Kalamazoo - The Center of the Football World

        I believe that Kalamazoo, Michigan is the center of the football world. For starters, this is where I live! According to the 2000 Census, the city has a population of 77,145. It is located in southwest lower Michigan, half way between Chicago and Detroit. In fact, a sign at the Kalamazoo train station tells passengers they are 142 miles from Detroit and 138 miles from Chicago. Also take into consideration the following evidence;

        Within an 8-hour drive from Kalamazoo, you can travel to the home stadiums of the NFL's Detroit Lions, Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, Cleveland Browns, Cincinnati Bengals and Indianapolis Colts. 

        If major college football is more your style, you could easily travel to the University of Michigan, Michigan State, Note Dame, Wisconsin, Indiana, Purdue, Illinois or Ohio State. Locally, Kalamazoo's Western Michigan University is a member of the Mid-America Conference. Other nearby MAC schools include Central and Eastern Michigan, Akron, Miami of Ohio and Kent State.

        In the Canadian Football League, a six-hour drive will take you to see the Hamilton Tiger-Cats or the Toronto Argonauts play.

        Beyond simply going to watch football games, you could also visit the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, (left-top) the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Indiana (left-bottom) or the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in Hamilton, Ontario. Indianapolis is also home to the College Hall of Champions, which honors all college athletics, including football.

        When you examine the history of the game of college football, it has really thrived right here in the Midwest. Some of the early powerhouses that are steeped in tradition are the University of Michigan, who played in the first ever college bowl game in 1902, Notre Dame, which gave us the Four Horsemen, Knute Rockne and the Gipper, the University of Chicago, where Amos Alonzo Stagg made a name for himself as a coach and Indiana, which gave us Red Grange.

        Pro football's roots are here in the Midwest, too. The Packers, Bears, Lions and Browns are some of the oldest franchises in the National Football League.

        On June 29, 2008, the Kalamazoo Xplosion, of the Continental Indoor Football League, hosted the CIFL Championship game at Wings Stadium against another team from Michigan, the Saginaw Sting. The Sting won the game 41-37. In 2008, another team from Kalamazoo, the West Michigan Mayhem of the National Women's Football Association, played for a league title in Nashville, Tennessee. The Mayhem lost to the Houston Cyclones 39-10. The following year, the Mayhem lost in the championship game to the St. Louis Slam, this time as members of the Women's Football Alliance.

    So you see, Kalamazoo, Michigan could truly be considered to be at the center of the football world!

Things that Kalamazoo is also known for;

- Abraham Lincoln made his only visit to Michigan on August 27, 1856. He made an anti-slavery speech in Kalamazoo's Bronson Park in support of Republican presidential candidate, General John C. Fremont.  

- In 1875, the electric dental drill was patented by G. F. Green of Kalamazoo. 

- The city of Kalamazoo is mentioned in the classic Dr. Seuss book, "Horton Hatches the Egg." (1940) 

- Checker cabs were built at an auto plant here from July 1923 to July 1982. 

- Kalamazoo is mentioned in the song, "I've Been Everywhere" made famous by country singer Lynn Anderson. 

- Bobby Hatfield, one half of the singing duo The Righteous Brother, dies at the age of 63 in the Radisson Plaza Hotel in Kalamazoo on November 5, 2003 just before a concert at Miller Auditorium on the campus of Western Michigan University.

- In November 2005, a group of anonymous investors created The Kalamazoo Promise, which provides college tuition to all students who graduate from any of the city's public schools.

- Kalamazoo was the first city to ever host the College Baseball World Series. The game was played here in 1947 and 1948. The 1948 Yale team, which lost to Southern California, featured first baseman and future president, George H. W. Bush.

- The 2006 independent film, Kalamazoo?, was filmed around town. (see link below)

- Gemini 4 and Apollo 9 astronaut James McDivitt graduated from Kalamazoo Central High School.

- In 2009, Kalamazoo resident Matt Giraud makes it to the final five on American Idol. Eventual winner, Kris Allen also had relatives that live in Kalamazoo.

- In August 1959, Kalamazoo became the first city in the country with a downtown pedestrian mall.

- From 1950-1954, the Kalamazoo Lassies played baseball in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. They won the league championship in 1954, the last year the league was in existence.

- On June 7, 2010, President Barack Obama was the keynote speaker at the Kalamazoo Central High School graduation ceremony. It was held on the campus of Western Michigan University.

- Big Band musician Glenn Miller had a hit song called, "I've Got a Gal In Kalamazoo." The Andrews Sisters later remade the song as "I've Got a Guy in Kalamazoo."

It is also the hometown of the following sports figures;

Derek Jeter, MLB New York Yankees Short Stop (Kalamazoo Central High School)

Greg Jennings, NFL Green Bay Packers wide receiver (Kalamazoo Central High School)

T.J. Duckett, NFL Atlanta Falcons and Detroit Lions running back (Loy Norrix High School)

Pete Metzelaars, NFL Buffalo Bills tight end (Portage Central High School)

Lindsay Tarpley, Olympic gold medalist, 2004 and 2008 women's soccer teams (Portage Central High School)

Kalamazoo Web Sites