Events from the year 1953 in Michigan.
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The Associated Press polled editors of its member newspapers in Michigan and ranked the state's top news stories of 1953 as follows:[1]
- The June 8 Flint–Beecher tornado resulting in 116 fatalities and tornadoes in Port Huron, and Monroe areas (385 points)
- The $40-million August 12 fire that destroyed General Motors' transmission plant in Livonia[2] (290 points)
- Return of Michigan POWs from Korean War (225 points)
- The November 30 deaths of former Governor Kim Sigler and three others in the crash of a Beechcraft Bonanza airplane, piloted by Sigler, that hit a 540-foot TV tower near Battle Creek (217 points)
- 1953 Michigan State Spartans football team wins Big Ten championship and invitation to play in 1953 Rose Bowl (153 points)
- The May 11 sinking of the ore carrier SS Henry Steinbrenner in a Lake Superior storm (129 points)
- Passage of a controversial business receipts tax by the Michigan Legislature (125 points)
- Controversy over bingo games sponsored by churches, charities, and veterans group in violation of state law (107 points)
- The May 22 escape of seven inmates from the Marquette Branch Prison (80 points)
- Laying of two pipelines under the Straits of Mackinac (75 points)
Voting on the top stories ended before the 1953 Detroit Lions won the 1953 NFL Championship Game on December 27.[1]
In the 1950 United States census, Michigan was recorded as having a population of 6,421,000 persons, ranking as the seventh most populous state in the country. By 1960, the state's population had grown 22.8% to 7,823,194 persons.
Cities
The following is a list of cities in Michigan with a population of at least 40,000 based on 1950 U.S. Census data. Historic census data from 1940 and 1960 is included to reflect trends in population increases or decreases. Cities that are part of the Detroit metropolitan area are shaded in tan.
More information 1950 Rank, City ...
1950 Rank |
City |
County |
1940 Pop. |
1950 Pop. |
1960 Pop. |
Change 1950-60 |
1 | Detroit | Wayne | 1,623,452 | 1,849,568 | 1,670,144 | −9.7% |
2 | Grand Rapids | Kent | 164,292 | 176,515 | 177,313 | 0.5% |
3 | Flint | Genesee | 151,543 | 163,143 | 196,940 | 20.7% |
4 | Dearborn | Wayne | 63,589 | 94,994 | 112,007 | 17.9% |
5 | Saginaw | Saginaw | 82,794 | 92,918 | 98,265 | 5.8% |
6 | Lansing | Ingham | 78,753 | 92,129 | 107,807 | 17.0% |
7 | Pontiac | Oakland | 66,626 | 73,681 | 82,233 | 11.6% |
8 | Kalamazoo | Kalamazoo | 54,097 | 57,704 | 82,089 | 42.4% |
9 | Bay City | Bay | 47,956 | 52,523 | 53,604 | 2.1% |
10 | Jackson | Jackson | 49,656 | 51,088 | 50,720 | −0.7% |
11 | Battle Creek | Calhoun | 43,453 | 48,666 | 44,169 | −9.2% |
12 | Muskegon | Muskegon | 47,697 | 48,429 | 46,485 | −4.0% |
13 | Ann Arbor | Washtenaw | 29,815 | 48,251 | 67,340 | 39.6% |
14 | Royal Oak | Oakland | 25,087 | 46,898 | 80,612 | 71.9% |
15 | Warren | Macomb | 23,658 | 42,653 | 89,246 | 109.2% |
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Counties
The following is a list of counties in Michigan with populations of at least 100,000 based on 1950 U.S. Census data. Historic census data from 1940 and 1960 are included to reflect trends in population increases or decreases. Counties that are part of the Detroit metropolitan area are shaded in tan.
More information 1980 Rank, County ...
1980 Rank |
County |
Largest city |
1940 Pop. |
1950 Pop. |
1960 Pop. |
Change 1950-60 |
1 | Wayne | Detroit | 2,015,623 | 2,435,235 | 2,666,297 | 9.5% |
2 | Oakland | Pontiac | 254,068 | 396,001 | 690,259 | 74.3% |
3 | Kent | Grand Rapids | 246,338 | 288,292 | 363,187 | 26.0% |
4 | Genesee | Flint | 227,944 | 270,963 | 374,313 | 38.1% |
5 | Macomb | Warren | 107,638 | 184,961 | 405,804 | 119.4% |
6 | Ingham | Lansing | 130,616 | 172,941 | 211,296 | 22.2% |
7 | Saginaw | Saginaw | 130,468 | 153,515 | 190,752 | 24.3% |
8 | Washtenaw | Ann Arbor | 80,810 | 134,606 | 172,440 | 28.1% |
9 | Kalamazoo | Kalamazoo | 100,085 | 126,707 | 169,712 | 33.9% |
10 | Muskegon | Muskegon | 94,501 | 121,545 | 129,943 | 6.9% |
11 | Calhoun | Battle Creek | 94,206 | 120,813 | 138,858 | 14.9% |
12 | Berrien | Benton Harbor | 89,117 | 115,702 | 149,865 | 29.5% |
13 | Jackson | Jackson | 93,108 | 108,168 | 131,994 | 22.0% |
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- 1953 Detroit Lions season – Under head coach Buddy Parker, the Lions compiled a 10–2 record, finished in first place in the NFL Western Conference, and defeated the Cleveland Browns in the 1953 NFL Championship Game. The team's statistical leaders included Bobby Layne with 2,088 passing yards, Robert Hoernschemeyer with 482 rushing yards, and Doak Walker with 502 receiving yards and 93 points scored (five touchdowns, 27 extra points, and 12 field goals).[6]
- 1953 Michigan State Spartans football team – Under head coach Biggie Munn, the Spartans compiled a 9–1 record and were ranked No. 3 in the final AP Poll.[7]
- 1953 Michigan Wolverines football team – Under head coach Bennie Oosterbaan, the Wolverines finished in a tie for fifth place in the Big Ten Conference with a record of 6–3 and were ranked No. 20 in the final AP Poll.[8]
- 1953 Central Michigan Chippewas football team – Under head coach Kenneth "Bill" Kelly, the Chippewas compiled a 7–1–1 record and won the Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) championship.[9]
- 1953 Detroit Titans football team – The Titans compiled a 6–4 record under head coach Dutch Clark and tied for the Missouri Valley Conference championship.[10]
- 1953 Michigan State Normal Hurons football team – Under head coach Fred Trosko, the Hurons compiled a 7–1–1 record.[11]
- 1953 Western Michigan Broncos football team – Under head coach Jack Petoskey, the Broncos compiled a 1–6–1 record.[12]
- March 13 - Sam Viviano, caricature artist and art director, in Detroit
- May 10 - Christopher Paul Curtis, Newbery Medal-winning writer of children's books (Bud, Not Buddy, The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963), in Flint, Michigan
- May 21 - Carl Carlton, R&B, soul, and funk singer-songwriter best known for his hits "Everlasting Love" and "She's a Bad Mama Jama (She's Built, She's Stacked)"), in Detroit
- July 3 - Frank Tanana, Major League Baseball pitcher (1973-1993) and AL ERA leader (1973), in Detroit
- July 21 - John Nelson, Academy Award-winning visual effects artist (Gladiator, Iron Man), in Detroit
- September 29 - Michael Talbot, author of books highlighting parallels between ancient mysticism and quantum mechanics, in Grand Rapids, Michigan
- November 11 - Marshall Crenshaw, musician, singer and songwriter, in Detroit
- November 27 - Curtis Armstrong, actor (Revenge of the Nerds movies, Moonlighting, Risky Business), in Detroit
- December 6 - Tom Hulce, Academy Award-nominated actor (Amadeus), in Detroit