Detroit Historical Museum Opens Red Wings Centennial Exhibit Spanning Two Floors

The Detroit Historical Museum has unveiled a two-floor tribute marking the Red Wings' 100th season. "Becoming Hockeytown: Detroit Red Wings at 100" showcases pieces from the team's birth through its latest championship years.

Museum staff partnered with the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, the Windsor Community Museum, and private collectors from across Michigan. Items span decades. Some date back to when the franchise went by Detroit Cougars before switching to the winged wheel we know today.

The Windsor Community Museum loaned a program from a 1925 exhibition match against the New York Americans at Windsor's Border Cities Arena. Jeremy Dimick, curator at the museum, hunted down Olympia Stadium's original organ. He found it at a Dearborn Heights home.

Game-worn jerseys sit next to Sergei Fedorov's autographed skates, but the oddball pieces steal the show. 

The Doniker Trophy, a toilet pail given to the squad after a 1954 outdoor match at Marquette Branch Prison, stands out. Gordie Howe, Alex Delvecchio, Terry Sawchuk, and Ted Lindsay got their names scratched into the pail's metal, mimicking the Stanley Cup's tradition.

The display runs through Nov. 22. You'll find the museum at 5401 Woodward Ave. Doors open Wednesday through Sunday.

Adults pay $15. Kids pay $8. Detroit, Highland Park, and Hamtramck residents get in free with a DHS Detroiter membership, and Detroit Historical Society members don't pay anything.