February 21, 1980: "The Last Hurrah" at the Olympia Stadium

February 21, 1980: The Olympia Stadium, at 5920 Grand River Avenue on the northwest side of Detroit, hosts its final event. It is an old-timers' hockey game named "The Last Hurrah."

"The Old Red Barn" hosted this game on this day, an off-day for the NHL's Hartford Whalers, so that the greatest player in Detroit Red Wings history, Gordie Howe, playing his final season at age 51, could participate.

The first event there was the International Stampede and Rodeo, running from October 15 to 22, 1927. On November 22, the Detroit Cougars of the National Hockey League played their 1st game there, after playing their 1st season in the NHL, the previous one, across the river at the Border Cities Arena in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. (It's now named the Windsor Arena.)

Johnny Sheppard of the Cougars scored the 1st goal in the building. However, the Ottawa Senators, the defending Stanley Cup Champions, won the game, 2-1. The Cougars changed their name to the Detroit Falcons in 1930, and the Detroit Red Wings in 1932.

The Wings would host the Stanley Cup Finals in 1934, 1936, 1937, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1945, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1961, 1963, 1964 and 1966. Led by stars such as Larry Aurie, Ebbie Goodfellow, Herbie Lewis and Syd Howe (no relation to Gordie), the Wings won the Cup in 1936, 1937 and 1943. Led by the Production Line of Gordie Howe, Ted Lindsay and Sid Abel, the Wings won again in 1950 and 1952. With Abel replaced by Alex Delvecchio, they won again in 1954 and 1955.

In 1946-47, the 1st season of the Basketball Association of America, the league that would become the NBA, the Olympia was home to both that league's Detroit Falcons and the National Basketball League's Detroit Gems. Both teams lasted just 1 year, although the Gems moved to become the Minneapolis, and later the Los Angeles, Lakers. The NBA's Detroit Pistons played there from 1957 to 1961.

Boxing was a major tenant of the arena. Of the 6 times that Jake LaMotta fought Sugar Ray Robinson, he only won the 2nd, and that was at the Olympia on February 5, 1943. LaMotta would win the Middleweight Championship in Detroit, by knocking out Marcel Cerdan, but that was at Briggs (later Tiger) Stadium, not the Olympia.

The Olympia was 1 of 16 buildings to have hosted concerts by both Elvis Presley and The Beatles. The Beatles played there on September 6, 1964 and August 13, 1966. Elvis sang there early in his career, on March 31, 1957; and late in his career on September 11, 1970; April 6, 1972; September 29 and October 4, 1974; and April 22, 1977. (He also sang at the Pontiac Silverdome on December 31, 1975.)

After the riot of 1967, the transition of Detroit's sports teams from the city to the suburbs was underway. Pontiac planned a domed stadium, hoping that all 4 Detroit teams might move there. The Lions did, playing at the Silverdome from 1975 to 2001, before moving to Ford Field at the northern edge of downtown. The Pistons did, playing there from 1978 to 1988, before building a new arena nearby in Auburn Hills, The Palace, where they stayed until 2017.

The Tigers and the Red Wings refused to move to Pontiac, or to Auburn Hills. The Tigers remained at Tiger Stadium until 1999, then moved into Comerica Park. Ford Field was built next-door. The Red Wings moved to the waterfront Joe Louis Arena in 1979.

The Wings played their last game at the Olympia on December 15, 1979, playing the Quebec Nordiques to a 4-4 tie. Greg Joly of the Wings scored the last goal. The Wings moved into the Joe Louis Arena on December 27, before moving to the Little Caesars Arena in 2017, sharing it with the Pistons. On February 21, 1980, the last event was held at the Olympia, an old-timers' hockey game.

It was the neighborhood, not the building, that was falling apart: Lincoln Cavalieri, its general manager in its last years, once said, "If an atom bomb landed, I'd want to be in Olympia." It was not a nuclear attack, but an ordinary demolition crew, that took it down in 1987. The Olympia Armory, home of the Michigan National Guard, is now on the site.

From the outside, it looked more like a big brick movie theater, complete with the Art Deco marquee out front. The letters on the marquee were preserved, and have been put on display at the Little Caesars Arena.

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February 21, 1980 was a Thursday. There were 3 NHL games played that day, and the Wings and Howe's Whalers were not involved in any of them:

* The New York Islanders lost to the Minnesota North Stars, 5-2 at the Nassau Coliseum. In spite of this, the Isles would go on to win the Stanley Cup.

* The Montreal Canadiens beat the Winnipeg Jets, 3-0 at the Montreal Forum.

* And the Atlanta Flames beat the Washington Capitals, 3-0 at The Omni in Atlanta. In spite of this, after the season, the Flames would move to Calgary.

Baseball and football were out of season. But there were 3 games played in the NBA, including a home game for the Detroit team:

* The Detroit Pistons lost to the Phoenix Suns, 125-116 at the Silverdome in the Detroit suburb of Pontiac. Paul Westphal scored 49 points for the Suns.

* The Washington Bullets beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 118-115 at the Capital Centre in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland.

* And the San Diego Clippers beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 104-99 at the San Diego Sports Arena, now the Pechanga Arena.