October 15, 1927: The Olympia Stadium Opens

October 15, 1927: The Olympia Stadium opens, at 5920 Grand River Avenue on the northwest side of Detroit. "The Old Red Barn" seated 11,563 people. At the time, the only sports arenas in the world that seated more were Madison Square Garden in New York (then new, but eventually known as "the old Madison Square Garden") and the London Olympia. In 1965, it was expanded to 15,609 seats.

The first event there was the International Stampede and Rodeo, running until October 22. 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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October 15, 1927 was a Saturday. The baseball season was over. The NHL season hadn't started yet. The NBA hadn't been founded yet. There was 1 NFL game: Because Pennsylvania prohibited professional sports on Sunday until 1933, the Northeast Philadelphia-based Frankford Yellow Jackets played home games on Saturdays. On this one, they beat the Buffalo Bisons, 54-0.

But most of the day's action was in college football:

* Notre Dame played Navy for the 1st time, at Municipal Stadium in Baltimore. Notre Dame won, 19-6. Municipal Stadium, which opened in 1922, was converted into Memorial Stadium in 1953-54.

* Illinois and Iowa State played to a 12-12 tie at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois. This was the only blemish on the Illini's record, as they won the Big Ten and National Championships.

* Missouri beat Washington University of St. Louis, 13-0 at Francis Field in St. Louis. Missouri went on to win the Championship of the Missouri Valley Conference, a precursor to the Big Eight/Twelve.

* Georgia Tech beat Alabama, 13-0 at Grant Field in Atlanta. They ended up winning the Southern Conference.

* Texas A&M beat Arkansas, 40-6 at Kyle Field in College Station, Texas. They went on to win the Southwest Conference.

* USC and Stanford played to a 13-13 tie, at Stanford Stadium in the San Francisco suburb of Palo Alto, California. This forged a tie for the Pacific Coast Conference title, and, since USC had been to the Rose Bowl more recently, Stanford was invited instead. They beat the University of Pittsburgh.

* Army beat Davis & Elkins College, 27-6 at Michie Stadium in West Point, New York. Davis & Elkins, in Elkins, West Virginia, now compete in NCAA Division II.

* In New York City, New York University beat Fordham, 32-0 before 43,000 at Yankee Stadium.

* Columbia lost to Colgate, 13-7 at Baker Field.

* City College of New York beat Upsala College (now defunct) of East Orange, New Jersey, 79-0 at Lewisohn Stadium.

* In New Jersey, Princeton hosted Washington and Lee University of Lexington, Virginia at Palmer Stadium, and won, 13-0.

* And Rutgers lost to George Washington University, 6-0 at Neilson Field in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

Also, Arsenal drew with Leicester City, 2-2 at Highbury in North London.