Sports · born 1982
Tara Lipinskifigure skater, sports commentator1998 Olympic champion, the youngest in figure skating history, who trained at the Detroit Skating Club in Bloomfield Hills during her rise.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.
- 1,949 famous people
- 516 Detroit places
- 22 fields
Hungarian ties 31 Detroiters with Hungarian ties →
Origin and citizenship
Field
Connection
Born in
A–Z (family name)
66 people · 1/2 page
Clear filtersSports · born 1982Tara Lipinskifigure skater, sports commentator1998 Olympic champion, the youngest in figure skating history, who trained at the Detroit Skating Club in Bloomfield Hills during her rise.
Sports · 1928–2016
Gordie Howeice hockey player, right wingDetroit Red Wings right wing for 25 seasons, often called the most complete player in hockey history, whose nickname 'Mr. Hockey' became synonymous with the city.
Sports · 1886–1961Ty Cobbbaseball player, center fielder, player-managerWidely regarded as one of the greatest hitters in baseball history, Cobb played 22 of his 24 major-league seasons with the Detroit Tigers and served as the team's player-manager for his last six.
Sports · born 1943Dave Bingbasketball player, businessman, politicianHall of Fame Pistons guard of 1966–1975 who built a Detroit steel company after his playing days and served as the city's 74th mayor from 2009 to 2014.
Sports · born 1963Joe Dumarsbasketball player and executiveHall of Fame Pistons guard who won two championships as a "Bad Boy" and a third as team president, and stayed in Detroit for decades running local businesses.
Sports · born 1960
Igor Larionovice hockey center, coach, agentSoviet-trained center nicknamed 'the Professor' who anchored Detroit's famed Russian Five and won three Stanley Cups with the Red Wings.
Business & brands · born 1937Roger Penskeracing team owner, businessman, chairman of Penske CorporationFormer racing driver who built a transport and dealership empire based in Bloomfield Hills and became one of Detroit's key civic leaders, reviving the Detroit Grand Prix.
Sports · born 1962Chris Cheliosice hockey defensemanHall of Fame defenseman who joined the Red Wings in 1999, won Stanley Cups in 2002 and 2008 and played in Detroit into his late forties.
Sports · born 1983
Miguel Cabrerabaseball player, first baseman, third baseman, designated hitterVenezuelan-born slugger who spent sixteen seasons with the Tigers, won the 2012 Triple Crown, two American League MVP awards, and remains one of only three players with 3,000 hits, 500 home runs and a .300 career average.Derrick Colemanbasketball player, entrepreneurSyracuse star raised in Detroit who returned late in his career to play for the Pistons, then came home for good as a local developer and Flint water crisis volunteer.Ed Gordonathletics competitor, later science teacher1932 Olympic long jump gold medalist who settled in Detroit later in life, earned a delayed college degree at Wayne State University, and taught science there until his death.
Sports · 1924–2016Norbert SchemanskyweightlifterDetroit-born weightlifter, the first to win four Olympic medals in the sport, who lived most of his life in nearby Dearborn, where a park is named for him.
Sports · 1892–1969Walter Hagenprofessional golferFlamboyant winner of eleven major championships, "the father of professional golf", who became the first head professional at Oakland Hills and made Michigan his home.
Sports · 1925–2019Ted Lindsayice hockey player, left wing, general managerFierce Red Wings left wing of the 'Production Line' who won four Stanley Cups with Detroit, led the first serious attempt to unionize NHL players, and stayed part of the club for the rest of his life.
Sports · 1944–2012Emanuel Stewardboxing trainer, commentator, former boxerThe 'godfather of Detroit boxing', who built the Kronk Gym into a world-famous training ground and coached forty-one world champions, among them Thomas Hearns, Lennox Lewis and Wladimir Klitschko.
Sports · born 1984
Jonas Gustavssonice hockey goaltenderSwedish backup goaltender nicknamed "the Monster" who spent three seasons with the Red Wings and briefly caught fire during the 2012–13 season, and settled with his family in the Detroit area.
Sports · 1989–2020
Chris Reedice dancerAmerican-born ice dancer who skated for Japan at three Olympics, trained in Canton in metro Detroit from 2015 and died in Detroit in 2020, aged 30.
Sports · 1894–1968Jack Adamsice hockey coach and general managerHall of Fame builder who spent 36 years running the Red Wings as coach and general manager, winning seven Stanley Cups and turning Detroit into an NHL powerhouse; the NHL's annual coach-of-the-year award bears his name.Greg Johnsonice hockey centreSkilled centre who spent parts of four seasons with the Red Wings in the 1990s, later returned to Detroit as a free agent, and made the city his home until his death there in 2019.
Sports · 1934–2020Al Kalinebaseball player, right fielder, television announcerSigned by the Tigers straight out of high school, Kaline spent his entire 22-year career in Detroit, won ten Gold Gloves, and later spent decades as the team's beloved broadcaster.
Sports · born 1972Kirk Maltbyice hockey forward and scoutGrind Line winger who spent 14 seasons with the Red Wings, won four Stanley Cups, and has lived in the Detroit area ever since as the club's professional scout.
Sports · born 1961Larry Murphyice hockey defenceman, broadcasterHall of Fame defenceman whose late-career trade to Detroit added the experience that helped the Red Wings win back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1997 and 1998; he later stayed in Detroit as a broadcaster.
Sports · born 1971Todd Eldredgefigure skater1996 men's world champion and six-time U.S. champion who trained at the Detroit Skating Club in Bloomfield Hills.
Sports · 1872–1940Kid McCoyboxer, actorFlamboyant 1890s boxing champion, often linked to the phrase "the real McCoy", who spent his last years working for Ford and died in Detroit in 1940.
Sports · 1908–1963Horton Smithprofessional golferWinner of the first Masters Tournament in 1934 and again in 1936, who was head professional at the Detroit Golf Club from 1946 until his death.
Sports · 1927–2016Bill Gadsbyice hockey defenseman and coachHall of Fame defenseman who finished his career with the Red Wings, briefly coached them and spent the rest of his life in metro Detroit.
Sports · 1886–1983Jam HandyOlympic swimmer and water polo player, industrial filmmakerTwo-time Olympic bronze medalist who built the Jam Handy Organization in Detroit into one of America's largest producers of industrial and training films.Vladimir Konstantinovice hockey defensemanFearsome Soviet-born defenseman of the Red Wings' "Russian Five" whose career ended in a limousine crash in Birmingham six days after the 1997 Stanley Cup.
Sports · 1903–1993Charlie Gehringerbaseball player, second basemanMichigan-born Hall of Fame second baseman who played his whole 19-year career with the Tigers; his No. 2 is retired and his statue stands at Comerica Park.
Sports · 1894–1951Harry Heilmannbaseball player, radio announcerFour-time batting champion for the Tigers who hit .403 in 1923, then became the team's beloved radio voice from 1934 to 1950.
Sports · 1928–2002Dick "Night Train" LaneAmerican football cornerback, youth-sports directorHall of Fame cornerback, one of the fiercest tacklers in NFL history, who played for the Lions and then ran Detroit's Police Athletic League for 17 years.
Sports · 1893–1962Tommy Miltonracing driver, automotive engineerFirst driver to win the Indianapolis 500 twice (1921 and 1923), despite having sight in only one eye; he spent his later years in the Detroit area auto industry.
Sports · 1860–1922Sam Thompsonbaseball player, right fielderHall of Fame slugger of the 1887 champion Detroit Wolverines who later settled in Detroit, played briefly for the Tigers at 46 and is buried at Elmwood Cemetery.
Zora Arkus-Duntovautomotive engineer, Corvette chief engineerBelgian-born, Russian-raised engineer who came to Detroit in 1953 and turned the Corvette into a genuine performance car.
Sports · 1907–1985Ebbie Goodfellowice hockey forward and defensemanRed Wings captain who won three Stanley Cups, became the first Red Wing to win the Hart Trophy and founded the Red Wings Alumni Association.
Sports · born 1955Ken Hollandhockey executive, former goaltenderRed Wings general manager from 1997 to 2019, architect of the Cup teams of 1998, 2002 and 2008 and one of the most successful executives in NHL history.
Sports · 1932–2024Joe SchmidtAmerican football linebacker and coachHall of Fame middle linebacker who spent his whole 13-year career with the Lions, won two NFL titles, coached the team and then worked in Detroit's auto industry.
Sports · 1880–1971Gar Woodpowerboat racer, inventor, industrialistDetroit inventor and boat builder who dominated powerboat racing on the Detroit River and became the first person to travel over 100 miles per hour on water.
Sports · born 1972Darren McCartyice hockey forwardRed Wings enforcer and Grind Line winger who won four Stanley Cups and scored the Cup-winning goal in 1997.
Sports · 1933–1986Norm Cashbaseball player, first basemanFun-loving Tigers first baseman of 1960–1974 who won the 1961 batting title and was the first Tiger to hit a ball over Tiger Stadium's right-field roof.Larry Aurieice hockey right wingerSmall, tough right winger who played eleven seasons for Detroit's NHL club, won two Stanley Cups and had his No. 6 retired by owner James Norris in 1938.
Press & broadcasting · 1918–2010Ernie Harwellbaseball broadcasterThe voice of the Detroit Tigers for 42 seasons, whose gentle Georgia drawl on WJR radio defined summer for generations of Michiganders.
Sports · 1940–2026Mickey Lolichbaseball pitcherLeft-hander who won three complete games, including Game 7, to be MVP of the 1968 World Series; he holds the Tigers' career strikeout record and stayed in metro Detroit for life.
Sports · born 1944Denny McLainbaseball pitcherTigers right-hander who won 31 games in 1968, the last major-leaguer to win 30 in a season, taking the MVP and Cy Young awards for the world champions.Mickey Redmondice hockey right winger, TV color commentatorFirst Red Wing to score 50 goals in a season, who became the team's long-serving TV analyst known for his colorful sayings.
Sports · 1946–2015Charlie SandersAmerican football tight end, broadcaster, scoutHall of Fame tight end who played his whole career with the Lions (1968–1977) and served the franchise for decades afterward as broadcaster, coach and scout.
Sports · born 1945Lem BarneyAmerican football cornerback and return specialistHall of Fame Lions cornerback of 1967–1977 who, with teammate Mel Farr, can be heard on Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On".
Sports · 1854–1927Charlie Bennettbaseball catcherStar catcher of the 1880s Detroit Wolverines who lost both legs in a train accident; the Tigers' first ballpark, Bennett Park, was named for him.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 ↗
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