#TBT: 'Fennville Flash' Scores 60
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 12, 2015
"Jordan shoots. He scores."
This week marks the 50th anniversary of one of the most incredible feats in MHSAA basketball history. On March 11, 1965, Fennville's Richie Jordan scored 60 points in a Class C Regional Final against Bridgman, a point total that remains an MHSAA Tournament record.
The 5-foot-7 "Fennville Flash" became Michigan's fourth inductee into the National Federation of State High School Association's Hall of Fame in 2001. Below is a video compilation or Jordan clips, with audio from that Regional Final, followed by a report from MHSAA historian Ron Pesch written in 2001.
By Ron Pesch
MHSAA historian
Not long ago, I came across an article written by Hal Schram, the legendary prep journalist for the Detroit Free Press. It was penned during the winter of 1977, and Schram had decided to look back at the history of Michigan high school basketball and pick his top 20 high school players from the past quarter century.
“The Swami” had followed the high school circuit since the 1940s. Schram began with a larger list, paring the roster from 44 to 20. The sportswriter went one step further and decided to single out one member of the squad for the ultimate honor – “the greatest of them all.”
As one would expect, final selections included many of the state's most memorable names: Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Dave DeBusschere, Chet Walker, Spencer Haywood, Ralph Simpson, Rudy Tomjanovich, Campy Russell. Their exploits are legendary, and even the most casual fan of basketball could agree they belong on the list.
However, looking back from the millennium, Schram's choice for state's greatest player is stunning.
“The Swami” himself admitted at the time that his No. 1 pick would surprise many. Hal's top pick never played professionally in either the NBA or ABA. That can be overlooked, as the criteria was simple – the state's greatest prep player. But when I state that Schram's selection played ball at a Class C school, that his teams never advanced to the final rounds of the tournament, and that he stood a mere 5-7½ and weighed only 160 pounds in his prime, most basketball fans shake their heads in disbelief.
But those are only physical attributes. Ask Richie Jordan himself.
Schram's pick as the state's greatest high school ballplayer, Jordan will tell you that it doesn't matter what race, religion or how tall you are. He'll state that anything is possible with imagination and hard work.
Many may dispute Swami's selection, but few will debate Jordan's talents as an all- around athlete. A four-sport star at Fennville High School, he earned 16 letters during his prep career. He is considered by many to be the finest student-athlete ever turned out by the state of Michigan.
The family lived in Bangor when Jordan started school. On the playground one day, Richie wandered over to a high jump pit, where the older kids were practicing their leaps during recess. Much to his delight, he was offered the chance to jump by one of the older kids. The bar was lowered, and Jordan took his shot.
“I easily jumped over the bar and the older kids made comments on how easy I jumped. They kept moving the bar up until it was as high as my head. A crowd started to gather and I cleared the bar. The older kids made me feel real special.”
Before he entered the third grade, the Jordan family moved to Fennville, a small town in west Michigan.
“Fennville was a wonderful place to grow up, and I have the best of memories,” recalled Jordan. “We had a group of kids who played together and loved each other from the 3rd grade on.”
Like so many kids, he imagined himself duplicating the feats of his idols. Many have similar dreams, but few worked as hard as Richie to achieve them.
By the time he reached high school, Jordan had evolved into a stellar all-around athlete. His drive to excel worked around the clock. Through the years he accumulated new sports heroes and studied their movements in his mind.
“I was at the 1962 finals game where (Saginaw High School's) Ernie Thompson scored 42 points against Benton Harbor. I went home and worked on my double clutch for days after that. I loved all those guys and respected their talent,” said Jordan, “but I wanted to be better than all of them.”
His hard work paid off with stellar athletic performances. An all-state halfback in football in his junior year, Jordan averaged a whopping 35.6 points in 16 basketball contests and was a unanimous first-team all-state selection at guard in the winter of 1963. In the spring he excelled on the baseball diamond and in track and field.
Jordan continued his rigid regime of weightlifting and working out. Word of his athletic exploits trickled out of Fennville.
In the fall of 1964 he rushed for 1,246 yards on 86 carries, and tallied 25 touchdowns, to cap an outstanding gridiron career. His total of 5,132 career rushing yards was tops in the state at that time, and the mark still ranks in the top 10.
Again, he reaped all-state accolades. But the basketball court was where the Jordan legend was defined.
His vertical jump was phenomenal, and he could dunk with both hands. Scouts reported that he was lightning fast and excellently coordinated. Early in 1965, the Kalamazoo Gazette sent a photographer to Fennville to snap photos of Jordan for a feature article on the Black Hawks' upcoming cage contest in Kalamazoo against Hackett High School. Fennville entered the game with a 3-1 mark, the only mar a 95-93 loss to Saugatuck in which Jordan scored 54 points.
The newspaper printed a shot of Richie dunking the basketball, and the image caught the imagination of many. An overflow crowd packed the 2,200-seat Irish Gymnasium to watch the matchup. Jordan and his teammates trounced the favored Irish 99-73, as Richie scorched the nets for 47 points. In April of his senior year he was named prep All-American by Coach & Athlete magazine, earning the distinction of “smallest” on the squad. “Weep not for him, however,” stated the article, announcing the honor, “as he can dunk the ball, and with his 44.4 season's scoring average, he has scholarship offers from 58 colleges and universities.”
Richie finished out his unbelievable prep career by batting .550 on the baseball field, and by leading his track team to a third-place finish at the state meet.
On May 20, 1965, the city of Fennville honored the prep hero and his teammates for their outstanding athletic careers and their contribution to the community. Jordan spent two years with the Michigan State basketball program, earning a letter in 1967, then walked away from basketball to concentrate on baseball with the Spartans. Following graduation, he landed a contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates, but a shoulder injury ended his pursuit of a major league career.
Today, the “Fennville Flash” is known as “Mr. Jordan” by his students at Cardinal Mooney High School in Sarasota, Fla. A strength and conditioning coach, daily he preaches the merits of weight training and the benefits of hard work to his students.
Married and the father of three, he has enjoyed coaching and watching his children participate and excel in athletics. He cherishes the memories of his youth and the friends he made along the way.
“All my teammates and I felt very special,” said Jordan, now 53, “but we also were very humbled by the admiration we were shown. We all felt an obligation to our community to conduct ourselves in a way that would reflect kindly on our small town.
I'm still very proud that we all understand that.”
Breslin Bound: 2025-26 Boys Report Week 9
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
February 2, 2026
February has arrived, and with it a few dates to put on your boys basketball calendar.
Only three weeks remain this regular season, with District play beginning Feb. 23.
A week before that, on Feb. 15, final District brackets for boys basketball will be published to this website.
For additional details, check out the MPR FAQ page – and see below for context on some of last week’s results and games coming up that could affect where teams land when those brackets are drawn.
“Breslin Bound” is powered by MI Student Aid and based on results and schedules posted for each school at MHSAA.com.
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Kalamazoo Central 95, Muskegon 80 The Maroon Giants (11-2) always schedule tough, and handing Muskegon (11-1) its only loss – avenging a 23-point defeat from the year before – surely has been Central’s best win this winter.
2. East Kentwood 54, Grandville 52 We said last week that the Ottawa-Kent Conference Red was set to begin sorting itself out, and we ended the week with East Kentwood in first place alone after handing Grandville (10-3) one of its three losses over four days.
3. Dearborn Divine Child 55, Jackson Lumen Christi 53 Divine Child (16-2) clinched the outright Catholic High School League AA title, adding this clincher to a three-point win over Lumen Christi (12-4) from December.
4. Wyoming Tri-unity Christian 51, Wyoming Lee 49 With this close call, Tri-unity (12-1) took a slight lead over Lee (11-3) at the top of the Alliance League standings, with the rematch set for Feb. 13.
5. Michigan Center 68, Leslie 53 These two entered the week tied for first in the Cascades Conference East, and Michigan Center (14-1) is now two games ahead after Leslie (12-4) also fell to Manchester by four points.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
Detroit Martin Luther King (10-4) The Crusaders are the only team undefeated in Detroit Public School League Blue play, thanks in part to a 45-38 overtime win over Detroit Denby last week and also a 30-point win over second-place Douglass in their only league game of December. King also is 9-1 since an 0-3 start that saw December losses to Lansing Waverly, East Lansing and Detroit Catholic Central by a combined 13 points, with the DCC defeat coming in overtime. King downed Kalamazoo Central to begin the new year and also solidified its league standing with a 60-53 victory over Cass Tech.
Flushing (13-3) The Raiders have improved from six to eight to 14 wins over the last three seasons, respectively, to one more victory this winter from tying last year’s total and with several more games to play. Flushing claimed a matchup of league leaders last week, representing the Flint Metro League Stripes well with a 50-46 win over FML Stars leader Goodrich. Flushing actually has clinched a share of the Stripes championship as it takes a three-game lead into this week and with only three league games left on the schedule. A 63-52 win over Flint Powers Catholic on Jan. 20 also was especially notable.
DIVISION 2
Gladwin (14-1) The Flying Gs opened this winter with a four-point defeat to Sanford Meridian, and haven’t lost again. They lead the Jack Pine Conference Division 1 by three games with four league matchups left and after finishing second to Standish-Sterling a year ago. Standish-Sterling also ended Gladwin’s 2024-25 season in the District, but Gladwin claimed their first meeting this year 50-42 – and the rivals meet again Friday. The Flying Gs face JPC Division 2 co-leader Beaverton on Tuesday, and a win could set Gladwin up to see Meridian again in the league crossover in two weeks.
Grand Rapids Catholic Central (11-4) The Cougars opened this season 1-3 taking losses from Rockford, Grand Rapids Northview and Grand Rapids South Christian, which are a combined 37-7. But after also starting this calendar year with a two-point defeat against Holland Christian, Catholic Central has won eight straight with an impressive 80-44 victory over Macomb L’Anse Creuse North on Saturday the latest of the notable run. A 48-43 win over Grand Rapids Christian has the Cougars first in the O-K White, and those two meet again Feb. 17.
DIVISION 3
Arts & Technology Academy of Pontiac (9-2) The reigning Division 3 runner-up has navigated a tough schedule with losses to only Charter School Conference Gold rivals Romulus Summit Academy North and Hamtramck and notable wins over reigning Division 2 champion Warren Lincoln plus Ecorse, Harper Woods Chandler Park, North Farmington and Detroit Edison – the last three in that list all in overtime. The Lions are third in the Gold heading into the league tournament and could have an opportunity to avenge one or both losses.
Elk Rapids (12-3) The Elks are undefeated in the Northern Shores Conference as they pursue a third-straight league title including a second-straight in the NSC. Their current advantage in the standings came in part thanks to a 54-49 win over second-place Cheboygan on Jan. 6, with the rematch set for Tuesday. The losses were to Ludington, Kingsford and Petoskey – all Division 1 or 2 schools – and the 65-55 defeat against Ludington came in overtime and remains the only time the team has fallen since Dec. 11.
DIVISION 4
Detroit Douglass (12-5) The loss to King noted above has Douglass second in the PSL Blue, which is extraordinary considering the rest of the league is filled by Division 1 and 2 opponents. Douglass has downed Renaissance and Denby among others, and also picked up a solid nonleague win over Saginaw United, 63-59. The other losses are impressive as well, to Benton Harbor by only two points, Warren Cousino by one, Detroit University Prep and most recently Ann Arbor Pioneer. All but University Prep have double-digit wins.
Hillsdale Academy (13-2) The Colts opened this season falling to one of the best in Division 4, Concord, but last week handed Mendon its only loss, 78-65 in overtime. Hillsdale Academy’s only other defeat came to Jonesville, which is tied for first in the Cascades Conference West. The next showdown is tonight, as the Colts face Waldron for first place in the Southern Central Athletic Association East and with Hillsdale Academy’s 41-game league winning streak on the line.
Can’t-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – McBain (13-1) at Beal City (13-0) – The Aggies are in first place in the Highland Conference and McBain is in second because Beal City won their first matchup 49-41 on Dec. 19.
Tuesday – Ypsilanti Lincoln (15-1) at Chelsea (10-3) – Lincoln’s 55-53 win over Chelsea on Dec. 19 has the Railsplitters atop the Southeastern Conference White, and claiming this rematch would all but lock up a share of the league title.
Tuesday – Rockford (13-2) at East Kentwood (13-1) – East Kentwood’s 69-68 win over Rockford on Jan. 13 separates those two at the top of the O-K Red standings.
Thursday – New Haven (13-2) at Warren Woods Tower (15-1) – The Titans can clinch the Macomb Area Conference Gold championship with a win over second-place New Haven after also claiming their first matchup 41-39 on Jan. 20.
Friday – East Lansing (16-0) at Lansing Waverly (12-3) – The Trojans haven’t lost a Capital Area Activities Conference Blue game since Feb. 24, 2023, with a 74-62 win over second-place Waverly on Dec. 18 the difference in this season’s standings.
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PHOTOS (Top) Grand Blanc’s Emmanuel Cooley gets to the rim during his team’s 54-47 win over Clarkston last month. (Middle) Escanaba’s Lennox Peacock pulls up for a shot during a January defeat against Marquette. (Grand Blanc/Clarkston photo by Terry Lyons. Escanaba/Marquette photo by Randy Ritari.