Bishop Caspar Henry Borgess transferred his cathedral church and residence at Jefferson and Antoine to the Jesuits, who in turn agreed to found and maintain a college in Detroit. The cornerstone of the church had been laid on June 29, 1844.
The Old Trowbridge property House 362 Jefferson Avenue. on the south side of the street opposite the Jesuits’ residence had been secured at the “very reasonable cost of $21,500.
Under the direction of the Fathers of the Society of Jesus, this educational institution opened on the first Monday of September 1877.
Friday Sept. 7 marked the beginning of a beautiful, hundred-year old tradition. It was the day when, for the first time, faculty and students met together to call down the blessing of the Holy Spirit on the coming year’s work
By 1877, the population in Detroit had grown to 115,000. Bishop Caspar Henry Borgess succeeded Bishop Lefevere in 1870 and worked to establish a school of higher education in Detroit. He invited the Society of Jesus to return to the area to establish a Catholic institution (currently the University of Detroit Mercy)
The first play, “Elmo, the Druid Martyr,” staged at the old Detroit Opera House, with George Parker in the leading role.
Detroit College incorporated under the laws of Michigan.
The inaugural commencement exercises were held at the Detroit Opera House. That evening, the College honored its first graduates: James W. Kearns, James E. Lacroix, Thomas C. McKeogh, Benjamin A. Nolan, William H. Reaney, John A. Russell and Conrad Sporer.
The Detroit College was growing. From 84 students in 1877, enrollment rose to 186 in 1882, 228 in 1884, and 243 when President Frieden assumed office in 1885. The old quarters on the south side of Jefferson Avenue were bulging with students; something had to be done.
The College conferred its first master’s degree on John A. Russell, A.B., a member of the first graduating Class of 1883 and a journalist with the Evening News. The precise work required for the degree is unclear; the College diary notes only that he applied for the A.M
Between the former Toll Residence and the Jesuit residence, there was still 150 feet fronting on Jefferson Ave. Three private dwellings occupied this ground. In October 1886, the first, and in February 1887, the second (Palms Property) of these were purchased for $15,000 and $18,000, respectively.
Rev. M. P. Dowling succeeded Rev. Frieden as president and enthusiastically advanced the work. Plans were drawn up by leading Detroit architect Gordon W. Lloyd in the Romanesque style, featuring a central tower
Major Renovations. The first renovation since the 1850s began in 1892. Two additional doors were added to the front of the building; new confessionals and pews were installed and heating and electric lighting of the church was introduced.
First public appearance of the newly adopted colors—red and white.
The first team to represent the College was baseball. On May 23, 1895, they defeated the Polish seminarians. The team played again on Decoration Day that year but lost, as they had not yet “amalgamated as a nine.”
The first football season for the College was in 1896. Prior to that year, there had been any number of “scrub” teams whose personnel were not necessarily limited to students, and they often played local athletic clubs and town teams
Maurice Chawke, editor, Jos J. Murphy, S.J., faculty moderator. Eighty-nine copies of the first issue were sold to students.
The winter season of 1907 saw the formation of Detroit’s first basketball team. It was organized and coached by W. Benjamin Pipp, a special student at the college, with Francis T. McGann serving as manager
There is very little information on 1907 hockey at U of D other than a library listing this date on their timeline. Likely, it was started as a club.
Kappa Delta was the first Greek letter organization at Detroit College and staged the first student dance in the history of the College. As both fraternities and student dances were still under the ban of the faculty, the affair was promoted surreptitiously
Detroit had a large Catholic population, and the College grew quickly. Recognizing the city’s emergence as a modern industrial center with expanding educational needs, Detroit College was reorganized as the University of Detroit in 1911.
By this date, nine students had registered for the new engineering course. J.R. McColl was the first dean. And 21 had registered for the new law course. Judge George S. Hosmer was the first dean. Law was the first co-educational department of the University.
The band members—engineering students dressed as clowns — played at a football game in which U-M defeated U of D.
With increasing enrollment and demand for engineers amid Detroit’s manufacturing boom, the University hired architect Oscar C. Gottesblen to design a new home for its Engineering Department on the south side of East Jefferson Avenue, just east of St. Antoine Street.
In 1916, the University’s Arts and Sciences, Law and Engineering departments moved into Dinan Hall.
By 1915, the Law School was actively training legal professionals, and it notably admitted its first women students around this time, with the first four women graduating in 1919.
During the second decade of the century, the University of Detroit developed two outstanding musical organizations: a Glee Club and Chamber Music Association
The first fraternities to be recognized by the faculty — Delta Theta Phi and the Magi — are founded. Delta Theta Phi (Legal) has a house at 138 Pallister Ave, and provided a dedicated network for legal education and professional development. Magi was a social fraternity unique to U of D.
The media was flooded with news of the war in Europe and headlines in the Detroit Free Press proclaimed: “Zeppelin Shot Down in Great Air Raid on London.” That evening, without headlines, the University of Detroit opened its doors to students enrolled in the new School of Commerce and Finance, as it came to be called
On April 6, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson signed a resolution, passed by the Senate two days earlier, declaring war on Germany. Later that month, University of Detroit President Doran addressed the students:
The University of Michigan varsity team defeated the University of Detroit 14–3, even as Detroit pushed Michigan all over the field, gained 13 first downs to Michigan’s five and did everything but score a touchdown. It was Detroit’s lone defeat of the season.
In early winter 1918, a group of students, with Roy C. Hayes as their guiding spirit, approached Fr. Lawrence Leahy, treasurer of the University, to ask permission to start a fortnightly chronicle. The Reverend Treasurer gave his sanction on the condition that they first raise $200
The entire student body is vaccinated for smallpox, due to the fact the editor in chief of the Varsity News had been quarantined since Feb. 7 at home with the disease.
Until 1919, the U-D athletic teams were known as the Tigers. And although teams were also often called the Red and Whites, this created confusion, as the city’s Major League Baseball team went by the same name.
First U of D sorority established, Eta Zeta Sigma, in the School of Commerce & Finance . The sorority’s debut with a Valentine Dance held at the Twentieth Century Club was a great success.
During World War I, the University of Detroit experienced a cultural renaissance led by Professor Charlemagne Koehler, who arrived in 1917 with an extraordinary background as a professional Shakespearean actor
By 1921, the University of Detroit was ready to add a new Engineering program
As the Engineering, Dental and Law schools were added, the University of Detroit recognized that its downtown campus offered little room for further expansion. In December, Fr. McNichols announced the acquisition of 42.5 acres of farmland—known as the Horkey Farm—as the site for a new campus
“Dear Old U of D,” the football song for the University of Detroit, was written and published in 1921. The song features lyrics by Eddie McGrath and music composed by Stephen Pastenacki. It became a staple, often featured in University of Detroit football programs during the 1920s.
It is the outgrowth of the Thespian Club which began in 1920.
According to the original agreement with Bishop Borgess, in the event that the college be moved to another part of the city, the Jesuits were empowered to build a church near the new college and to organize a parish whose limits would be agreed upon by the Bishop and the Jesuits.
First Yearbook “The Red and White” appears, edited by Donald J. McGaffey. View the Library’s Collection of Yearbooks.
Groundbreaking for the new stadium at Livernois and Six Mile. John A Russell turned the spade. This will be known as Dinan Field.
The University moved most of its programs to Livernois at McNichols Road, but it continued to operate the Law School, night school and programs out of its downtown campus
University of Detroit undefeated football team are guests of Delta Sigma Pi at annual banquet.
Memorial Tower is unveiled and it bears the names of the 12 U of D students killed in the Great War. (The majority were not killed in combat, but by influenza.)
The University submits an application to the Detroit City Clerk for the closing of three streets and four alleys in order to build a hospital. Whether or not the application is approved is not clear, but a hospital was not built.
The 1928 football season was historic for U-D. The Titans posted a perfect 9-0 record, shutting out seven of their nine opponents under the direction of head coach and College Football Hall of Famer Gus Dorais.