Sports · 1914–1981Joe Louisboxer, world heavyweight championHeavyweight champion from 1937 to 1949 who grew up in Detroit's Black Bottom and learned to box at the Brewster Recreation Center; the city's best-loved sports hero.DETROIT / A living lexicon / ¼
Famous Detroiters
People who were born here, moved here or built their careers in Detroit: musicians, carmakers, athletes, writers, inventors, civil-rights leaders and a few notorious names. With their dates, their Detroit story and the places where they lived, worked and played, closed ones included.
- 1,940 famous people
- 366 Detroit places
- 21 fields
Hungarian ties 22 Detroiters with Hungarian ties →
Field
Connection
Born in
A–Z (family name)
22 people
Clear filtersSports · 1914–1981Joe Louisboxer, world heavyweight championHeavyweight champion from 1937 to 1949 who grew up in Detroit's Black Bottom and learned to box at the Brewster Recreation Center; the city's best-loved sports hero.
Sports · born 1982Tara Lipinskifigure skater, sports commentator1998 Olympic champion, the youngest in figure skating history, who trained at the Detroit Skating Club in Bloomfield Hills during her rise.
Sports · born 1970Alexi Lalassoccer player and executive, broadcasterMetro Detroit-born soccer star of the 1994 World Cup and MLS era, raised in Birmingham and schooled at Cranbrook, now a leading American soccer broadcaster.
Sports · born 1960Igor Larionovice hockey center, coach, agentSoviet-trained center nicknamed 'the Professor' who anchored Detroit's famed Russian Five and won three Stanley Cups with the Red Wings.
Sports · born 1970Nicklas Lidströmice hockey defenseman, executiveSwedish Hall of Fame defenseman who played all twenty NHL seasons with the Detroit Red Wings, won four Stanley Cups, and became the first European-born captain to lead a team to the championship.
Sports · born 1957Bill Laimbeerbasketball player and coachCenter of the Pistons' rough-and-tumble "Bad Boys" teams who won back-to-back NBA titles in 1989 and 1990, then coached the Detroit Shock to three WNBA championships.
Sports · born 1970Robert Langice hockey centerCzech center who, while leading the NHL in scoring, was traded to the Stanley Cup-contending Red Wings in 2004 and played three seasons in Detroit.
Sports · born 1958Nancy Liebermanbasketball player, coach and broadcasterHall of Fame point guard nicknamed "Lady Magic" who was the Detroit Shock's first general manager and head coach, then set a WNBA age record with a seven-day comeback contract in 2008.
Sports · 1948–2022Bob Lanierbasketball player, centreHall of Fame centre and the Pistons' first overall draft pick in 1970, who anchored Detroit for a decade and remains the franchise's all-time leader in scoring average.
Sports · 1925–2019Ted Lindsayice hockey player, left wing, general managerFierce Red Wings left wing of the 'Production Line' who won four Stanley Cups with Detroit, led the first serious attempt to unionize NHL players, and stayed part of the club for the rest of his life.
Sports · born 1996Dylan Larkinice hockey centerMetro Detroit-born center who grew up playing for Detroit Belle Tire, starred at the University of Michigan and became captain of his hometown Red Wings.
Sports · born 1965Pat LaFontaineice hockey centerHall of Fame center who grew up in Waterford, Oakland County, after 1972 and became one of the highest-scoring American-born players in NHL history.
Sports · 1928–2015Earl Lloydbasketball player, head coach, scoutThe first African American to play in the NBA, Lloyd closed his playing career with the Pistons and in 1971 became the league's first non-playing Black head coach, leading Detroit.
Sports · 1928–2002Dick "Night Train" LaneAmerican football cornerback, youth-sports directorHall of Fame cornerback, one of the fiercest tacklers in NFL history, who played for the Lions and then ran Detroit's Police Athletic League for 17 years.
Sports · 1926–1986Bobby LayneAmerican football quarterbackHard-living Texas quarterback who led the Lions to NFL championships in 1952 and 1953; his No. 22 is retired.
Sports · 1930–2017Yale LaryAmerican football safety, punter and return specialistHall of Fame safety and one of the greatest punters in NFL history, who played eleven seasons for the Lions and won three championships.
Sports · 1940–2026Mickey Lolichbaseball pitcherLeft-hander who won three complete games, including Game 7, to be MVP of the 1968 World Series; he holds the Tigers' career strikeout record and stayed in metro Detroit for life.
Sports · born 1937Dick LeBeauAmerican football cornerback and coachHall of Fame cornerback who played all 14 of his NFL seasons with the Lions (1959–1972) before a legendary career as a defensive coordinator.
Sports · born 1948Ron LeFlorebaseball player, center fielderEast-side Detroiter who went from Jackson State Prison to center field at Tiger Stadium in 1974, a story told in the TV film One in a Million.The lexicon keeps growing. Every entry lists its sources at the bottom. Dates were checked against Wikidata and Wikipedia. The texts are our own. Famous people's places among the sights ↗