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: Hart, East Grand Rapids Set to Challenge Records for All-Time Success
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
November 3, 2022
Saturday’s MHSAA Lower Peninsula Girls Cross Country Finals at Michigan International Speedway will give hundreds of athletes a chance to build on what they’ve accomplished this fall – and allow some of the state’s top programs an opportunity to build on their impressive histories in the sport.
Start with Hart, which has won five straight LP Division 3 championships and can become the first Lower Peninsula team to reach six straight with another title this weekend.
Meanwhile East Grand Rapids, the top-ranked team in LP Division 2, can tie Jackson Lumen Christi’s record of nine Lower Peninsula Finals titles.
Contenders Ann Arbor Pioneer and Grand Rapids Christian are tied for third on that all-time Lower Peninsula championship list with six apiece, followed by Hart with its five. Pioneer has won three in a row, and with a fourth straight would tie for the sixth-longest championship streak in either peninsula.
See below for more on several team and individual contenders Saturday. The "season bests" list referred to frequently is a ranking list of every runner's best time this season, maintained by Athletic.net. The first race begins at 9:30 a.m.; click here for the full schedule and ticket information. Additionally, all eight races Saturday at MIS will be streamed live and viewable with subscription on MHSAA.tv.
Division 1
Reigning champion: Ann Arbor Pioneer
2021 runner-up: Holland West Ottawa
2022 top-ranked: 1. Saline, 2. Ann Arbor Pioneer, 3. Holland West Ottawa
Pioneer has won three-straight Division 1 championships, last year ahead of West Ottawa 68-100, with Saline running fifth. But as the Pioneers seek a fourth-consecutive win, the competition could be as tough as ever. The Hornets sit in the top spot, seeking their first Finals championship since 2009, after winning last week’s Regional at Milan ahead of Pioneer 33-42. Pioneer did win the Portage Invitational on Oct. 8 with West Ottawa a close second and Saline third, and West Ottawa was the top Michigan placer (second) at the Spartan Invitational Elite race back on Sept. 16. West Ottawa is paced by the two fastest runners in the state this fall – sophomore Helen Sachs (season best 17:01.6) and senior Arianne Olson (17:11.3), who finished fifth and third, respectively, at last year’s Final. Reigning champion and now-junior Rachel Forsyth (season best 18:11.6) returns for Pioneer and is teaming with senior Emily Cooper (17:49.8), who has won three straight races including their league and Regional championship runs. Senior Mia Rogan (18:12.3) paces Saline and was the Regional runner-up last weekend at Milan. All five runners rank among the top 22 on the statewide season best list.
Individuals: Including Forsyth, Olson and Sachs, five of last season’s top seven Finals finishers will return this weekend. Rochester sophomore Lucy Cook is back after running sixth, and Macomb Dakota junior Jayden Harberts returns after running seventh, and both have season-best times among the top 18 statewide. Sachs, Cooper, Cook and Harberts won Regional titles last week, joined by Midland Dow sophomore Victoria Garces, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central junior Clara James-Heer, Ann Arbor Skyline senior Natalie Kessler, Northville junior Ella Christensen and Farmington sophomore Molly Baracco.
Division 2
Reigning champion: East Grand Rapids
2021 runner-up: Grand Rapids Christian
2022 top-ranked: 1. East Grand Rapids, 2. Otsego, 3. Grand Rapids Christian
East Grand Rapids has been a regular at the front of this pack the last two decades and is the reigning champion after also recently earning titles in 2018 and 2019 and the runner-up spot in 2020. Five of last season’s Finals runners are back and six Pioneers finished among the top 16 at their Regional last week at Grand Rapids South Christian, paced by junior champion Drew Muller. She was fifth at last season’s Final, while sophomore Sadey Seyferth was 12th and junior Sophia Lado finished 15th. Muller ranks fifth on the statewide season best list with a 17:25.3. Otsego is only a few years removed from back-to-back titles in 2015 and 2016 and finished fifth last season with four underclassmen among its top five runners. Three of those four are back this weekend led by junior Megan Germain. Grand Rapids Christian is another team always in the mix, with another runner-up finish coming in 2017 and its most recent championships in 2013 and 2014. Last season’s individual champion Madelyn Frens was a senior, but the next five Eagles runners from 2021 will return this weekend, with junior Natalie VanOtteren coming off a fourth-place Finals finish a year ago and ranking seventh on the season best statewide list this fall with a 17:37.4.
Individuals: Including the three East Grand Rapids returnees and Christian’s VanOtteren, nine of last season’s top 15 finishers will race again this weekend hoping to follow Frens as the individual champion. Mason junior Meghan Ford finished second at the Final as a freshman and third last year, and Frankenmuth junior Mary Richmond was fourth as a freshman and second last season. Richmond has the third-fastest season best time in Division 2 (and 23rd statewide) of 18:12.6. Also returning from last year’s top 15 are Grand Rapids West Michigan Aviation Academy junior Emma DeVries (10th), Zeeland East junior Allison Kuzma (11th) and Marshall junior Camille Decola (14th).
Division 3
Reigning champion: Hart
2021 runner-up: Kent City
2022 top-ranked: 1. Traverse City St. Francis, 2. Pewamo-Westphalia, 3. Hart
Hart’s championship record pursuit will be led by one of the state’s fastest runners in sophomore Jessica Jazwinski, whose 17:15.1 is the third-fastest season best time statewide this fall. Junior teammate Alyson Ens is not far behind with a 17:49.9 that is tied for 11th-fastest season best time. Ens was runner-up and Jazwinski third at last year’s Final, and three more of their top six runners from that meet also will be back this weekend. But the challenge will be mighty. St. Francis finished third last year without a senior, and six of those seven runners – including the top five – are back led by sophomore Betsy Skendzel, who placed eighth in 2021 and has the 16th-fastest season best time statewide of 18:07.5. P-W finished 10th last season and returns its top six runners from that team. Lansing Catholic was fourth last season with only one senior and brings four runners back including its top three, with senior Hannah Pricco seventh last season, junior Tessa Roe 17th and senior CC Jones 18th. Jones and Pricco’s season-best times this fall rank among the top 27 statewide.
Individuals: Division 3 graduated an impressive class after last season, including three Finals champions. But eight of last season’s top 15 will return this weekend. Joining Enns and Jazwinski, Pricco and Skendzel will be Benzie Central junior Mylie Kelly (sixth in 2021), Ypsilanti Arbor Prep sophomore Eliza Bush (ninth), Jackson Lumen Christi junior Madison Osterberg (12th) and Kent City sophomore Lila Volkers (14th). A newcomer will challenge them as well; Onsted freshman Emmry Ross is undefeated this season, and her top time of 17:47.6 ranks second in Division 3 only to Jazwinski’s season best and ninth on the statewide list. Skendzel, Jazwinski, Volkers, Ross, Pricco and Bush won Regional titles last weekend, as did Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett sophomore Kerith Short, Reese senior Ellymae McCoy and Lawton junior Kendra Koster. Muskegon Western Michigan Christian sophomore Grace VanderKooi and Kalamazoo Christian sophomore Alaina Klooster were placers in Division 4 last season, crossing the line eighth and 15th, respectively, in that race.
Division 4
Reigning champion: Muskegon Western Michigan Christian
2021 runner-up: Kalamazoo Christian
2022 top-ranked: 1. Johannesburg-Lewiston, 2. Whitmore Lake, 3. Harbor Springs
Western Michigan Christian became the third-straight first-time Finals champion in Division 4 last fall, and Johannesburg-Lewiston would run that streak to four if it matches its ranking. The Cardinals finished sixth a year ago with only one senior and bring back their top five runners from that meet, including senior Adelaida Gascho, who finished fourth individually last fall. Johannesburg-Lewiston finished second at last weekend’s East Jordan Regional to Harbor Springs, but sophomore Allie Novak and freshman Yolanda Gascho were the top two individual placers. Whitmore Lake is seeking its first team title since 1996 and bringing back four of its top six runners from last year’s ninth-place team – including 13th-place now-junior Natalie Meadows – plus standout freshman Carina Burchi, whose 17:42.5 is the second-fastest time on the Division 4 season best list. Harbor Springs was 12th in Division 3 a year ago and brings three of its runners back this weekend, and placed four among the top seven individuals in that Regional win over Johannesburg-Lewiston. Harbor Springs is seeking its first Finals team title since 2009.
Individuals: Four-time Finals champion Abby VanderKooi graduated this spring, but Buckley junior Aiden Harrand is another big star from a small school. She was fifth as a freshman and runner-up last season, and her season-best time of 18:11 ranks 20th on the statewide list. She’s one of 10 runners back from last season’s Division 4 top 15 (not including the two who are running in Division 3 this weekend). Joining Harrand, Gascho and Meadows are Huron Valley Lutheran senior Erika Van Loton (fifth in 2021), Mendon sophomore Presley Allen (sixth), Auburn Hills Oakland Christian sophomore Eliza Keith (ninth), Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest senior Mackenzie Lemke (10th), Allen Park Cabrini junior Ava Teed (11th), Pittsford sophomore Ava Mallar (12th) and Wyoming Potter’s House Christian junior Ivy Andreas (14th). Joining Nowak among Regional champs were Harrand, Allen, Burchi and Teed, as well as Genesee junior Isabella Yeoman, Adrian Lenawee Christian sophomore Izzy Brooks, Hudsonville Libertas Christian freshman Sadie Schout and Beal City senior Kaylee Locke.
PHOTO Hart's Alyson Enns (255) and Jessica Jazwinski kick toward the finish of last season's Lower Peninsula Division 3 Final at Michigan International Speedway. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)