What Sports Teams Does Michigan Have?

The state of Michigan has plenty of professional sports teams to go around for all kinds of sports fans. Michigan has one team in each of the four major professional sports leagues (NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB), and they all play in the city of Detroit. Each team has its own history and level of success, with some having more of it than others. Below, each of Michigan’s four major professional sports teams are discussed.

What Are The Biggest Sports Teams in Michigan?

Below are the professional sports teams located in Michigan:

• Detroit Lions
• Detroit Pistons
• Detroit Red Wings
• Detroit Tigers

Detroit Lions

• Sport: Football
• League: NFL
• Location: Detroit, Michigan
• Stadium: Ford Field
• Founded: 1930
• Championships: 4 (pre-Super Bowl Era)

The first professional sports team in Michigan to be discussed are the Detroit Lions. Founded in 1930 as the Portsmouth Spartans in Portsmouth, Ohio, they relocated to Detroit four years later and have been the Lions ever since. While they have been known for their lack of playoff success for years, the Lions did win four NFL championships from 1935-1957, although those were all prior to the Super Bowl Era (1967). Since their last championship in 1957, the Lions have only won one playoff game (1991). Detroit is the only NFL franchise to have never appeared in a Super Bowl that was also a part of the league when the Super Bowl Era began. Hopefully, for Lions fans, they will find some more success in the near future.

Detroit Pistons

• Sport: Basketball
• League: NBA
• Location: Detroit, Michigan
• Stadium: Little Caesars Arena
• Founded: 1937
• Championships: 3

The next Michigan sports team is the Detroit Pistons. Originally founded in 1937, they were located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, still with the name of the Pistons. They played there for twenty years, winning two National Basketball League (NBL) championships in 1944 and 1945, prior to joining the NBA in 1949. Once they moved to Detroit in 1957, the Pistons found some success there as well. In all, they have won three NBA championships as the Detroit Pistons, winning back-to-back championships in 1989 and 1990 and adding another one in 2004. Since that last title in 2004, the Pistons have not found a lot of postseason success, so hopefully for the city of Detroit and the state of Michigan, they will find more success in the near future.

Detroit Red Wings

• Sport: Hockey
• League: NHL
• Location: Detroit, Michigan
• Stadium: Little Caesars Arena
• Founded: 1926
• Championships: 11

The most successful sports team in the state of Michigan, the Detroit Red Wings, are one of the best NHL teams in history. They are one of the NHL’s “Original Six” founding members, and they began play in 1926. They were the Detroit Cougars from 1926-1930, and they also were known as the Detroit Falcons prior to becoming the Red Wings for good in 1932. In all, they have won 11 Stanley Cups, the most for a U.S.-based team in NHL history. The Red Wings took home the title in 1936, 1937, 1943, 1950, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1997, 1998, 2002, and 2008, so their titles have stretched across different eras as well. For the Red Wings, fifteen years is a long time to go without a title, so they will look to get back on top before too long.

Detroit Tigers

• Sport: Baseball
• League: MLB
• Location: Detroit, Michigan
• Stadium: Comerica Park
• Founded: 1894
• Championships: 4

The final of Michigan’s four professional sports teams, the Detroit Tigers are a professional baseball team in the MLB. The oldest of these four teams, the Tigers have been playing baseball since 1894. They were originally a minor league team in the Western League prior to joining the American League in 1901 as one of the eight original teams. In all, the Tigers have won four World Series titles in their long history, although they have not won in nearly forty years (1935, 1945, 1968, and 1984). Like Michigan’s other teams, the Tigers have fallen on hard times in recent years, and their fanbase is hoping some of their young, talented players will turn the franchise around soon.

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