Detroit: "City of Champions"

When the Lions won the 1935 NFL Championship Game, the City of Detroit was mired in the Great Depression, which had hit Detroit and its industries particularly hard. But with the success of the Lions and other Detroit athletes in 1935, Detroit's luck appeared to be changing, as the City was dubbed the "City of Champions." The Detroit Tigers

Detroit Tigers

The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...

 also won the 1935 World Series

1935 World Series

The 1935 World Series featured the Detroit Tigers and the Chicago Cubs, with the Tigers winning in six games for their first championship in five Series appearances. They had lost in , , , and ....

, and when the Detroit Red Wings

Detroit Red Wings

The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League , and are one of the Original Six teams of the NHL, along with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, New York...

 won the 1935–36 Stanley Cup championship, the city had seen three major league championships in less than a year. Detroit's "champions" included Detroit's "Brown Bomber," Joe Louis

Joe Louis

Joseph Louis Barrow , better known as Joe Louis, was the world heavyweight boxing champion from 1937 to 1949. He is considered to be one of the greatest heavyweights of all time...

, the heavyweight boxing champion; native Detroiter Gar Wood who was the champion of unlimited powerboat racing

Hydroplane racing

Hydroplane racing is a sport involving racing hydroplanes on lakes and rivers. It is a popular spectator sport in several countries.-International Professional Outboard Hydroplane Racing:...

 and the first man to go 100 miles per hour on water; Eddie "the Midnight Express" Tolan

Eddie Tolan

Thomas Edward "Eddie" Tolan , nicknamed the "Midnight Express", was an American track and field athlete who compete in the Sprints. He set world records in the 100 yard dash and 100 meters event and Olympic records in the 100 meters and 200 meters events...

, a black Detroiter who won gold medals in the 100- and 200-meter races at the 1932 Summer Olympics

1932 Summer Olympics

The 1932 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the X Olympiad, was a major world wide multi-athletic event which was celebrated in 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. No other cities made a bid to host these Olympics. Held during the worldwide Great Depression, many nations...

.