Lawrence Payton, tenor, songwriter, vocal arranger, musician, and record producer for the Four Tops, at age 59^[32]
• August 17 - Doug Carl, Michigan politician, at age 46^[33]
• September 7 - George Crockett Jr., Congressman (1980–1991), at age 88^[34]
• September 11 - Mel Groomes, first African-American player signed by Detroit Lions (1948), at age 70^[35]
• October 9 - Roy Rappaport, ecological anthropoligist, chair of anthropology at UM, at age 71^[36]
• October 30 - Basil W. Brown, Michigan Senate (1957–88), drug conviction later reversed, at age 70^[37]
• October 31 - Richard S. M. Emrich, Episcopal bishop of Michigan (1948–73) and civil rights advocate, at age 87^[38]
• November 13 - Larry Shinoda, automotive designer (Corvette Stingray, Boss 302 and Boss 429 Mustangs), at age 67^[39]
• November 29 - Coleman Young, Mayor of Detroit (1974–1994), at age 79^[40]
• December 22 - Flea Clifton, Detroit Tigers infielder (1934–37), at age 89^[41]

• 1997 in the United States