30-01-2025
Iconic images by legendary Free Press photographer Tony Spina capture Michigan history
For more than four decades, former Detroit Free Press Chief Photographer Tony Spina captured some of the most iconic moments in the city's history.
Spina worked at the paper from 1946 through 1988, covering figures such as Martin Luther King Jr. and John F. Kennedy.
He also documented the 1967 Detroit riots, providing powerful images of the city's turmoil. He also covered the city's sports teams, multiple Olympics and photographed all the U.S. presidents from Harry Truman to Bill Clinton, as well as four popes.
In honor of Spina, who died 30 years ago this month, The Free Press has carefully curated 38 iconic photos taken by Spina, featuring Michigan history over the course of several decades. You can view the photo gallery at the top of this story.
In 1995, just after Spina's death, Free Press publisher Neal Shine was quoted in the paper: "Tony cared as much about his work and his newspaper as any person I have ever met." He went on to say: "He was as exceptional a human being as he was a photographer, and he left a photographic legacy that is equaled by few. Only a person with a heart and soul like Tony Spina could ever make the kind of pictures he did."
Widely regarded as one of the greatest photojournalists of his time, Spina was the recipient of over 450 state, national, and international awards for his photography. In 1989, he was inducted as the first photojournalist in the Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame.
Spina died on Jan. 19, 1995 at his home in Bloomfield Hills. He was 80.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Photos by former Free Press photographer Tony Spina capture Michigan
