1965 in Michigan

Events from the year 1965 in Michigan.

The Detroit Free Press (DFP) and United Press International (UPI) each selected lists of the top stories of 1965 in Michigan. Those stories included:

1. The April 11 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak that struck across the Midwest causing 18 deaths in southern Michigan from Grand Rapids to Milan (DFP-1; UPI-1);
2. The March 25 murder of Viola Liuzzo, a civil rights activist from Detroit, by the Ku Klux Klan in Alabama (DFP-6; UPI-2);
3. The boom in 1965 automobile production, reaching a record high of 11,111,000 vehicles, including 9,331,000 passenger cars (DFP-3, UPI-8);
4. The May 7 sinking of the SS Cedarville in the Straits of Mackinac after it crashed in the fog with another ship (the Topdalsfjord), resulting in the death of 10 crew members (UPI-3);
5. The November 2 Detroit election in which Jerome Cavanagh was re-elected as mayor by a two-to-one margin and Nicholas Hood was elected to become the second African-American Councilman in Detroit history (DFP-2);
6. The political struggle between Republican Gov. George W. Romney and a Michigan Legislature controlled by Democrats (UPI-4);
7. The refusal to seat Daniel West in the Michigan House of Representatives after it was revealed that he lied about being an honors graduate of Yale Law School and concealed an extensive criminal record (UPI-5);
8. The November deaths of three surgery patients at Pontiac Osteopathic Hospital due to mistakes by an anesthetist (DFP-8, UPI-10);
9. The February 19 wedding of Henry Ford II and Cristina Ford (DFP-4); and
10. A February 25 blizzard, the worst since 1929, brought 35 mile-per-hour winds and 10 inches of snow to the Detroit area (DFP-5).

The UPI also rated the top sports stories in the state. The top sports stories were:

1. The 1965 Michigan State Spartans football team that finished the season with a perfect 10–0 record and was ranked No. 1 in the AP and UPI Polls (the Spartans then lost to UCLA in the 1966 Rose Bowl and dropped to No. 2 in the final AP Poll);

1. The 1964–65 Michigan Wolverines basketball team led by Cazzie Russell that advanced to the Final Four of the NCAA tournament before losing to UCLA in the championship game;
2. The 1964–65 Detroit Red Wings that finished the season with the best record in the National Hockey League (NHL) only to lose in the first round of the playoffs;
3. The victory of the 1964 Michigan Wolverines football team over Oregon State in the 1965 Rose Bowl (the 1964 Wolverines finished at 9–1 and ranked No. 4 in the AP and UPI polls);
4. Benton Harbor and River Rouge repeating as Michigan's Class A and Class B high school basketball champions (the 1965 championship was the fifth straight at the Class B level for River Rouge);
5. The strong hitting of Willie Horton, playing his first full season in the major leagues, during the first half of the 1965 season (in his first 19 games, Horton had a .403 batting average with 9 home runs and 21 RBIs);
6. The Detroit Lions' collapse, dropping to sixth place in the NFL West with a 6–7–1 record;
7. A March 9 heart attack that sidelined Detroit Tigers manager Charlie Dressen for the first part of the 1965 season (Bob Swift took over as manager during Dressen's convalescence);
8. The April 1 firing of Forddy Anderson, head coach of the Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team since 1954, shortly after the 1964–65 team compiled a disastrous 5–18 record (1–13 in conference play); and
9. A disappointing year for the 1964–65 Detroit Pistons, finishing in fourth place in the NBA Western Division with a 31–49 record.

In music, Detroit's Motown record label was at a peak of its prominence with numerous national hit records in 1965, including: "My Girl" by The Temptations; "Stop! In the Name of Love", "Back in My Arms Again", and "I Hear a Symphony" by The Supremes; "Nowhere to Run" by Martha and the Vandellas; "The Tracks of My Tears" and "Ooo Baby Baby" by The Miracles; "It's the Same Old Song" and "I Can't Help Myself" by the Four Tops; "Uptight" by Stevie Wonder; "How Sweet It Is" by Marvin Gaye; and "Don't Mess with Bill" by The Marvelettes.