All Saints Celebrates on Big Screen
July 31, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Forty years ago, Bay City All Saints brought its hometown the first of two straight MHSAA boys basketball championships – which continue to stand as the only ones won by a Bay City school.
As part of the Class of 1974’s 40-year reunion this weekend, organizers will show the broadcast of that 71-59 victory over Detroit Servite in the Class C Final, on Friday at the downtown State Theater.
The team was coached by Russell “Lefty” Franz, who sits 14th in MHSAA boys basketball coaching history with 545 wins (545-215) at All Saints, Bay City St. Stanislaus and Pinconning achieved from 1953-1991. All Saints repeated as Class C champion under Franz in 1975 with a 79-69 win over Cassopolis.
The Bay City Times caught up today with three starters from that team who are expected to return for the showing of the game. Click to read more.
Rooting for Haske
Northern Michigan basketball fans and supporters from all over are cheering on Traverse City St. Francis boys basketball coach Keith Haske, who is battling throat cancer and seeking treatment in Houston, according to a report by the Petoskey News.
Haske has coached three boys teams to MHSAA Class C runner-up finishes – St. Francis in 2012 and Charlevoix in 2004 and 2001, and also coached at St. Johns prior to taking the Rayders job in 1998. He also coached the Charlevoix girls team to a Class C runner-up finish in 2004.
Click to read more about Haske and how to donate to his treatment.
Thanks, Gary Hice
The MHSAA welcomed 43 new athletic directors to East Lansing today for training as they take over their schools’ athletic departments.
An athletic director we’ll certainly miss is Petoskey’s Gary Hice.
Hice – an MHSAA Allen W. Bush Award winner in 2002 for his contributions to high school athletics – has retired after 30 years as his school’s athletic director.
Click to read more, again from the Petoskey News, about Hice’s service to his school and community.
PHOTO: The Bay City All Saints Class of 1974 reunion this weekend will include a showing of the boys basketball team’s Class C championship game win over Detroit Servite.
Flashback 100: James Earl Jones, Dickson High Hoops to Hollywood Legend
September 13, 2024
Known for his roles in "Field of Dreams," "The Sandlot," "Star Wars," and several more, James Earl Jones graduated from Dickson High School in Brethren in 1949. During his senior year, he served as his class' vice president and wore number 27 on the varsity basketball team. He died on Sept. 9, at the age of 93.
Jones was born in Arkabutla, Miss., in 1931 and later moved to live with his grandparents in Dublin, Mich. After Dickson High School, Jones graduated from the University of Michigan – and he leant his iconic voice to the Wolverines years later for the hype video played before each home football game (watch here).
There is a life-sized bronze statue of Jones and his mentor, Donald Crouch, in Brethren. Jones struggled with a stutter and, with Crouch's help, overcame it and went on to a well-documented acting career. Jones won an Academy Award in 2011, Emmy Awards in 1990, 1991, and 2000, a Golden Globe Award in 1970, a Grammy Award in 1977, and Tony Awards in 1969, 1987 and 2017.
Dickson High School consolidated with Kaleva and Norman High Schools in 1964 into what is now Brethren High School.
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Previous "Flashback 100" Features
Sept. 6: Pioneers' Unstoppable Streak Stretches 9 Seasons - Read
Aug. 30: Detroit dePorres Rushes to 1995 Class CC Football Championship - Read
PHOTOS James Earl Jones is pictured alone and with his basketball teammates at Brethren Dickson. (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.)