2001 in Michigan

← 2000 1999 1998 2001 in Michigan → 2002 2003 2004
Decades:	1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s
See also:	History of Michigan Historical outline of Michigan List of years in Michigan 2001 in the United States

This article reviews 2001 in Michigan , including the state's office holders, largest public companies, performance of sports teams, a chronology of the state's top news and sports stories, and notable Michigan-related births and deaths.

Top stories

• Kwame Kilpatrick, at age 31, elected mayor of Detroit.
• Air Force officer and Michigander Nick Mellos released from detention in China.
• Census data showed that Detroit's population fell below 1 million, while Oakland County's population surged.
• Detroit celebrted its tricentennial.

Office holders

State office holders

John Engler

• Governor of Michigan - John Engler (Republican)
• Lieutenant Governor of Michigan: Dick Posthumus (Rpublican)
• Michigan Attorney General - Jennifer Granholm (Democrat)
• Michigan Secretary of State - Richard H. Austin (Democrat)
• Speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives: Rick Johnson (Republican)
• Majority Leader of the Michigan Senate: Dan DeGrow (Republican)
• Chief Justice, Michigan Supreme Court: Maura D. Corrigan

Federal office holders

Carl Levin

Debbie Stabenow

• U.S. senator from Michigan: Debbie Stabenow (Democrat])
• U.S. senator from Michigan: Carl Levin (Democrat)
• House District 1: Bart Stupak (Democrat)
• House District 2: Pete Hoekstra (Republican)
• House District 3: Vern Ehlers (Republican)
• House District 4: Dave Camp (Republican)
• House District 5: Dale Kildee (Democrat)
• House District 6: Fred Upton (Republican)
• House District 7: Nick Smith (Republican)
• House District 8: Mike Rogers (Republican)
• House District 9: Joe Knollenberg (Democrat)
• House District 10: Candice Miller (Republican)
• House District 11: Thaddeus McCotter (Republican)
• House District 12: Sander Levin (Democrat)
• House District 13: Lynn N. Rivers (Democrat)
• House District 14: John Conyers (Democrat)
• House District 14: Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (Democrat)
• House District 16: John Dingell (Democrat)

Mayors of major cities

Kwame Kilpatrick

• Mayor of Detroit: Kwame Kilpatrick (Democrat)
• Mayor of Grand Rapids: John H. Logie
• Mayor of Ann Arbor: John Hieftje (Democrat)
• Mayor of Lansing: Antonio Benavides
• Mayor of Flint: James W. Rutherford
• Mayor of Saginaw: Wilmer Jones Ham

Largest public companies

In April 2002, the Detroit Free Press released its annual "The Free Press 50" list of the largest Michigan-based public companies based on 2001 revenues. The top 20 companies are shown below.

Sports

Baseball

• 2001 Detroit Tigers season - In their second season under manager Phil Garner, the Tigers compiled a 66–96 record. ^[1]

American football

• 2001 Detroit Lions season - In their first season under head coach Marty Mornhinweg, and their last season in the Pontiac Silverdome, the Lions compiled a 2–14 record and finished last in the NFC Central. ^[2]
• 2001 Michigan Wolverines football team - In their seventh season under head coach Lloyd Carr, the Wolverines compiled an 8–4 record, ending with a 45–17 loss to Tennessee in the 2002 Florida Citrus Bowl. ^[3]
• 2001 Michigan State Spartans football team - In their second season under head coach Bobby Williams, the Spartans compiled a 7–5 record. ^[4]
• 2001 Grand Valley State Lakers football team - In their 11th season under head coach Brian Kelly, the Lakers compiled a 13–1 record, their only loss coming by a 17-14 score against North Dakota in the NCAA Division II Champonship Game. ^[5]

Basketball

• 2000–01 Detroit Pistons season - In their first and only season under head coach George Irvine, the Pistons compiled a 32–50 record and finished fifth in the NBA Central Division. ^[6]
• 2001 Detroit Shock season - The Shock compiled a 10–22 record. ^[7]
• 2000–01 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team - In their sixth season under head coach Tom Izzo, the Spartans compiled a 28–5 record and advanced to the Final Four where they lost to Arizona. ^[8]
• 2000–01 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team - In their fourth and final season under head coach Brian Ellerbe, the Wolverines compiled a 10–18 record. ^[9]

Ice hockey

• 2000–01 Detroit Red Wings season - .In their eighth season under head coach Scotty Bowman, the Red Wings compiled a 49–20–9–4 record and were upset in the first round of the playoffs by the seventh-seeded Los Angeles Kings. ^[10]

Births

• June 14 - Sreeleela, actress in Telugu cineman, in Detroit
• August 16 - Lew Nichols III, football running back, led NCAA Division I FBS with 1,710 rushing yards in 2021, in Detroit
• August 29 - Teejayx6, rapper and originator of scam rap, in Detroit
• October 3 - SoFaygo, rapper, singer and songwriter, in Grand Rapids, Michigan
• December 20 - Isabelle Kadzban, soccer player, Chile national team, in Grand Rapids, Michigan

Deaths

• January 7 - Lowell Perry, U-M football (1950-52), chairman of EEOC (1975-76), at age 69
• January 14 - Dennis Fitzgerald, U-M football MVP (1960), football coach (1964-1999), at age 64
• January 16 - Leonard Woodcock, UAW president (1970-77), Ambassador to China (1979-81), at age 89
• February 15 - Burt Kennedy, screenwriter and director known for his Westerns, at age 78
• February 23 - Anthony Giacalone, at Detroit "capo" with whom Jimmy Hoffa was scheduled to meet on the day he disappeared, age 82
• February 24 - Claude Shannon, "father of information theory" who laid the foundations of the Information Age, at age 84
• March 13 - Walter Dukes, Detroit Pistons (1957-63), Harlem Globetrotters (1953-55), at age 70
• April 10 - Andy Farkas, football fullback University of Detroit and Detroit Lions, NFL scoring leader with Redskins in 1939, at age 84
• April 20 - Richard H. Austin, Michigan Secretary of State (1971-1995), at age 87
• April 23 - Robert J. Huber, US Congress (1973-75), at age 76
• April 25 - Gwen Frostic, artist and author, at age 94
• May 12 - Ollie Cline, Detroit Lions fullback (1950-53), at age 75
• May 17 - Ike Brown, Detroit Tigers utility player (1969-74), at age 59
• May 20 - Bill Hewlett, co-founder of Hewlett-Packard, at age 87
• June 21 - John Lee Hooker, blues singer, guitarist, songwriter ("Boogie Chillen", "Crawling King Snake", "Boom Boom", "Dimples"), at age 83 or 88
• June 24 - William H. Sewell, sociologist and University of Wisconsin president, at age 91
• June 30 - Joe Henderson, jazz tenor saxophonist, at age 64
• July 3 - Lelord Kordel, nutritionist, author, and adviser to Hollywood stars, promoted low-carbohydrate diet, jailed for making false claims, at age 92
• July 6 - Heinz Prechter, popularized the sunroof for American cars, at age 59
• July 12 - Charleszetta Waddles, minister and founder of the Mother Waddles Perpetual Mission that provided food and services to the poor of Detroit, at age 88
• July 17 - Elon "Chief" Hogsett, Detroit Tigers pitcher (1929-36), at age 97
• August 25 - Aaliyah, singer, actress, model, at age 22
• September 6 - Frank Christensen, Detroit Lions fullback (1934-37), at age 91
• September 11 - Todd Beamer, Flint native and UA Flight 93 passenger who attempted to regain control from hijackers, at age 32
• September 28 - James H. Brickley, Michigan Supreme Court (1982-1999), Michigan lieutenant governor (1971-74, 1979-82), President of Eastern Michigan University (1975-78), at age 72
• October 3 - Homer Elias, Detroit Lions guard (1978-84), at age 46
• October 9 - William A. Ryan, Michigan House of Representatives (1958-82), Speaker (1969-74), at age 82
• November 16 - Tommy Flanagan, jazz pianist and composer, at age 71
• November 27 - Mary S. Coleman, Michigan Supreme Court (1973-82), at age 87
• December 18 - Jim Letherer, civil rights activist, walked on one leg in Selma to Montgomery march and March Against Fear, at age 67
• December 25 - Billy Wells, halfback for Michigan State (1954 Rose Bowl MVP) and in the NFL (1954-50), at age 70
• December 31 - Marie Hartwig, University of Michigan physical education professor and first associate athletic director for women, at age 95

See also

• 2001 in the United States

References

1. "2001 Detroit Tigers Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
2. "2001 Detroit Lions Rosters, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
3. "2001 Michigan Wolverines Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
4. "2001 Michigan State Spartans Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
5. "2001 Grand Valley State University Football Overall Statistics (as of Aug 24, 2020)". Grand Valley State University. Retrieved December 26, 2025.
6. "2000-01 Detroit Pistons Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
7. "2001 Detroit Shock Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
8. "2000-01 Michigan State Spartans Men's Roster and Stats". SR/College Basketball. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
9. "2000-01 Michigan Wolverines Men's Roster and Stats". SR/College Basketball. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
10. "2000-01 Detroit Red Wings Roster and Statistics". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 25, 2025.