# 1927 in Michigan

Events from the year 1927 in Michigan.

## Office holders
### State office holders

* Governor of Michigan: Alex J. Groesbeck (Republican)/Fred W. Green (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Michigan: George W. Welsh (Republican)/Luren Dickinson (Republican)
* Michigan Attorney General: William W. Potter
* Michigan Secretary of State: Charles J. DeLand (Republican)/John S. Haggerty (Republican)
* Speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives: Lynn C. Gardner (Republican)
* Chief Justice, Michigan Supreme Court: Nelson Sharpe

### Mayors of major cities

* Mayor of Detroit: John W. Smith
* Mayor of Grand Rapids:
* Mayor of Flint: Judson L. Transue
* Mayor of Lansing: Laird J. Troyer
* Mayor of Saginaw: Ben N. Mercer
* Mayor of Ann Arbor: Robert A. Campbell/Edward W. Staebler

### Federal office holders

* U.S. Senator from Michigan: James J. Couzens (Republican)
* U.S. Senator from Michigan: Woodbridge N. Ferris (Democrat)
* House District 1: John B. Sosnowski (Republican)/Robert H. Clancy (Republican)
* House District 2: Earl C. Michener (Republican)
* House District 3: Joseph L. Hooper (Republican)
* House District 4: John C. Ketcham (Republican)
* House District 5: Carl E. Mapes (Republican)
* House District 6: Grant M. Hudson (Republican)
* House District 7: Louis C. Cramton (Republican)
* House District 8: Bird J. Vincent (Republican)
* House District 9: James C. McLaughlin (Republican)
* House District 10: Roy O. Woodruff (Republican)
* House District 11: Frank D. Scott (Republican)/Frank P. Bohn (Republican)
* House District 12: W. Frank James (Republican)
* House District 13: Clarence J. McLeod (Republican)

## Population

In the 1920 United States census, Michigan was recorded as having a population of 3,668,412, ranking as the seventh most populous state in the country. By 1930, Michigan's population had increased by 32.0% to 4,842,325.

### Cities

The following is a list of cities in Michigan with a population of at least 15,000 based on 1920 U.S. Census data. Historic census data from 1910 and 1930 is included to reflect trends in population increases or decreases.
| 1920 Rank | City | County | 1910 Pop. | 1920 Pop. | 1930 Pop. | Change 1920-30 |
| 1 | Detroit | Wayne | 465,766 | 993,678 | 1,568,662 | 57.9% |
| 2 | Grand Rapids | Kent | 112,571 | 137,634 | 168,592 | 22.5% |
| 3 | Flint | Genesee | 38,550 | 91,599 | 156,492 | 70.8% |
| 4 | Saginaw | Saginaw | 50,510 | 61,903 | 80,715 | 30.4% |
| 5 | Lansing | Ingham | 31,229 | 57,327 | 78,397 | 36.8% |
| 6 | Hamtramck | Wayne | 3,559 | 48,615 | 56,268 | 15.7% |
| 7 | Kalamazoo | Kalamazoo | 39,437 | 48,487 | 54,786 | 13.0% |
| 8 | Jackson | Jackson | 31,433 | 48,374 | 55,187 | 14.1% |
| 9 | Bay City | Bay | 45,166 | 47,554 | 47,355 | −0.4% |
| 10 | Highland Park | Wayne | 4,120 | 46,499 | 52,959 | 13.9% |
| 11 | Muskegon | Muskegon | 24,062 | 36,570 | 41,390 | 15.2% |
| 12 | Battle Creek | Calhoun | 25,267 | 36,164 | 45,573 | 26.0% |
| 13 | Pontiac | Oakland | 14,532 | 34,273 | 64,928 | 89.4% |
| 14 | Port Huron | St. Clair | 18,863 | 25,944 | 31,361 | 20.9% |
| 15 | Ann Arbor | Washtenaw | 14,817 | 19,516 | 26,944 | 38.1% |
| 16 | Ironwood | Gogebic | 12,821 | 15,739 | 14,299 | −9.1% |

### Boom cities of the 1920s

The 1920s saw an explosion of growth in the population of small cities near Detroit, with some communities growing more than three fold. Dearborn was the most extreme case, growing 20-fold from 2,470 to 50,358 persons.
| City | County | 1910 Pop. | 1920 Pop. | 1930 Pop. | Change 1920-30 |
| Warren | Macomb | 2,346 | 6,780 | 24,024 | 254.3% |
| Royal Oak | Oakland | 1,071 | 6,007 | 22,904 | 281.3% |
| Ferndale | Oakland | -- | 2,640 | 20,855 | 690.0% |
| Dearborn | Wayne | 911 | 2,470 | 50,358 | 1,938.8% |

### Counties

The following is a list of counties in Michigan with populations of at least 40,000 based on 1920 U.S. Census data. Historic census data from 1910 and 1930 are included to reflect trends in population increases or decreases.
| 1920 Rank | County | Largest city | 1910 Pop. | 1920 Pop. | 1930 Pop. | Change 1920-30 |
| 1 | Wayne | Detroit | 531,591 | 1,177,645 | 1,888,946 | 60.4% |
| 2 | Kent | Grand Rapids | 159,145 | 183,041 | 240,511 | 31.4% |
| 3 | Genesee | Flint | 64,555 | 125,668 | 211,641 | 68.4% |
| 4 | Saginaw | Saginaw | 89,290 | 100,286 | 120,717 | 20.4% |
| 5 | Oakland | Pontiac | 49,576 | 90,050 | 211,251 | 134.6% |
| 6 | Ingham | Lansing | 53,310 | 81,554 | 116,587 | 43.0% |
| 7 | Calhoun | Battle Creek | 56,638 | 72,918 | 87,043 | 19.4% |
| 8 | Houghton | Houghton | 88,098 | 71,930 | 52,851 | -26.5% |
| 9 | Jackson | Jackson | 53,426 | 72,539 | 92,304 | 27.2% |
| 10 | Kalamazoo | Kalamazoo | 60,327 | 71,225 | 91,368 | 28.3% |
| 11 | Bay | Bay City | 68,238 | 69,548 | 69,474 | -0.1% |
| 12 | Berrien | Niles | 53,622 | 62,653 | 81,066 | 29.4% |
| 13 | Muskegon | Muskegon | 40,577 | 62,362 | 84,630 | 35.7% |
| 14 | St. Clair | Port Huron | 52,341 | 58,009 | 67,563 | 16.5% |
| 15 | Washtenaw | Ann Arbor | 44,714 | 49,520 | 65,530 | 32.3% |
| 16 | Lenawee | Adrian | 47,907 | 47,767 | 49,849 | 4.4% |
| 17 | Ottawa | Holland | 45,301 | 47,660 | 54,858 | 15.1% |
| 18 | Marquette | Marquette | 46,739 | 45,786 | 44,076 | −3.7% |

## Sports
### Baseball

* 1927 Detroit Tigers season – Under manager George Moriarty, the Tigers compiled an 82–71 record and finished in fourth place in the American League. The team's statistical leaders included Harry Heilmann with a .398 batting average, 14 home runs and 120 RBIs, and Earl Whitehill with 16 wins and a 3.36 earned run average.

### American football

* 1927 Michigan State Normal Normalites football team – Under head coach Elton Rynearson, the Normalites compiled a perfect 8–0 record, won the Michigan Collegiate Conference championship, shut out six of eight opponents, and outscored all opponents by a total of 186 to 13.
* 1927 Central Michigan Bearcats football team – Under head coach Wallace Parker, the Bearcats compiled a 7–1 record and outscored opponents by a total of 124 to 37.
* 1927 Detroit Titans football team – Under head coach Gus Dorais, the Titans compiled a 7–2 record and outscored all opponents by a combined 235 to 47.
* 1927 Michigan Wolverines football team – Under head coach Tad Wieman, the Wolverines compiled a 6–2 record and finished in third place in the Big Ten Conference. End Bennie Oosterbaan was a consensus All-American.
* 1927 Michigan State Spartans football team – Under head coach Ralph H. Young, the Spartans compiled a 4–5 record.
* 1927 Western State Hilltoppers football team – Under head coach Earl Martineau, the Hilltoppers compiled a 3–4 record and outscored their opponents, 100 to 72.

### Basketball

* 1926–27 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team – Under head coach E. J. Mather, the Wolverines compiled a 14–3 record and won the Big Ten Conference championship.

### Ice hockey

* 1926–27 Detroit Cougars season – Under coaches Art Duncan and Duke Keats, the Cougars compiled a 12–28–4 record. Johnny Sheppard led the team with 13 goals, 8 assists, and 21 points. Hap Holmes was the team's goaltender.

## Births

* August 6 - William D. Ford, U.S. Congressman (1965-1993), in Detroit
* September 14 - Edmund Szoka, Archbishop of Detroit (1981–1990), in Grand Rapids

## Deaths

* January 9 - Amherst B. Cheney, member of the Michigan House of Representatives (1877–1880), 1888 Prohibition nominee for governor, at age 85 in Sparta
* May 18 -
** Andrew Kehoe, spree killer who initiated the Bath School disaster, suicide by explosives at age 55 in Bath Township
** The 44 victims of the Bath School disaster