2009 in Michigan

Decades:	1980s; 1990s; 2000s; 2010s; 2020s;
See also:	History of Michigan; Historical outline of Michigan; List of years in Michigan; 2009 in the United States;

List of events

This article reviews key circumstances during 2009 in Michigan, including the state's office holders, performance of sports teams, cultural events, a chronology of the state's top news and sports stories, and Michigan-related deaths.

Office holders

Sports

Baseball

2009 Detroit Tigers season - In their fourth year under manager Jim Leyland, the Tigers compiled an 86–77 record. Miguel Cabrera led the team with a .324 batting average, 34 home runs, and 103 RBIs. Justin Verlander compiled a 19–9 record with a 3.45 earned run average and 269 strikeouts.^[1]

American football

2009 Detroit Lions season - In their first season under head coach Jim Schwartz, the Lions compiled a 2–14 record.
2009 Michigan State Spartans football team - In their third season under head coach Mark Dantonio, the Spartans compiled a 6–7 record.^[2]
2009 Michigan Wolverines football team - In their second season under head coach Rich Rodriguez, the Wolverines compiled a 5–7 record. Brandon Graham was selected as the team's most valuable player. Brandon Minor and Tate Forcier were the team's leading rusher and passer, respectively.

Basketball

2008–09 Detroit Pistons season - Led by head coach Michael Curry, the Pistons compiled a 39–43 record.^[3]
2009 Detroit Shock season - Led by head coaches Bill Laimbeer (first four games) and Rick Mahorn (remaining 30 games), the Shock compiled an 18–16 record.
2008–09 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team - In their 14the season under head coach Tom Izzo, the Spartans compiled a 31–7, won the Big Ten regular season championship, and lost to North Carolina in the NCAA championship game.
2008–09 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team - In their second season under head coach John Beilein, the Wolverines compiled a 21–14 record and advanced to the Round of 32 in the NCAA tournament
2008–09 Michigan State Spartans women's basketball team - The Spartans advanced to the Sweet Sixteen.

Ice hockey

2008–09 Detroit Red Wings season - In their fourth season under head coach Mike Babcock, the Red Wings compiled a 51–21–10 record and advanced to the 2009 Stanley Cup Final where they lost to the Philadelphia Flyers.^[4]
2008–09 Michigan Wolverines men's ice hockey season - Led by head coach Red Berenson, the Red Wings compiled a 28–10–0 record. Louie Caporusso led the team with 22 goals.

Other

Chronology of events

January

February

March

April

May

May 5 - The 2009 Detroit mayoral special election was scheduled when Kwame Kilpatrick resigned after being indicted for obstruction of justice. Dave Bing won with 51.7% of the votes, defeating Kenneth Cockrel Jr. with 47.2%.

June

July

August

September

October

November

November 3 - In the 2009 Detroit mayoral election, Dave Bing received 56.2% of the votes to defeat Tom Barrow with 40.7%.
November 16 - Murder of Jamar Pinkney Jr.: Jamar Pinkney Sr. murdered his 15-year-old son, Jamar Pinkney Jr. in an execution-style shooting in Detroit. Pinkney Sr. said that Pinkney Jr. had admitted to sexually assaulting his thre-year old half-sister before he assaulted him, forced him to take off his clothes, marched him down the street while naked to a vacant lot, forced him to kneel and shot him in the head.

December

December 25 - Al-Qaeda member Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab attempted to down Northwest Airlines Flight 253 as it approached to Detroit from. He sought to detonated chemical explosives sewn into his underwear. While a small explosion and fire occurred, the exposive device failed to detonate properly.^[5]^[6]^[7] He was arraigned on January 8.^[8]

Deaths

January 6 - Ron Asheton, formed the Stooges with Iggy Pop, at age 60
February 17 - Brad Van Pelt, Michigan State linebacker (1970–72), Maxwell Award (1972), at age 57
March 6 - Colleen Howe, sports agent and wife of Gordie Howe, at age 76
March 6 - Ed McMahon, The Tonight Show and Detroit native, at age 86
March 13 Bill Davidson, CEO of Guardian Industries, owner of Detrioit Pistons, at age 86
March 23 - George Kell, Baseball Hall of Fame third baseman (1943–57), Tigers broadcaster (1959–96), at age 86
March 31 - Sidney Fine, historian, at age 88
April 13 - Mark Fidrych, pitcher known as "The Bird", at age 53
May 9 - Chuck Daly, Detroit Pistons coach (1983–92), at age 78
May 28 - Terry Barr, UM and Detroit Lions halfback (1954–1965), at age 76
July 5 - Lou Creekmur, Detroit Lions tackle (1950–59), Hall of Fame, at age 82
July 6 - Robert McNamara, President of Ford, Secretary of Defense, at age 93
August 6 - John Hughes, filmmaker born in Lansing, raised in Grosse Pointe, at age 59
September 16 - Monte Clark, Detroit Lions coach (1978–84), at age 72
October 16 - Bob Davis, Congressman (1979–1993), at age 77
October 22 - Soupy Sales, comedian and TV host, local Detroit show (1953–60), at age 83
October 28 - Dave Barclay, 1947 NCAA golf champion while at U-M, at age 89
October 30 - Forest Evashevski, UM football player (1938–40), Iowa head coach (1952–60), at age 91
November 4 - Lyman Parks, mayor of Grand Rapids (1971–1976), at age 92
December 6 - Al Dorow, quarterback and coach, at age 80
December 19 - Carl Pursell, US Congress (1977–1993), at age 76
December 28 - J. David Singer, political scientist, at age 84
December 29 - Dave Diles, sports broadcaster, journalist and author, at age 78

References

^ "2009 Detroit Tigers Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
^ "2009 Michigan State Spartans Stats". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
^ "2008-09 Detroit Pistons Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
^ "2008-09 Detroit Red Wings Roster and Statistics". Hockey Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
^ "Bomb suspect faces life". Detroit Free Press. January 7, 2010. p. 1A – via Newspapers.com.
^ "All eyes on terror case". Detroit Free Press. January 8, 2010. p. 1A – via Newspapers.com.
^ "After Bomb Attempt, Botched Responses". Detroit Free Press. January 29, 2010. p. 1A – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Flight 253 case begins: Amid Frenzy, He Faces Accusers". Detroit Free Press. January 9, 2010. p. 1A – via Newspapers.com.

[1] "2009 Detroit Tigers Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 9, 2025.

[2] "2009 Michigan State Spartans Stats". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 9, 2025.

[3] "2008-09 Detroit Pistons Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 9, 2025.

[4] "2008-09 Detroit Red Wings Roster and Statistics". Hockey Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 9, 2025.

[5] "Bomb suspect faces life". Detroit Free Press. January 7, 2010. p. 1A – via Newspapers.com.

[6] "All eyes on terror case". Detroit Free Press. January 8, 2010. p. 1A – via Newspapers.com.

[7] "After Bomb Attempt, Botched Responses". Detroit Free Press. January 29, 2010. p. 1A – via Newspapers.com.

[8] "Flight 253 case begins: Amid Frenzy, He Faces Accusers". Detroit Free Press. January 9, 2010. p. 1A – via Newspapers.com.