Michigan has five major league professional sports teams, all of them centered in Detroit: the Tigers of Major League Baseball, the Lions of the National Football League, the Pistons of the National Basketball Association, the Shock of the Women's National Basketball Association, and the Red Wings of the National Hockey League. The Tigers won the World Series in 1935, 1945, 1968, and 1984. The Pistons won the NBA Championship in 1989 and 1990. The Red Wings, arguably the most renowned hockey club ever, won the Stanley Cup in 1936, 1937, 1943, 1950, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1997, 1998, and 2002.
The state also has minor league hockey teams in Detroit, Flint, Grand Rapids, Muskegon, Kimball, and Saginaw; and baseball teams in Grand Rapids, Battle Creek, Comstock Park, and Lansing.
Horse racing, Michigan's oldest organized spectator sport, is controlled by the state racing commissioner, who regulates thoroughbred and harness-racing seasons at tracks in the Detroit area and at Jackson. Attendance and betting at these races is substantial, although the modest purses rarely attract the nation's leading horses. Auto racing is also popular in Michigan. The state hosts four major races: the Tenneco Automotive Grand Prix of Detroit, the Michigan 500 Indy car races on the CART circuit, and the Kmart 400 and Pepsi 400 NASCAR Winston Cup races.
Interest in college sports centers on the football and basketball teams of the University of Michigan and Michigan State University, which usually are among the top-ranked teams in the country. The University of Michigan football team was named National Champion in 1901 (with Harvard), 1902, 1903, 1904 (with Penn), 1918 (with Pittsburgh), 1923 (with Illinois), 1932, 1933, 1947, 1948, and 1997. The team won the Rose Bowl in 1948, 1951, 1965, 1981, 1989, 1993, and 1998, the Citrus Bowl in 1999, and the Orange Bowl in 2000. Michigan State won the Rose Bowl in 1954, 1956, and 1988, and was named National Champion in 1952 (with Georgia Tech), 1965 (with Alabama), and 1966 (with Notre Dame). The University of Michigan basketball team won the NCAA tournament in 1989, and Michigan State won it in 1979 and 2000. Michigan also advanced to the championship game in 1965, 1976, 1992, and 1993.
Other colleges also have achieved national rankings in basketball, hockey, baseball, and track. Elaborate facilities have been built for sporting competitions in Michigan; for example the University of Michigan's football stadium, seating 107,501, is one of the largest college-owned stadiums in the country.
Other annual sporting events include the Snowmobile Poker Runs in St. Ignace and, in July, the yacht races from Chicago and Port Huron to Mackinac Island.