The Guard named its new home after the storied venue that once stood there. [5] The Red Wings played their first game at Joe Louis Arena on December 27, 1979, hosting the St. Louis Blues. This team would go on to become the Detroit Red Wings. [51], On May 7, 2015, it was announced that the Horizon League Men's Basketball Tournament would be held in Detroit beginning in 2016 under a five-year deal; the 2016 and 2017 tournaments were held at Joe Louis Arena. It was in this era that hockey would become a cultural institution in Detroit. Joe Louis Arena was an arena in Downtown Detroit, USA. In 1925, the Detroit Panthers started playing football in the city. “Last week, a gang of kids over near the stadium stole some of our sticks, and if the police hadn’t recovered them, we’d be kicking the puck with our skates.”, Later, Adams told a gathering of associates that if Howie Morenz, the incomparable center of the Montreal Canadiens and the greatest hockey player of his generation, had been available “for $1.98, we couldn’t afford to buy him.”. Much like Tiger Stadium, Olympia lingered as a deteriorating, heartbreaking, unused shell from 1979 until it was demolished in 1987. The decline of the Red Wings coincided with the decline of the surrounding neighborhoods and Detroit itself. [49], Joe Louis Arena hosted the 1994 U.S. And on May 15, 1926, the Victoria (B.C.) The first was the creation of the Detroit Lions, which were brought to the Motor City from Portsmouth, Ohio, amid the Tigers’ euphoric season of 1934. [5], The Red Wings hosted the Stanley Cup Finals at the arena 6 times (1995, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2008, and 2009). Much like Tiger Stadium, Olympia had seats with obstructed views of the action. “Olympia — a Detroit monument to civic pride — will be thrown open to the public for the first time Saturday,” the Detroit News wrote Oct. 24, 1927.
Cranes gradually ate away at it, from rear to front, while construction workers handed out bricks and chairs to tearful onlookers. [6][7][16][17], The Red Wings had been playing at the Olympia Stadium since the start of the 1927 season. The athletes flashed around the big expanse of ice like shooting stars, but every electric movement meant something. The "Tigers are resting atop of baseball’s golden stairs," the Detroit Times wrote on Dec. 15, 1935, "The sulking, shuffling shadow of Joe Louis stands over the boxing throne. [33][34] Due to the arena's proximity to TCF Center, it is being dismantled traditionally rather than imploded. Nicknamed "The Old Red Barn", it was best known as the home of the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League from its opening in 1927 to 1979. In the 1920s, Detroit was experiencing a financial boom thanks to the success of the automobile industry. A crew prepares the ice at Olympia with the Red Wings famous winged wheel in 1956. "Louis … boxes beautifully and hits with deadly force. Shortly after the war ended, a player arrived on Olympia's ice that would usher in a new era of Detroit hockey and would become synonymous with the Detroit Red Wings: Gordie Howe made his debut in 1946. As incredible as the rise of Louis was, however, there would be many more celebrations. But city leaders soon stepped in with the vision of a far more ambitious project. They squirmed, dodged, ducked, danced and pirouetted on their flashing blades with such rapidity that at times the eye could not quite follow the maneuvers. In 1933-34, the Wings were even better, winning first place outright and advancing to the Stanley Cup Finals. The game ended in a 3–2 loss for the Red Wings. “I’ve never seen a place like this in my whole life,” a disillusioned Adams moaned one night after a loss to a visiting Canadian contingent.
[30], The Red Wings' final game at Joe Louis Arena was played on April 9, 2017 against the New Jersey Devils. Henry Ford’s introduction in 1922 of the $5 workday and the ensuing 40-hour workweek gave Detroiters not only more disposable income, but also more time for leisure. Olympia Stadium, better known as the Detroit Olympia and nicknamed "The Old Red Barn", stood at 5920 Grand River Avenue in Detroit, Michigan from 1927 until 1987. He is not a showman, but he is a fighter.". To the legions of Detroiters who passed through the turnstiles of the iconic Olympia Stadium, its name alone conjures memories of legendary entertainment that spanned more than six decades. While many Detroiters still lament Olympia's passing, many celebrate the old stadium for what it created. During spring training, Cochrane made the startling prediction that the Tigers would play in the 1934 World Series -- and his prediction would come true. A spark was needed to truly endear the team to the people of Detroit. Along with developing young players, hockey teams in the Depression era could rarely afford more than 15 men on a roster, and having a second team on hand with cheap talent readily available to replace injured players was often the difference between success and failure.
To this day, the jersey’s whereabouts are unknown. Two years later saw the end of an era, with the announcement that Jack Adams had been fired by the Norris family (who owned the team until 1982) after 36 years as general manager. For more information, including how to order or to get on the mailing list for special edition copies of his upcoming book series, go to: www.DetroitCityofChampions.com. In the mid-1950s, Olympia began to take on an increasing number of concerts, which only grew into the 1960s and '70s. “Things are so bad around here that I’m having to put up my own money sometimes to meet payroll,” a downhearted Adams confessed to a friend near the end of the season. “Fifteen thousand persons last night jammed the big building and saw Tom Heeney, New Zealand heavyweight, defeat Johnny Risko of Cleveland in 10 rounds.
Michigan had opened its famous football stadium – known today as the “Big House” – in Ann Arbor on Oct. 22, 1927, before 87,000 fans with a 21-0 victory over Ohio State, and wanted to help successfully inaugurate the new Olympia, as well. Compounding the indifference of most of the city’s sports fans was the fact that their “hometown” NHL club had played its first season across the Detroit River in Windsor, Ontario. [29] On October 16, 2014, lawyers involved in the ongoing Detroit bankruptcy case disclosed in court that after demolition, which will be paid for by the city and state, the land on which the arena stands, along with an adjacent parking lot, will be transferred to the Financial Guaranty Insurance Company (FGIC), a bond insurer with a $1 billion claim against the city. Adams had been doing everything in his power to get the Motor City to embrace hockey, including writing a weekly article for the Detroit Times called Following the Puck. And today, bless their hearts, the Detroit Lions [brought] the professional football championship of the world to this town of Champions. The 14,000 mingled screams and boos.". Official coronation ceremonies will take place sometime next summer. The Detroit Convention Bureau was pushing Detroit’s rise as an important convention city, and the city’s Board of Commerce started lobbying for a way to accommodate these huge crowds. [1], It was the home of the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League and the second oldest NHL venue after Madison Square Garden until the start of the 2017–18 NHL season. Even when we win, which I admit isn’t too often, we get booed. Experiencing the boom of post-war America, Detroiters would flock to the stadium like never before. It seated close to 15,000. [22] The Red Wings first win at the arena came on December 30, 1979, where they defeated the New York Islanders 4–2.
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