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Michigan Sporting Goods Distributors, Inc. Business Information, Profile, and History

3070 Shaffer S.E.
Grand Rapids, Michigan 49512
U.S.A.

Company Perspectives:

Our Goal at MC Sports is to create an environment of mutual respect, which allows success for both the employees and the company.

History of Michigan Sporting Goods Distributors, Inc.

Michigan Sporting Goods Distributors, Inc. operates a chain of nearly 70 MC Sports stores, which are located in seven states in the Midwest. Most of the firm's outlets are about 15,000 square feet in size and carry a full line of sporting goods and clothing, while a handful are twice as large and incorporate an outdoor center that features camping, hunting, and fishing gear. The company is owned by members of senior management.

Early Years

MC Sporting Goods traces its origins to 1946, when Jack Finklestein founded a store in Grand Rapids, Michigan, called Michigan Clothiers. Finklestein had previously managed a local store called Sterling Clothing Company, which had later become known as Fink Clothing. In 1946, he renamed the business Michigan Clothiers and began to focus on selling menswear, war surplus items, and recreational products. Finklestein's wife Genevieve, who had received a business degree from the University of Chicago, also participated in running the business, while helping raise their sons Morton, Edward, and Raleigh.

As sales of sports-related products grew during the 1950s, the company gradually shifted its inventory in this direction. In 1961, now under the control of Morton, Edward, and Raleigh Finklestein, the store was renamed MC Sporting Goods, and its inventory updated to include only sports equipment, clothing, and shoes.

The new concept was a success, and during the next two decades additional stores were opened in western Michigan, and then in other parts of the state and in neighboring Ohio and Illinois. By 1986, the company, which had become known as MC Sporting Goods, was operating a total of 23 stores.

Sporting goods retailers were now seeing a massive consolidation in which a few players sought to create national chains by purchasing strong regional operators. In 1986, the Finklestein brothers decided to sell their firm to Thrifty Corp., a California-based company with $1.6 billion in annual sales that owned several sporting goods and drugstore chains. The brothers would remain in charge of the business following the sale.

Thrifty's other sporting goods chains included Big 5, with 94 West Coast stores; and Gart Brothers, a Denver-based chain of 16. Thrifty itself had recently been acquired by Pacific Lighting Corp., a Los Angeles-based holding company that owned Southern California Gas Co., the largest natural gas utility in the United States.

Expansion in the Late 1980s

Taking advantage of Thrifty's deep pockets, MC Sporting Goods soon began to expand. Shortly after the ownership change was finalized, the company opened three new stores in Ohio, and the following summer it purchased three Chicago-area sporting goods stores owned by Morrie Mages, a well-known local entrepreneur, which were subsequently renamed MC Mages.

Within a year, 20 new stores had been added, including additional ones in Iowa and Illinois. In the fall of 1988, the company also bought Brown's Sporting Goods, which operated a chain of 18 stores in Illinois and Indiana.

By 1990, MC Sporting Goods was ranked the 13th-largest sporting goods chain in the United States by Sports Trend magazine, which estimated its annual sales at $150 million. Late in that year, the Finklestein brothers' four-year contract ended, and they gave up control of the firm their father had founded. They would go on to other business ventures in the Grand Rapids area, including opening several Kenny Rogers Roasters chicken restaurants.

The company soon named B. Chris Schwartz president and CEO. Schwartz had previously headed Bata Shoe Co. and Cevaxs Corp. and served as chief operating officer of BiWay Stores. By this time, the firm was operating 62 outlets in Michigan and four other states. Sales were split evenly between clothing and sports equipment.

In 1991, Thrifty shifted control of 20 Gart Brothers and Casey's Sports stores in Missouri and Kansas to MC Sporting Goods, which reopened them as MC Sports stores. The firm subsequently added a 100,000-square-foot warehouse space in Grand Rapids to handle the larger inventory its new stores required. By the start of 1992, the firm had a total of 77 outlets.

Sale to Leonard Green & Partners in 1992

In the years since its 1986 acquisition by Pacific Lighting, many of Thrifty's divisions had seen revenues decline, and in early 1992 that firm announced that its retail chains, including all 266 of its sporting goods stores, were for sale. In the spring, a deal was reached with buy-out specialists Leonard Green & Partners of Los Angeles to acquire most of Thrifty's operations, with its Pay 'N Save unit to be purchased by Kmart's PayLess Drug Stores subsidiary. The total price of both deals was put at $275 million, about a fourth of the $1.1 billion Pacific Lighting had originally paid.

With competition now fierce in the sporting goods marketplace, MC Sporting Goods began to shift its focus toward improving customer service, rather than emulating big-box chains like The Sports Authority or mass-merchandisers like Wal-Mart and Sears. In July, CEO Schwartz, who had unsuccessfully attempted to buy MC Sporting Goods himself, quit the firm. He was replaced by John Chase on an interim basis until James Minton took the top job in October. Minton had formerly headed Thrifty's Pay 'N Save operation. For 1992, the company's sales were estimated at $155 million.

In October 1993, MC Sporting Goods announced it was closing nine stores in the St. Louis area, all of which had formerly been Casey's Sports outlets. The firm also opened three new stores in Chicago during the year, which left it with a total of 62 by year's end.

In 1994, MC Sporting Goods began a major overhaul of its image. The firm's flagship store in Grand Rapids was remodeled at a cost of $500,000, with video demonstration displays, an in-store workout center, and expanded product lines added. Its name was also changed from MC Sporting Goods to MC Sports. The renovation was a success, and future stores were built in this mold, with existing ones upgraded over time.

The year 1994 also saw the company announce a program called TEAMMATES, through which it would donate goods valued at 5 percent of the total on store receipts collected by various organizations. The program was intended to benefit school athletic programs and charitable sports-related organizations such as the YMCA.

In the fall of 1994, MC Sports announced plans to open 18 new stores over the next year, including several each in Cleveland, Chicago, Detroit, and Kansas City. Sales of sporting goods were again on the upswing, and other chains, including Dick's Sporting Goods, Sports & Recreation, and Sportsmart, were also announcing aggressive new expansion plans. Sales for 1995 were estimated at $175 million, with MC Sports seeing particularly strong growth in sales of camping gear and women's sports apparel.

Senior Management Buys Firm in 1996

In the summer of 1996, a deal was reached for a group of the firm's senior management, including CEO Jim Minton and chief financial officer Bruce Ullery, to buy MC Sports from Leonard Green & Partners. The company was now operating a total of 78 stores.

The year 1996 also saw MC Sports sign on as a primary sponsor of the Great Lakes State Games, an Olympics-style event for Michigan athletes held in the state capital of Lansing. In addition to this and the TEAMMATES program, MC Sporting Goods participated in Miracle May, during which month a portion of sales was given to the Children's Miracle Network.

In the summer of 1997, the company acquired Traverse Bay Tackle Co. of Traverse City, Michigan, a large fishing-goods store, and merged it into a new MC Sports store opening in the area. Their combined operations would offer 44,000 square feet of retail space. It was one of the first examples of a new prototype, dubbed an Outdoor Center, which MC Sports would later begin to build in select markets. Most of its stores, which were typically located in strip and shopping malls, averaged 15,000 square feet.

The firm was also now looking at expanding to smaller markets where the competition was less intense. In 1998, MC Sports opened 20,000 square foot stores in Decatur, Illinois, and Toledo, Ohio, and announced ambitious plans to open 12 to 15 other outlets in Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina, though this idea was soon scrapped. In September 1998, Jim Minton stepped down and Bruce Ullery was appointed president and CEO.

Fierce competition was just one source of difficulty for sporting goods retailers, who also faced a continuing decline in sports participation among young people. This was attributed in part to financially strapped school districts cutting athletics programs, as well as the growing popularity of stay-at-home activities like video games. Some chains, including one-time industry leader Herman's, had already gone belly-up, while others, like Jumbo Sports/Sports & Recreation, were in serious trouble.

MC Sports itself began to close more underperforming outlets and by the spring of 1999 had slimmed down to a total of 65 stores. The company was also looking at the retail possibilities offered by the Internet, and in May announced an "e-tailing" partnership with Global Sports Interactive (GSI), which would operate the firm's online business, along with those of competitors like Sports Chalet, The Athlete's Foot, and Sports & Recreation. The plan called for GSI to design and operate each company's Web site and handle ordering, fulfillment, and customer service. MC Sports would receive 10 percent of revenues in exchange for putting the Web address in all of its marketing. The Web site began operating in November, in time for the holiday shopping season.

November 1999 also saw the firm open new stores in Bloomington, Indiana; Joplin, Missouri; and West Bend, Wisconsin. The first was a 30,000-square-foot Outdoor Center, while the Wisconsin and Missouri stores were the more typical 15,000 square foot size.

In 2000, MC Sports added new stores in Grandville, Michigan; Rockford, Illinois; and Madison, Wisconsin. All were Outdoor Centers. The firm expanded its warehouse capacity during the year by leasing part of a vacant Sam's Club store south of Grand Rapids, where it would also sell clearance items.

In 2001, MC Sports closed several stores and shrank to 64 outlets, with sales hitting an estimated $210 million. The year 2002 saw the firm receive a $40 million line of credit from LaSalle Retail Finance to help fund growth. Four more stores were added during the year, bringing the total up to 68. This number held steady for the next two years, even as estimated sales, according to industry newspaper Sporting Goods Business, declined to $148 million.

The nearly 60-year old MC Sports was working to adapt to a tough retail environment by building large Outdoor Centers in some markets and targeting smaller cities in others. Its continued survival was evidence of the skill and tenacity of its management.

Principal Competitors: The Sports Authority, Inc.; Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc.; Dunham's Sports; Winmark Corp.; Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.; Kmart Corp.; Target Corp.

Related information about Michigan

pop (2000e) 9 938 400; area 151 579 km²/58 527 sq mi. State in NC USA, divided into 83 counties; split into two peninsulas by L Michigan and L Huron; the ‘Great Lake State’ or the ‘Wolverine State’; 26th state admitted to the Union, 1837; settled by the French, 1668; ceded to the British, 1763; handed over to the USA in 1783 and became part of Indiana Territory; Territory of Michigan established, 1805; boundaries greatly extended in 1818 and 1834; capital, Lansing; other chief cities, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Warren, Flint; the Montreal, Brule, and Menominee Rivers mark the Wisconsin border; the border with Canada is formed by the St Clair R (between L Huron and L St Clair) and the Detroit R (between L St Clair and L Erie); 99 909 km²/38 565 sq mi of the Great Lakes lie within the state boundary; highest point Mt Curwood (604 m/1982 ft); the upper peninsula and N part of the lower peninsula are mainly forested, containing several state parks; a major tourist area; the S part of the state is highly industrialized; motor vehicles and parts, machinery, cement, iron and steel (second in the country for iron ore production); corn and dairy products.

Michigan (pronounced ) is a Midwestern state of the United States, located in the east north central portion of the country. It was named after Lake Michigan, the word 'Michigan' itself being a French derivative of the Ojibwe misshikama (read "mish-ih-GAH-muh"), meaning "big lake" (compare kitchikama, meaning "Great Lake" - pronounced "gitch-ih-GAH-ma," or "Gitchee-Gumee" as rendered by Longfellow).

Bounded by four of the five Great Lakes, plus Lake Saint Clair, Michigan has the longest freshwater shoreline in the United States, the longest total shoreline after Alaska (including island shorelines)"Does Michigan have the longest coast line in the United States?" The Upper Peninsula (U.P.) is separated from the Lower Peninsula by the Straits of Mackinac, a five-mile channel that joins Lake Huron to Lake Michigan. The Great Lakes that border Michigan are Lake Erie, Lake Huron, Lake Michigan and Lake Superior.

History

Michigan was home to various Native Americans centuries before colonization by Europeans. When the first European explorers arrived, the most populous and influential tribes were Algonquian peoples - specifically, the Ottawa, the Anishnabe (called "Chippewa" in French, after their language, "Ojibwe"), and the Potawatomi. Other First Nations people in Michigan, in the south and east, were the Mascouten, the Miami, and the Wyandot, who are better known by their French name, "Huron".

Michigan was explored and settled by French voyageurs in the 17th century. The first European settlement was made in 1641 on the site where Father (or Père, in French) Jacques Marquette established Sault Sainte-Marie in 1668.

Saint-Ignace was founded in 1671, and Marquette in 1675. That same year, La Salle built Fort Miami at present-day St. Joseph.

In 1701, French explorer and army officer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac founded Le Fort Ponchartrain du Détroit or ?Fort Ponchartrain on-the-Strait? on the strait between Lakes St. Clair and Erie, known as the Detroit River. Cadillac had convinced King Louis XIV's chief minister, Louis Phélypeaux, Comte de Pontchartrain, that a permanent community there would strengthen French control over the upper Great Lakes and repel British aspirations.

The hundred soldiers and workers who accompanied Cadillac built a 200-square-foot palisade and named it Fort Pontchartrain. Under the 1763 Treaty of Paris, Michigan and the rest of New France passed to Great Britain.

Detroit was an important British supply center during the American Revolutionary War, but most of the inhabitants - almost all of them - were either Aboriginal people or French Canadians. When Quebec was split into Lower and Upper Canada in 1790, Michigan was part of Kent County, Upper Canada, and held its first democratic elections in August 1792, to send delegates to the new provincial parliament at Newark, (Now Niagara-on-the-Lake). Under terms negotiated in the 1794 Jay Treaty, Britain withdrew from Detroit and Michilimackinac in 1796. However, questions remained over the boundary for many years and the United States did not have uncontested control of the Upper Peninsula and Drummond Island until 1818 and 1847, respectively.
During the War of 1812, Michigan Territory (effectively consisting of Detroit and the surrounding area) was captured by the British and nominally returned to Upper Canada until the Treaty of Ghent, which implemented the policy of "Status Quo Ante Bellum" or "Just as Things Were Before the War." Subsequent to the findings of that commission in 1817, control of the Upper Peninsula and of islands in the St. Clair River delta was transferred from Ontario to Michigan in 1818, and Drummond Island (to which the British had moved their Michilimackinac army base) was transferred in 1847.

The population grew slowly until the opening of the Erie Canal in 1825, which brought a large influx of settlers. A state government was formed in 1836, although Congressional recognition of the state languished because of a boundary dispute with Ohio, with both sides claiming a 468 square mile (1,210 km²) strip of land that included the newly incorporated city of Toledo on Lake Erie and an area to the west then known as the "Great Black Swamp." Ultimately, Congress awarded the "Toledo Strip" to Ohio, and Michigan, having received the western part of the Upper Peninsula as a concession, formally entered the Union on January 26, 1837.

Thought to be useless at the time, the Upper Peninsula was soon discovered to be a rich and important source of lumber, iron, and copper, which would become the state's most sought-after natural resources. Geologist Douglass Houghton and land surveyor William Austin Burt were among the first to document and discover many of these resources, which led to a nation-wide increase of interest in the state.
Michigan's economy underwent a massive change at the turn of the 20th century. The birth of the automotive industry, with Henry Ford's first plant in the Highland Park enclave of Detroit, marked the beginning of a new era in transportation.

Law and government

Lansing is the state capital and is home to all three branches of state government. The legislative branch consists of the bicameral Michigan Legislature, with a House of Representatives and Senate. The Constitution of Michigan of 1963 provides for voter initiative and referendum (Article II, § 9,Article II, § 9 of state constitution defined as "the power to propose laws and to enact and reject laws, called the initiative, and the power to approve or reject laws enacted by the legislature, called the referendum. only the trustees of the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, and Wayne State University are chosen in general elections.

Michigan was the first state in the Union to abolish the death penalty, in 1846. Chardavoyne has suggested that the abolitionist movement in Michigan grew as a result of enmity towards the state's neighbor, Canada, which under British rule made public executions a regular practice.lists.compar.com/cuadpupdate/2005-March/000115.html

Politics

As with other Rust Belt states, the Republican Party dominated Michigan until the Great Depression. In 2004, John Kerry carried the state over George W. Villages, by contrast, have limited home rule, in that they are not completely autonomous from the county and township in which they are located.

There are two types of township in Michigan: general law township and charter.

Geography

Michigan consists of two peninsulas that lie between 82°30' to about 90º30' west longitude, and are separated by the Straits of Mackinac.

The state is bounded on the south by the states of Ohio and Indiana, sharing both land and water boundaries with both. then a land boundary with Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula, that is principally demarcated by the Menominee and Montreal rivers; then water boundaries again, in Lake Superior, with Wisconsin and Minnesota to the west, capped by Ontario to the north. The northern boundary then runs completely through Lake Superior, from the western boundary with Minnesota to a point north of and around Isle Royale, thence travelling southeastward through the lake in a reasonably straight line to the Sault Ste. Michigan also shares a water boundary with the Canadian First Nation reserve of Walpole Island.

Michigan encompasses 58,110 square miles (150,504 km²) of land, 38,575 square miles (99,909 km²) of Great Lakes waters and 1,305 square miles (3,380 km²) of inland waters. Only the state of Alaska has more territorial water and Michigan is well ahead of third ranked Florida which has 11,827.77 square miles (30,633.8 km²).www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108355.html
At a total of 97,990 square miles (253,793 km²), it is the largest state east of the Mississippi River (inclusive of its territorial waters). The Porcupine Mountains, which are the oldest mountains in North America, rise to an altitude of almost 2,000 feet above sea level and form the watershed between the streams flowing into Lake Superior and Lake Michigan. The state's highest point is Mount Arvon at 1,979 feet (603 m). The peninsula is as large as Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island combined, but has less than 330,000 inhabitants, who are sometimes called "Yoopers" (from "U.P.'ers") and whose speech (the "Yooper dialect") has been heavily influenced by the large number of Scandinavian and Canadian immigrants who settled the area during the mining boom of the late 1800's.

The Lower Peninsula, shaped like a mitten, is 277 miles (446 km) long from north to south and 195 miles (314 km) from east to west and occupies nearly two-thirds of the state's land area. The highest point in the Lower Peninsula is not definitely established but is either Briar Hill at 1,705 feet (520 m), or one of several points nearby. Ironwood, in the far western Upper Peninsula, lies 630 highway miles (1,015 km) from the Toledo, Ohio suburb of Lambertville in the Lower Peninsula's southeastern corner. Keweenaw, Whitefish, and the Big and Little Bays De Noc are the principal indentations on the Upper Peninsula, while the Grand and Little Traverse, Thunder, and Saginaw bays indent the Lower Peninsula. The state has numerous large islands, the principal ones being the Manitou, Beaver, and Fox groups in Lake Michigan; Isle Royale and Grande Isle in Lake Superior; Marquette, Bois Blanc, and Mackinac Islands in Lake Huron; and Nebish, Sugar, and Drummond Islands in St. Mary's River (see also Islands of Michigan).

The state's rivers are small, short and shallow, and few are navigable. The principal ones include the Au Sable, Thunder Bay, Cheboygan, and Saginaw, all of which flow into Lake Huron; and the St. Joseph, Kalamazoo, Grand, and Escanaba, which flow into Lake Michigan. Metropolitan Detroit/Ann Arbor/Flint/Windsor is also the world's largest international metropolitan area.

The state is home to several national parks, including: Isle Royale National Park, Keweenaw National Historical Park, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, and Father Marquette National Memorial. As of 2000, the state had the 8th largest population in the Union.

As of 2004, the state had a foreign-born population of 594,700 (5.9% of the state population).

The five largest reported ancestries in Michigan are: German (20.4%), African American (14.2%), Irish (10.7%), English (9.9%), Polish (8.6%). People of Nordic (especially Finnish), British (notably Cornish), and French ancestry have a notable presence in the Upper Peninsula. Metro Detroit has many residents of Polish and Irish descent, and is home to the largest Arab community in the United States. African-Americans form a majority of the population of the city of Detroit and of several other cities, including Flint, Southfield and Benton Harbor.

Religion

The religious affiliations of the people of Michigan are:

Christian ? 15%

Michigan has a higher percentage of Muslims (who live mainly in the Detroit area) and a higher percentage of Reformed Christians (concentrated in the western part of the state) than any other American state.

Economy

The Michigan economy is a leader in information technology, life sciences, and advanced manufacturing. From the 2003 Study "Contributions of the Automotive Industry to the U.S. Economy" University of Michigan and the Center for Automotive Reseach

Michigan has been able to manage recent economic hardships brought on by the severe stock market decline following the September 11, 2001 attacks which caused a pension and benefit fund crisis for many American companies including General Motors, Ford, and DaimlerChrysler. From 1997 to 2004, Michigan was listed as the only state to top the 10,000 mark for the number of major new developments, led by Metro Detroit.MEDC (2005) Michigan #2 in the Nation for New Corporate Facilities and Expansions in 2004 Globeinvestor.com PR NEWS WIRE

Even though Michigan is known as the birthplace of the automobile industry, its diverse economy leads in many other areas. Michigan has a booming biotechnology and life sciences corridor.MEDC 2006.

Pfizer makes Michigan one of its largest global employment locations; As leading research institutions, the University of Michigan and Michigan State University are both important partners in the State's economy. Commercial PortsState of Michigan Detroit Metropolitan Airport is one of the nation's most recently expanded and modernized airports with six major runways and large aircraft maintainace facilities capable of servicing and repairing the Boeing 747. Some of the major industries/products/services include automobiles (General Motors, Ford, Daimler-Chrysler), Amway, cereal (Kellogg's), information technology, computer software (Compuware, IBM), pharmaceuticals (Pfizer), medical products (Stryker), aerospace systems equipment (Smith Aerospace, Eaton Aerospace), military equipment (General Dynamics, Raytheon), lasers (Rofin-Sinar), financial services (Quicken Loans, Comerica, National City Bank), energy equipment (DTE Energy), fuel cells (Next Energy) seating (Lear), copper, iron, furniture (Steelcase, Herman Miller, Haworth, and La-Z-Boy).

Michigan has a thriving tourist industry, with destinations such as Traverse City, Mackinac Island, Ludington, Muskegon, Saugatuck, the Upper Peninsula, Frankenmuth, and Detroit, drawing vacationers, hunters, and nature enthusiasts from across the United States and Canada. Michigan has more than 90 native species of trees, more than all of Europe combined.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that Michigan's gross state product in 2004 was $372 billion.www.bea.gov/bea/newsrel/gspnewsrelease.htm Per capita personal income in 2003 was $31,178 and ranked twentieth in the nation.

Michigan's flat tax rate on personal income is 3.90 percent gives it one of the lowest top brackets in the nation. I-675 in Saginaw.

Interstate 69 enters the state near the Michigan-Ohio-Indiana border, and it extends to Port Huron and provides access to the Blue Water Bridge crossing into Sarnia, Ontario.

Interstate 94 enters the western end of the state at the Indiana border, and it travels east to Detroit and then northeast to Port Huron and ties in with I-69.

Interstate 96 runs east-west between Detroit and Muskegon.

U.S. State Highways

Include: US 12, US 10, US 223, US 23, US 127, US 27, US 31, US 131, US 2, US 41, US 45, US 141.

Major bridges include the Ambassador Bridge, Blue Water Bridge, Mackinac Bridge, and International Bridge.

Important cities and towns

The following are the largest metropolitan areas in Michigan, along with their 2000 population and 2000 national ranking (according to the 2000 census and the census bureau's 2003 definitions of "Metropolitan Statistical Area" and "Micropolitan Statistical Area"):

Detroit-Warren-Livonia, population 4,452,557 (9th)
Grand Rapids-Wyoming, population 740,482 (63rd)
Lansing-East Lansing, population 447,728 (99th)
Flint, population 436,141 (104th)
Ann Arbor, population 322,895 (140th)
Kalamazoo-Portage, population 314,866 (146th)
Holland-Grand Haven, population 238,314 (172nd)
Saginaw-Saginaw Township North, population 210,039 (188th)
Muskegon-Norton Shores, population 170,200 (219th)
Niles-Benton Harbor, population 162,453 (231st)

The census bureau also consolidates some of the above metro areas into "Combined Statistical Areas". These areas are listed below along with their 2000 population and 2000 national ranking (according to the 2000 census and the census bureau's definition of "Combined Statistical Area"):

Detroit-Warren-Flint, population 5,357,538 (8th)
Grand Rapids-Muskegon-Holland, population 1,254,661 (34th)
Lansing-East Lansing-Owosso, population 519,415 (60th)
Saginaw-Bay City-Saginaw Township North, population 320,196 (79th)

The largest municipalities in Michigan are (according to the 2000 census):

Detroit, population 951,270 (also known as "Motor City", Motown, "Hockeytown", and "The D")
Grand Rapids, population 197,800 ("The Furniture City")
Warren, population 138,247
Flint, population 124,943 (The birthplace of General Motors, also known as "The Vehicle City")
Sterling Heights, population 124,471
Lansing population 119,128, (the state capital)
Ann Arbor population 114,024, (the home of the University of Michigan, also known as "A²", "A-squared", "Tree Town", "Ace Deuce")
Livonia, population 100,545
Dearborn, population 98,000 (headquarters of the Ford Motor Company; birthplace of Henry Ford)
Clinton Township, population 95,648

Other important cities include:

Battle Creek ("Cereal City U.S.A.")
Bay City (major port on the Saginaw River)
East Lansing (home of Michigan State University)
Holland (Home of the Michigan Dutch)
Kalamazoo ("The Mall City", "Celery City")
Marquette (largest city in the Upper Peninsula with 19,661 people).
Midland (headquarters of the Dow Chemical Company and the Dow Corning Corporation)
Port Huron (major international crossing and home of the Blue Water Bridge)

Sault Ste. Benton Harbor is the poorest city in Michigan, with a per capita income of $8,965.

Education

Colleges and universities

Adrian College
Albion College
Alma College
Andrews University
Aquinas College
Ave Maria College
Ave Maria School of Law
Baker College
Calvin College
Calvin Theological Seminary
Center for Humanistic Studies
Central Bible College
Central Michigan University
Cleary University
College for Creative Studies
Concordia University

Cornerstone University
Cranbrook Academy of Art
Davenport University
Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary
Eastern Michigan University
Ecumenical Theological Seminary
Ferris State University
Finlandia University
Grace Bible College
Grand Rapids Theological Seminary
Grand Valley State University
Great Lakes Christian College
Hillsdale College
Hope College
Kalamazoo College
Kendall College of Art and Design

Kettering University
Kuyper College
Lake Superior State University
Lawrence Technological University
Lewis College of Business
Madonna University
Marygrove College
Michigan Jewish Institute
Michigan State University
Michigan Technological University
Michigan Theological Seminary
Northern Michigan University
Northwood University
Oakland University
Olivet College
Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary
Rochester College
Sacred Heart Major Seminary

SS. Cooley Law School
University of Detroit Mercy
University of Michigan System
- University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
- University of Michigan-Dearborn
- University of Michigan-Flint
Walsh College of Accountancy and Business
Wayne State University
Western Michigan University
Western Theological Seminary
William Tyndale College
Yeshiva Beth Yehudah Gedolah

Community colleges and technical schools

American College of Computer and Information Sciences
Alpena Community College
Bay de Noc Community College
Bay Mills Community College
Delta College
Ellis College of NYIT
Glen Oaks Community College
Gogebic Community College
Grand Rapids Community College
Henry Ford Community College
ITT Technical Institute - Canton, Grand Rapids, and Troy
Jackson Community College

Kalamazoo Valley Community College
Kellogg Community College
Kirtland Community College
Lake Michigan College
Lansing Community College
Macomb Community College
Mid-Michigan Community College
Monroe County Community College
Montcalm Community College
Mott Community College
Muskegon Community College
National Institute of Technology - Southfield and Wyoming

North Central Michigan College
Northwestern Michigan College
Oakland Community College
Olympia Career Training Institute - Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo

Ross Medical Education Center - Saginaw, Flint, Grand Rapids, Brighton, Muskegon, Redford, Warren, Port Huron, Lansing, Ann Arbor

Saint Clair County Community College
Schoolcraft College
Southwestern Michigan College
University of Phoenix - Detroit and Grand Rapids
Washtenaw Community College
Wayne County Community College
West Shore Community College

Professional sports teams

Most major league sports teams in Michigan are located in Metro Detroit, with the Detroit Tigers baseball team (MLB), Detroit Lions football team (NFL), and Detroit Red Wings ice hockey team (NHL) located within the city of Detroit. The Detroit Pistons men's basketball team of NBA and the Detroit Shock women's basketball team of the WNBA play at the Palace of Auburn Hills. (The Pistons played at Detroit's Cobo Arena until 1978, and at Pontiac's Silverdome until 1988.) The Detroit Lions played at Tiger Stadium in Detroit until 1974, then moved out to the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac before moving back to Detroit's Ford Field in 2002. The Arena Football League's Grand Rapids Rampage is the state's other "major league" sports team. Professional hockey got its start in Houghton, Michigan in the U.P., when the Portage Lakers were formed.

Other notable sports teams include:

Club	Sport	League
Alpena Ice Diggers	Ice hockey	North American Hockey League
Flint Generals	Ice hockey	United Hockey League
Grand Rapids Griffins	Ice hockey	American Hockey League
Kalamazoo Wings	Ice Hockey	United Hockey League
Marquette Rangers	Ice Hockey	North American Hockey League
Muskegon Fury	Ice hockey	United Hockey League
Plymouth Whalers	Ice hockey	Ontario Hockey League
Port Huron Flags	Ice hockey	United Hockey League
Saginaw Spirit	Ice hockey	Ontario Hockey League
Traverse City North Stars	Ice hockey	North American Hockey League
Lansing Lugnuts	Baseball	Minor League Baseball, Midwest League
Great Lakes Loons	Baseball	Minor League Baseball, Midwest League
Kalamazoo Kings	Baseball	Minor League Baseball
Traverse City Beach Bums	Baseball	Minor League Baseball
West Michigan Whitecaps	Baseball	Minor League Baseball, Midwest League
Michigan Mayhem	Basketball	Continental Basketball Association
Grand Rapids Rampage	Arena football	Arena Football League
Battle Creek Crunch	Indoor football	Great Lakes Indoor Football League
Motor City Reapers	Indoor football	Great Lakes Indoor Football League
Muskegon Thunder	Indoor football	Great Lakes Indoor Football League
Port Huron Pirates	Indoor football	Great Lakes Indoor Football League
Detroit Demolition	Football	Independent Women's Football League
Detroit Ignition	Soccer	Major Indoor Soccer League
Kalamazoo Kingdom	Soccer	USL Premier Development League
Michigan Bucks	Soccer	USL Premier Development League
Michigan Hawks	Soccer	W-League
Michigan Phoenix	Soccer	Women's Premier Soccer League
West Michigan Edge	Soccer	USL Premier Development League
West Michigan Firewomen	Soccer	W-League

Trivia

Michigan is simultaneously known for its cities, supported by heavy industry, and its pristine wilderness, home to more than 11,000 lakes. The clang and clamor of Metro Detroit's crowded thoroughfares and busy factories stand in vivid counterpoint to the tranquility found in virtually every corner of the state.

An individual from Michigan is called a "Michiganian" or "Michigander"."Michiganian or Michigander?" Michigan is nicknamed the "Great Lakes State", and also the "Wolverine State", from a nickname earned during the Toledo War.

Michigan has over 130 lighthouses, the most of any U.S. state. See Lighthouses in the United States.

Michigan has the most registered boats (over 1 million) of any state in the Union.

Michigan is home to the Soo Locks, the world's busiest lock system, and the Mackinac and Ambassador Bridges, each formerly the world's longest suspension bridge. This is a paraphrase of a statement made by British architect Sir Christopher Wren about his influence on London.

State song: My Michigan (official since 1937, but disputed amongst Michiganders, see Michigan's State Songs)
State bird: American Robin (since 1931)
State animal: Wolverine (traditional, though not codified)
State game animal: White-tailed Deer (since 1997)
State fish: Brook Trout (since 1965)
State reptile: Painted Turtle (since 1995)
State fossil: Mastodon (since 2000)
State flower: Apple Blossom (adopted in 1897, official in 1997)
State wildflower: Dwarf Lake Iris (since 1998). Known as Iris lacustris, it is a federally-listed threatened species.
State tree: White Pine (since 1955)
State stone: Petoskey stone (since 1965). It is composed of fossilized coral (Hexagonaria pericarnata) from long ago when the middle of the continent was covered with a shallow sea.
State gem: Isle Royale greenstone (since 1973). Also called chlorastrolite (literally "green star stone"), the mineral is found on Isle Royale and the Keweenaw peninsula.
State soil: Kalkaska Sand (since 1990), ranges in color from black to yellowish brown, covers nearly a million acres (4,000 km²) in 29 counties.

References

Footnotes

Chronology

Key Dates:
1946: Jack Finklestein founds Michigan Clothiers in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
1961: Finklestein's three sons take charge and rename the store MC Sporting Goods; 20 additional stores are opened in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.
1986: The company is sold to Thrifty Corp. of California.
1987: Three Morrie Mages stores are bought in Chicago and renamed MC Mages.
1988: Brown's Sporting Goods chain of 18 stores is acquired.
1990: Finklestein family members exit the company.
1991: The firm takes control of 20 Gart Brothers/Casey's stores in Missouri and Kansas.
1992: Thrifty Corp. sells the company to Leonard Green & Partners of Los Angeles.
1996: Senior management, led by CEO Jim Minton, buys the firm from Leonard Green.
1998: Minton steps down; Bruce Ullery is named CEO.
1999: Online sales begin through Global Sports Interactive.

Additional topics

Company HistorySporting Goods Stores

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