Tales of Teams, Trophies & Trinkets - Vol 2
By
Ron Pesch
MHSAA historian
February 9, 2017
A picture may be worth a thousand words – but often, we can learn as much from a traveling trophy, game ticket, and even an old megaphone.
Michigan’s high school sports history is more than a century old and filled with legends passed on of games, teams and athletes and the roles they played as our communities rolled forward toward present day. Following up last year’s “Tales of Teams, Trophies & Trinkets,” we present a second chapter highlighting artifacts that tell some of those stories.
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1909 |
Saginaw vs. Saginaw Arthur Hill |
Football Trophy |
This bronzed football was the original used in the 1909 Thanksgiving Day contest played between Saginaw High and Saginaw Arthur Hill, and won by Saginaw, 5-0 at Burkart Park. In 1948, the ball was stylized into a trophy by the Letterman’s Associations of the rival schools, designed to travel between schools as the reward for winning the annual contest. When the Lumberjacks of Arthur Hill ripped off 24 straight victories beginning in 1971 (the teams played twice in 1974), ownership of the trophy was mostly forgotten. When talk of closing Saginaw High School mounted, the trophy was placed on display at Saginaw’s Castle Museum, then donated to the Saginaw County Sports Hall of Fame.
According to Jeffrey Cottrell, the multi-media specialist at the Historical Society of Saginaw County, when plans to close Saginaw High did not materialize, “it was decided amongst the Saginaw County Sports Hall of Fame and the Arthur Hill Letterwinners Association that it was time to put it back into use. This past fall, the Sports Hall of Fame awarded the trophy to Saginaw High when they beat Arthur Hill 40-0.”
Going forward, the Letterman's Trophy will continue to be presented to the winner of the football game between the Trojans and the Lumberjacks.
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1921 |
Detroit Cass Tech vs. Flint Central |
Football Program |
A crowd of 2,500 was on hand for this contest as Detroit Cass Tech downed Flint Central, 34-20, in an aerial battle between the squads. The Detroit Free Press arraigned for a special interurban run, with special railcars earmarked for Cass Tech students interested in attending the Saturday game at Flint. Between 200 to 300 made the trip to cheer their team to victory.
Flint Central completed 14 of 34 passes for 176 yards, but was intercepted on six occasions. Cass Tech arms were accurate on only 7 of 24 attempts for 160 yards, with four interceptions, but two completions went for touchdowns of 18 yards and 50 yards. A third pass of 35 yards helped set up the visitor’s first score. Bruno Murkobred, Cass Tech’s speedy quarterback, was the star of the contest, scoring three of his team’s five touchdowns.
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1939 |
Kalamazoo Central vs. Battle Creek Central |
Basketball Program |
This tattered memento, from a scrapbook kept by historian Dick Kishpaugh, illustrates the modest design of a high school basketball program back in 1939. Likely created by the high school print shop, this single sheet, printed specifically for distribution at the game, features autographs gathered by its owner. Wes Clark, one of the names captured on the cover, led Battle Creek Central with 10 points, including a pair of buckets in the final minute to secure a 27-26 win by the Bearcats.
Newspaper reports from the time indicate that halftime of the contest would feature “a table tennis exhibition between Helen Van Dyke of Flint, four-time state champion, and Floyd Painter, Battle Creek champion.” Miss Van Dyke was a sophomore at Olivet College at the time.
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1940 |
Lansing Eastern vs. Lansing Central |
Football Program |
This is the program cover from the 13th annual Football Classic between the Quakers of Eastern and the Big Reds of Central. Fans were requested to “refrain from making unnecessary noise as they drive away from the stadium … due to the nearness of Sparrow Hospital.”
At the time of the 1940 contest, Lansing Central led the series with six wins against five defeats. The series featured a single tie, a 6-6 result in 1935.
Eastern’s 1940 squad, coached by Walter Graff, was able to knot the series at six wins apiece with a thrilling 7- 6 victory over the crosstown rivals, coached by Al Bovard.
The 16-page document was hand set and printed by the Eastern and Central High School Vocational Printing Classes, and included rosters, messages from the two school principals and athletic directors, as well as comments from each member of the coaching staffs, team captains, student council presidents and numerous team members from each school with their views on the game. Of course there is a photograph of each high school football team, but also photos of each band, their directors, and a list of the band members for both Eastern and Central. Finally, there are photos of the Eastern and Central Yell Leaders, nine for the Quakers and six for the Big Reds.
It is a true work of art.
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1950 |
Central Michigan College Relays |
Track Medal |
More than 2,300 athletes from 97 high schools descended upon Mt. Pleasant for the Tenth Annual Central Michigan Relays. Ecorse in Class B and Flint School for the Deaf in Class D earned team titles on Friday, May 5th while on Saturday, the 6th, Flint Northern and Milan won Class A and Class C, respectively. Six event records fell during the two-day event, three in the broad jump.
This medal, honoring a member of the winning Class C sprint relay team, was awarded at the event. The winning team, and therefore, the name of the individual awarded the medal, remain a mystery.
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1962 |
Saginaw Sacred Heart |
Megaphone |
As at the majority of schools across the state at the time, athletic competition against other schools was not an option for Gloria Groll and her female classmates during her days as a student at Saginaw Holy Rosary High School. So, from the fall of 1959 until her graduation with 27 other students in the spring of 1962, she was a cheerleader for the Greyhounds. This beautiful megaphone, donated by Groll to the Saginaw County Sports Hall of Fame, is a memento from those times.
Holy Rosary was one of nine Catholic high schools operating in the Saginaw area in the 1950s and 1960s. Population shifts from the cities to the suburbs over the coming years would impact enrollment figures at schools nationally. In Saginaw, the opening of the Buena Vista School District in 1956 directly impacted Holy Rosary. In 1970 the school closed. A year later only three schools – SS Peter and Paul, St. Mary and Saginaw St. Stephen – remained. In 1984, those schools were consolidated to form Saginaw Nouvel Catholic Central.
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1963 & 1930 |
Grosse Pointe St. Paul |
League Trophies |
On the left, we find the trophy awarded to Grosse Pointe St. Paul's after winning the 1963 city championship. Bob Martin, a 6-foot-6 junior who earned first division all-Catholic honors, scored 14 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Lakers to a 55-46 upset-victory over Detroit Pershing. The game was played at University of Detroit Memorial before 6,979 spectators. It was the first time since 1958 that the Catholic League won the annual matchup with the champions of the Public School League.
To the right is the trophy awarded to St. Paul for winning the first golf tournament of the South Michigan Catholic High School League. The school's four golfers shot 710 over 36 holes on the day, 69 fewer strokes than second-place Detroit St. Rose. Played at Clinton Valley, the event saw Bill Beaupre win individual honors with a total of 158, including 76 in the morning. His cousin and teammate, Harold Beaupre, finished second with 169, while Peter Bononis of Detroit Holy Name was third with 171 strokes.
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1965 |
Fennville vs. Kalamazoo Hackett |
Ticket Stub |
This ticket stub from a doubleheader hosted at Western Michigan University’s Read Fieldhouse on February 18, 1965 was the first chance for many to witness lightning in a bottle. A capacity-plus crowd of 9,100 fans slid through the gate to watch a rumor.
The antics of 5-foot-7½ guard Richie Jordan had been talked about around the Kalamazoo area, but few had actually seen him play. His skills were on full display on this Thursday night, as he netted a fieldhouse scoring record with 49 points in a come-from-behind 76-72 win over a much taller team from Kalamazoo Hackett. Jordan’s output during the evening’s second game eclipsed the 45 points Manny Newsome scored for Western Michigan University against Toledo, just over a year before.
The evening hadn’t started well. According to the Kalamazoo Gazette, “Jordan hit only six of his 13 field shots in the first half and threw the ball away eight times. Trailing Hackett by 17 points, 50-33, with two minutes to play in the third quarter, the Blackhawks were able to cut the deficit to 13, 60-47 as the teams entered the final frame.
Quickly, everyone in the fieldhouse knew who was getting the ball during the comeback attempt. Jordan grabbed control; with his drives for layups and “softly-arched” jump shots against intense pressure, he hit seven of nine field goals, wowing the crowd. With 2:36 to play, Jordan nailed a pair of free throws to tie the game at 72 all. Then, with 57 seconds left, the “Fennville Flash” nailed the go-ahead basket, followed by two insurance free throws to seal the win. For many, his 24 points in the fourth quarter sealed his journey from rumor to legend and, no doubt, inspired the single-sentence first paragraph of the next morning’s coverage in the Gazette.
“Yes, there is a Richie Jordan!”
(P.S. – Kalamazoo Central upset eighth-ranked Lansing Sexton, 67-57, in the evening’s opening contest).
Ron Pesch has taken an active role in researching the history of MHSAA events since 1985 and began writing for MHSAA Finals programs in 1986, adding additional features and "flashbacks" in 1992. He inherited the title of MHSAA historian from the late Dick Kishpaugh following the 1993-94 school year, and resides in Muskegon. Contact him at [email protected] with ideas for historical articles.
PHOTO: Fennville's Richie Jordan pulls up for a jumper, showing off the form that's become iconic when recalling the high school phenom. (Photos of Letterman's Trophy and Megaphone were provided by Jeffery Cottrell, and photo of Grosse Pointe trophies was provided by Bill Roose.)
Preview: Favorites Set, but Challengers Aim to Prevent Repeat Results
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
October 19, 2023
Three 2022 Lower Peninsula boys tennis champions are ranked No. 1 heading into this weekend's Finals, but at least one new champion is guaranteed.
Bloomfield Hills in Division 1 and Midland Dow in Division 2 are considered favorites to repeat in those respective divisions. But reigning Divison 3 champion Ann Arbor Greenhills is playing again in Division 4, opening up the Division 3 bracket to other contenders – although of course hopefuls will be aspiring to prove the rankings wrong in all four.
Play begins between 8-8:30 a.m. Friday at the various sites for opening rounds, and between 8-9 a.m. Saturday for anticipated semifinals and championship matches. Visit the Boys Tennis page to find out which flights will be played at each location and to track results as they are received.
Below is a glance at several contenders in all four divisions.
LP Division 1 at Midland Tennis Center & Midland High School
Top-ranked: 1. Bloomfield Hills, 2. Troy, 3. Northville
Bloomfield Hills moved up from runner-up in 2021 to champion last fall, winning by 10 points and with that title the program’s third over the last six seasons. Troy was the 2021 champion and finished third a year ago, one point behind runner-up Northville as the Mustangs earned their first top-two Finals finish in program history.
Bloomfield Hills: The Black Hawks won three doubles and two singles flight championships during their dominating 2022 run, and they’re seeded to win six this time. Junior Pierce Shaya (21-0), part of last season’s No. 1 doubles champion, is seeded first at No. 2 singles, and sophomore Connor Shaya (24-0) was last year’s No. 4 singles champion and is seeded first at No. 3 this time. Senior Merrick Chernett was the other half of that No. 1 doubles champion, and he and senior Aaron Rose are seeded first at that flight. Seniors Ryan Rose and Michael Dillon are seeded first at No. 2 doubles and won that flight last year. Senior Kierth Lingam and junior Dominic Pascarella are seeded first at No. 3 after winning No. 4 last year, and senior Ethan Endelman and junior Asher Langwell are seeded first at No. 4 this time. Sophomore Jonah Chernett is the third seed at No. 3 singles.
Troy: The Colts are seeded fourth or better at all eight flights, with the second seeds at all four doubles. Senior Haresh Anand (26-1) has the team’s lone top seed, at No. 4 singles, but junior Dhruv Gupta is seeded third at No. 3 singles after finishing runner-up at No. 4 a year ago. Senior Nish Palepu and sophomore Derrick Kim were the runners-up at No. 2 doubles last season and are the second seeds at No. 1 this weekend. Senior Derek Blackwell is the fourth seed at No. 1 singles.
Northville: All eight flights are seeded fifth or higher, with the singles lineup including two second seeds after top-seeded senior and two-time reigning champion Sachiv Kumar (24-0) at No. 1 singles. Junior Brian Zhang was part of the runner-up at No. 4 doubles last season and is teaming with senior Nathan Waller for the third-seeded pair at No. 2.
Clayton Anderson, Rochester senior: The No. 1 singles runner-up the last two seasons, he’s 21-1 this fall with his only loss to Kumar in August. He’s second-seeded at the top flight.
Chad Anderson, Rochester sophomore: He’s also second-seeded, at No. 2 singles, and 17-3 with two of those losses to Pierce Shaya.
LP Division 2 at Byron Center West Sports Complex, East Kentwood & Grand Rapids South Christian
Top-ranked: 1. Midland Dow, 2. Mattawan, 3. Birmingham Seaholm
Dow is the reigning champion, coming off its first Finals title since 2016 and seventh under coach Terry Schwartzkopf since 2009. Mattawan is seeking its first title and finished fourth last season and second in 2020. Seaholm also is seeking a first Finals team championship in this sport and has finished runner-up three times, most recently tying for second in 2018. The Maples placed third last year.
Midland Dow: The Chargers are undefeated this fall, and their seeding reflects that dominance as six flights are top-seeded. The entire singles lineup is back from last season, with senior Aaron Li (24-1) the reigning champion at No. 2 and the top seed at that flight, junior Nimai Patel (28-1) the reigning champion and top seed at No. 4, senior Logan Yu (27-0) the reigning No. 3 runner-up and top-seeded, and No. 1 singles junior Austin King (33-0) also a top seed after making the semifinals last season. Seniors Roofy Elsaadany and Vishagen Karthikeyan are the top seed at No. 1 doubles after Elsaadany was part of last year’s No. 2 champion and Karthikeyan part of the No. 3 runner-up, and senior Andrew Frickey and sophomore Matthew McGaugh are the top seed at No. 4.
Mattawan: The Wildcats will be playing for their best finish with six seeded flights, including all four at singles. Senior Garrett Cheng and freshman Dylan Hodgman lead the way as the second seeds at Nos. 3 and 4 singles, respectively.
Birmingham Seaholm: The Maples graduated two doubles champions from last season but are seeded at seven flights, led by No. 3 doubles top-seeded seniors Mohan Badhwar and Sammy Abdo. Junior Carson Wright and senior Sean Joyce are the second seed at No. 3, and senior Blake Smith is the second seed at No. 2 singles.
Karan Deol, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern junior: He’s seeded third at No. 1 singles after taking Dow’s Li to three sets in last season’s No. 2 singles championship match. He’s 24-3 this fall with his only losses twice to Drew Hackney (below) and once to Dow’s King.
Drew Hackney, Muskegon Mona Shores senior: He’s 28-0 and the second seed at No. 1 singles. He reached the quarterfinals last season, giving King a tough match there after entering as the sixth seed.
LP Division 3 at Kalamazoo College & Western Michigan University
Top-ranked: 1. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, 2. Detroit Country Day, 3. East Grand Rapids
Reigning champion Ann Arbor Greenhills is back in Division 4, and Cranbrook is back as the favorite in Division 3. The Cranes have won six of the last eight Division 3 titles, with Greenhills winning the other two during that time. Cranbrook followed its 2021 championship with a runner-up finish last fall, finishing only two points off the lead. Country Day finished third and is seeking its first title since 2014, and East Grand Rapids tied for fourth last season and is seeking its first title since the spring 2007 season.
Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood: Saturday should be busy as four Cranes flights are top seeds, and the other four are second seeds. Junior Amaan Khan (20-0) was the champion at No. 4 singles last season and is top-seeded at that flight, and sophomore Jace Bernard (17-3) is the top seed at No. 3. Cranbrook won No. 1 doubles last season and finished runner-up at the other three doubles flights, with Bernard and senior Andrew Fink that champion at No. 1; Fink is second-seeded at that flight this weekend with junior Aryan Tiwari, part of last year’s No. 2 runner-up. Freshman Ryan VanDyke and senior Ben Stevenson are the top seeds at No. 3 doubles, and seniors Ketan Swami and Kevin Guo are the top seeds at No. 4 after Guo was part of the runner-up at that flight last season and Swami was part of the runner-up at No. 3. Junior Ryan Michaels (10-10) is the second seed at No. 1 singles after reaching the semifinals at No. 2 last year.
Detroit Country Day: The Yellowjackets are set up well to make a push. Country Day is seeded third or higher at every flight, with two top seeds and a second seed in singles. Junior Saahitth Reddy is the top seed at No. 1 after receiving the seventh seed at that flight last season; he’s 10-9, but has won nine of his last 10 matches with all of his defeats to Division 1 opponents. Junior Dan Marin (19-4) is the top seed at No. 2 singles after reaching the semifinals at that flight last season.
East Grand Rapids: The Pioneers are seeded at seven flights and could make their move based on the success of some highly-regarded doubles pairs. Seniors Charlie Lentz and Luke Lentz are top-seeded at No. 2, seniors Ben Ruppert and Walter Zimdar are second-seeded at No. 3 and senior Joe Mulder and junior Tommy Rosmarin are second-seeded at No. 4.
Bhavesh Burramukku, St. Joseph junior: The third seed at No. 1 singles is 26-2 with his only losses to Division 1 opponents.
LP Division 4 at Hope College & Holland Christian
Top-ranked: 1. Ann Arbor Greenhills, 2. Traverse City St. Francis, 3. Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett
As noted above, Greenhills was last season’s Division 3 champion but is back in Division 4, where St. Francis and Liggett have combined to win the last three titles. Liggett won last year and in 2020 and was runner-up in 2021, edging Hudsonville Unity Christian by three points to claim last season’s championship.
Ann Arbor Greenhills: The Gryphons are seeded second at No. 1 singles and first at the other seven flights as they seek to win this division for the first time since 2018 after playing in Division 3 the last four seasons. Junior Kabir Rajendra (12-8) is that second seed at No. 1 after he was runner-up at Division 3 No. 3 last year. He’s followed in the singles lineup by top-seeded junior Teddy Staebler (23-7) at No. 2, sophomore Charlie Rich (22-7) at No. 3 and freshman Murli Pandey (21-9) at No. 4. Seniors Lucas Nor and Alex Ye are top-seeded at No. 1 doubles after Ye was part of last year’s runner-up at No. 1 in Division 3 and Nor was part of the champion at No. 2. Senior Charles Branch and sophomore Ajay Purohit are the top seed at No. 2; they teamed up to win No. 4 in Division 3 last fall. Sophomore Richard Wu and freshman William Pearce are the top seed at No. 3, and senior Shyam Pandey and freshman Maksim Rakic-Denis are the top seed at No. 4.
Traverse City St. Francis: The Gladiators are seeded fifth or higher at all eight flights, led by strength in doubles. Juniors Eli Schmude and David Ansley are the second seed at No. 1, and freshman Casey Jackson and sophomore Brady Thelen are the second seed at No. 4. Ansley was part of the No. 3 runner-up last season. Junior Owen Jackson (26-9) is the third seed at No. 1 singles after winning No. 2 last season and No. 3 in 2021, and senior Chris Bobrowski is the fourth seed at No. 2 after finishing No. 3 runner-up in 2022.
Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett: The Knights are seeking their fifth Division 4 championship over the last eight seasons, and they’ll enter with six seeded flights and a singles lineup that will be especially key. Senior Sebastian Courtright (22-8) is the top seed at No. 1 after finishing runner-up at that flight the last two seasons, and junior Charlie Cooksey is the second seed at No. 2 after winning No. 4 last season.
PHOTO Troy's Dhruv Gupta returns a volley during last season's Lower Peninsula Division 4 Finals. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)