# 1928 in Michigan

Events from the year 1928 in Michigan.

## Office holders
### State office holders

* Governor of Michigan: Fred W. Green (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Michigan: Luren Dickinson (Republican)
* Michigan Attorney General: William W. Potter/Wilber M. Brucker
* Michigan Secretary of State: John S. Haggerty (Republican)
* Speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives: Fred R. Ming (Republican)
* Chief Justice, Michigan Supreme Court: Richard C. Flannigan/Louis H. Fead

### Mayors of major cities

* Mayor of Detroit: John C. Lodge
* Mayor of Grand Rapids:
* Mayor of Flint: William H. McKeighan
* Mayor of Lansing: Laird J. Troyer
* Mayor of Saginaw: Ben N. Mercer
* Mayor of Ann Arbor: Edward W. Staebler

### Federal office holders

* U.S. Senator from Michigan: James J. Couzens (Republican)
* U.S. Senator from Michigan: Woodbridge N. Ferris (Democrat)/Arthur Vandenberg (Republican)
* House District 1: 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 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

* 1928 Detroit Tigers season – Under manager George Moriarty, the Tigers compiled a 68–88 record and finished in sixth place in the American League. The team's statistical leaders included Harry Heilmann with a .328 batting average, 14 home runs and 107 RBIs, and Ownie Carroll with 16 wins and a 3.27 earned run average.

### American football

* 1928 Detroit Wolverines - Under head coach LeRoy Andrews, the Wolverines compiled a 7–2–1 record during the 1928 NFL season. Benny Friedman led the team in scoring with 55 points scored.
* 1928 Detroit Titans football team – Under head coach Gus Dorais, the Titans compiled a 9–0 record, shut out seven opponents, and outscored all opponents by a combined 267 to 27. The Titans defeated Michigan State by a 39 to 0 score.
* 1928 Michigan State Normal Normalites football team - Under head coach Elton Rynearson, the Normalites compiled a record of 7–1, won the Michigan Collegiate Conference championship, and outscored opponents by a total of 233 to 43.
* 1928 Western State Hilltoppers football team – Under head coach Earl Martineau, the Hilltoppers compiled a 5–2 record and outscored their opponents, 119 to 32.
* 1928 Central State Bearcats football team - Under head coach Wallace Parker, the Bearcats compiled a 6–3 record and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 126 to 73.
* 1928 Michigan Wolverines football team – The Wolverines compiled a 3–4–1 record and tied for seventh place in the Big Ten Conference. Left tackle Otto Pommerening was an All-American.
* 1928 Michigan State Spartans football team – Under head coach Harry Kipke, the Spartans compiled a 3–4–1 record.

### Basketball

* 1927–28 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team – Under head coach E. J. Mather, the Wolverines compiled a 10–7 record and were co-champions of the Big Ten Conference.

### Ice hockey

* 1927–28 Detroit Cougars season – Under general manager and coach Jack Adams, the Cougars compiled a 19–19–6 record. George Hay led the team with 22 goals, 13 assists, and 35 points. Hap Holmes was the team's goaltender.

## Chronology of events
### March

* March 31 - Arthur Vandenberg was appointed by Governor Fred W. Green to the position of interim United States Senator to fill the vacancy caused by Woodbridge N. Ferris' death.

### November

* November 6 - A number of elections occurred, including:
** United States Senate - Incumbent Republican United States Senator Arthur Vandenberg was for the first time elected to the Senate after being appointed to replace the deceased Woodbridge N. Ferris.
** Michigan Governor - Incumbent Republican governor, Fred W. Green, defeated Democratic nominee William Comstock.
* November 30 - 14 customs inspectors were arrested in Detroit accused of graft in connection with allowing the flow of rum from Canada. Reports indicated that 100 of the 129 inspectors in Detroit were suspected of graft.

### December
## Births

* March 15 - Paul Carey, sportcaster and play-by-play announcer for Detroit Tigers (1973-1991), in Mount Pleasant, Michigan
* May 26 - Jack Kevorkian, pathologist and euthanasia proponent known as "Dr. Death", in Pontiac, Michigan
* June 16 - Jerome Cavanagh, Mayor of Detroit (1962-1970), in Detroit
* September 4 - Dick York, actor (Darrin Stephens on Bewitched), in East Grand Rapids
* October 1 - George Peppard, actor (Breakfast at Tiffany's, The A-Team), in Detroit
* November 12 - Bill Muncey, hydroplane racer who won 62 races, in Detroit
* November 15 - James H. Brickley, 62nd Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court, in Flint

## Deaths

* February 1 - Hughie Jennings, manager of Detroit Tigers (1907-1929), at age 58 in Scranton, Pennsylvania
* March 23 - Woodbridge N. Ferris, Governor of Michigan (1913–1916) and U.S. Senator from Michigan (1922–1928), died in office at age 75 in Washington, D.C.
* March 31 - Washington Gardner, U.S. Congressman from Michigan (1899–1911), at age 83 in Albion, Michigan
* July 18 - Ed Killian, pitcher for Detroit Tigers (1904-1910) with career ERA of 2.38, at age 51 in Racine, Wisconsin
* September 21 - Frederick C. Martindale, former Michigan Secretary of State, at 62 via suicide