Powerful Voice for High School Sports
December 19, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Paul Carey was home from the U.S. Army only a few months and just shy of 25 years old when Beal City embarked on its first trip deep into the MHSAA boys basketball tournament.
On the call for local radio station WCEN from gyms at Saginaw Arthur Hill and Lansing Sexton, Carey served as the voice of the previously “laughable” Aggies as they reached the Class D Semifinals before falling just six points short of playing for the title.
“All of Beal City emptied out. They’d never had anything before,” Carey recalled during his annual Thanksgiving weekend visit to the MHSAA Football Finals at Ford Field. “When I got home, within the next two weeks I got a letter from every citizen of Beal City thanking me for broadcasting their games. That’s the kind of appreciation that meant so much.”
During 42 years on the airwaves, Carey was best known as a voice of the Detroit Tigers bounding out of transistor radios all over Michigan, thanks to WJR’s powerful signal.
But for the state’s high school sports community, his legacy is similarly memorable as the voice of the longtime football and basketball scoreboard show and a voter for various all-state teams and wire polls over the decades.
Now 86 and retired since 1991, Carey remains a regular during the first day of the Football Finals, taking in games he broadcast for the MHSAA during the late 1970s and that continue to hold his eye as they have for more than a half-century.
“It was a passion of mine. High school sports always has been,” Carey said. “I think because my dad was a high school coach, and teacher initially, and my brother was a high school coach and teacher, I just grew up in families that appreciated coaching and athletics. I was not a great athlete, but it kept my hand in following sports that way.”
Now, the scores
Carey partnered with Ernie Harwell for Tigers radio broadcasts from 1973-91, including during the march to the 1984 World Series championship. He was named Michigan Sportscaster of the Year six times and to the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 1992.
But Carey’s early career included sitting on top of a car, plugged into a phone pole, for a Sacred Heart football game at old Fancher Field just a few blocks from his family’s Mount Pleasant home. Among many more accolades are a Distinguished Service Award from the Michigan High School Coaches Association and a place in the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan Hall of Fame.
In fact, the start of his weekly announcing of statewide football and basketball scores preceded his baseball career by 16 years and ended two months after he announced his final professional out.
The Michigan High School Scoreboard show was a staple of WJR’s late Friday nights from 1957-91. Carey would read every score he could collect from a variety of sources, often organized by league and with state rankings and context mixed in.
His idea came from something similar read by Len Colby for Kalamazoo’s WKZO. Carey’s brother Terry was coaching at Niles during the second half of the 1950s, and he and other coaches would get together to listen to the Friday night scores from the southwestern part of the state.
Carey, who left WKNX in Saginaw for WJR in 1956, explained to then-sports director Bob Reynolds that the station’s strong signal could provide for a truly statewide scoreboard experience.
Carey then connected with Edgar Hayes of the former Detroit Times, who gave the OK for Carey to call the paper on Friday nights to get scores from the Detroit metro area. For the rest, Carey relied on wire services – there were three at the time – who relied on newspapers from all over Michigan to call in scores over the course of an evening.
Before every Friday during high school football season – and later Tuesdays and Fridays during boys basketball season – Carey typed up lists of games based on schedules in the newspaper, with spaces to add scores. More than a few times, Carey raced down a back ramp at Tiger Stadium after a Friday night game, back to the WJR studio, with 15 minutes to prep for the show’s 11:30 p.m. start.
“If the Flint Journal, the Grand Rapids Press, the Traverse City paper didn’t call in scores to the AP, then I was out of luck too. And that happened all the time,” Carey said. “I would call back occasionally, say, ‘Did you get anything more?’ It was a rat race.”
The show originally was set for 10 minutes and then extended to 15. American Airlines sponsored a record show that followed, and Carey’s scoreboard show had a sponsor only once in 35 years. Finishing up on time was expected, even with more than 200 scores to read.
But Carey said he always went 20 minutes, sometimes 25.
“Because I wasn’t done. I just kept right on going,” Carey said. “Jay Roberts did the all-night show most of the time, and he was patient with me. He didn’t say too much on the air about ‘that guy ahead of me took all of my time.’”
Carey continued the “rat race” until his final scoreboard show, Dec. 20, 1991. He retired from WJR at the end of that calendar year. And it's important to note: Carey was never paid a dime extra for doing the program. .
“I think Paul is really just a sports fan, and that came across to the listener on his broadcasts,” MHSAA historian Ron Pesch said. “Paul would gather as much as possible off the wire. He'd interject if scores were missing from sections of the state. Press polls from the Free Press, News, AP and UPI were big, so he could point out close calls and upsets.
“He provided immediacy, or the closest thing to it in the days before cable TV and the Internet, and because of his scoreboard show, you could get the results before the morning paper. For listeners, he brought life to something as simple as game scores.”
First team all the way
Carey, who resides in Rochester, also served as the engineer on Tigers broadcasts for 16 years, through 1990. He broadcast Pistons games on the radio for six seasons and did the first broadcast of a Central Michigan University football game, in 1949.
Harry Atkins, covering Detroit’s teams while with The Associated Press for 29 years including the last 21 as its sports editor for Detroit, took note of his colleague's hard work – and especially that Carey was one of few broadcasters who was a journalist in addition to a voice.
That made Carey's other major role in high school sports a natural fit.
Atkins split The Associated Press all-state selection panels for football and basketball into 11 regions, and Carey represented the Detroit area for a number of years. He also was a longtime voter in those sports' weekly polls.
“Paul is just that kind of guy. He thought it was important and he made time in his busy schedule to do it,” Atkins said “And it had an impact on the other 10 voters on the All-State panels, too.
“Some of them were from small out-state newspapers or radio or TV stations. Yet every one of them knew who Paul Carey was. And when he spoke, of course, with what often is called "The Voice of God," those voters paid attention.”
And he still does, as well.
At the end of each fall, Carey still puts together a compilation of the three high school all-state football teams – Associated Press, Detroit Free Press and Detroit News – and files them with years of research and results.
“It’s important to me. Nobody sees it but me, but I get a certain kick,” Carey said. “Once in a while I’ll see a kid playing at Central, Western or (Michigan) State or Michigan, and they’ll say he came from Clawson. I’ll go into my all-state collections, say that would’ve been 2009 he played, and I find a name.”
In addition to the Football Finals on WJR, Carey was part of the Baseball Finals broadcasts into the early 1990s, continuing to contribute even after his retirement from his fulltime gig.
He spent high school games over the years sitting next to legends like the Free Press’ Hal Schram and remembers when current Free Press longtime scribe Mick McCabe was just a rookie. One of Carey's final broadcasts was a 1992 Baseball Final with his nephew Mike Carey, who continues to broadcast MHSAA championship games to this day.
“I am eternally grateful to Paul Carey. His contribution to high school sports in Michigan has been great and significant,” Atkins said.
“We are lucky to have him.”
PHOTO: Paul Carey (left) and nephew Mike Carey broadcast the MHSAA 1992 Class D Baseball Final between Hillman and Athens for PASS.
Nichols Lends Winning Past to West's Present
July 28, 2020
By Tom Spencer
Special for Second Half
Thirteen Novembers ago, Drew Nichols, then a senior captain, took a bus ride home from Troy High School with the Traverse City West boys soccer team. The Division 1 boys soccer championship trophy was happily along for the ride as the Titans had just beaten Livonia Stevenson 1-0 in the Final.
Last November only an overtime loss prevented the now-West assistant varsity coach from taking a very enjoyable similar bus ride. The loss was at the hands of Troy Athens, and the ride home departed this time from Comstock Park.
Perhaps this November he’ll get another shot from Comstock Park, one of two sites to be used for the coming season’s championship tilts. He plans to be on the sidelines again with head coach Matt Griesinger as the Titans dream of yet another long postseason run (COVID-19 permitting, of course).
While many would think there would be a world of difference in the two long November bus rides after a Division 1 Final with differing results, Nichols believes there really wasn’t.
“The way I saw it, both 2006 and 2019 bus rides had a bunch of exhausted players that fought hard in the pinnacle game of the year,” Nichols pointed out. “I'm not saying there wasn't some pain for the boys to be on the losing side, but in the end I think they still recognized the amazing achievement it was.
“I think everyone that played or watched that 2019 game recognized that it was a moment away from ending in a win,” he continued. “They held their heads high and should command the respect of the program for being only the second team in its history to reach that game.”
Nichols became the varsity assistant coach at West in 2015 after coaching the Titans’ JV two seasons. Griesinger took over the head coaching position at the same time from the Titans’ first coach – and now athletic director – Jason Carmien.
Nichols and Griesinger guided the Titans to Regional appearances in 2015, 2016 and 2019. Nichols said he doesn’t know what to expect in 2020 with all the uncertainties the nation and world are facing.
“The COVID interference has been disastrous on so many levels, and it will certainly disrupt the quality of play for the 2020 fall season,” Nichols said. “We had a strong result last year and have a lot of returning players, so on paper we have the potential for another great season.
“However, the landscape of fall sports and soccer in particular will be so different this year that it's impossible to know how everything plays out,” he continued. “There was a huge loss of development without club soccer or college camps over the spring and summer. From my perspective, the best way to help is to make sure players come into the season fit and focused.”
Nichols, whose wife Andrea gave birth to their daughter Quinn after last season, expects to have an impact on future generations regardless of how sports weather the impact of COVID-19.
“The game finds its way into the hearts of kids much earlier than they meet me, but I really enjoy being a positive influence on their growth and appreciation for what the game can offer,” he said. “I don't pretend to be the absolute authority on anything, but I have perspective to share and hopefully the time spent in our program will foster their appreciation of the game itself and the skills (and) values it can teach you.”
The West program has produced two Michigan Mr. Soccer Award winners during the school’s 20-year history in the sport, Dalton Michael (2016) and Casey Townsend (2006 and 2007). Nichols has ties to both.
Michael and his twin brother Donovan are now playing at Western Michigan University, and both played under Nichols. Townsend went on to a stellar career at University of Maryland and played in Major League Soccer. He was the No. 5 overall pick in the 2012 MLS draft and played for Chivas USA and DC United. All of that came after he scored the only goal in that 2006 Division 1 Final, with Nichols a teammate.
Nichols, a midfielder who went on to play at Hope College, made the all-state third team with nine goals and five assists as a senior that fall at West. He and Townsend had played side by side since their beginning soccer days at Traverse Bay Area Youth Soccer and with its premier club, NorthStorm.
“I sometimes forget just how much Casey has accomplished because first and foremost he is just a goofball friend of mine,” Nichols said. “We played together in our formative years, so even though he was the difference-maker in a lot of games, it was hard for us to recognize just how high his ceiling was at the time. Clearly we found out when he progressed into college and the professional leagues, and it was a blast to watch.”
Carmien, the coach of the 2006 championship team, recalls the connection Nichols and Townsend had.
“Drew scored some big goals and really was an anchor to our team,” Carmien said. “Drew caused a lot of turnovers and created transition scoring opportunities by combining with Casey or playing balls in behind defenses.”
Carmien anticipates Nichols will continue with Griesinger to foster the Titans’ success.
“Drew was a great player, he was a key piece in some very good Titan teams,” Carmien said. “I am proud to see him on the sidelines, working with our kids at practice and still involved in the program. We have alumni that still follow us each fall, and last year was a lot of fun; (I’m) glad Drew was a part of it, and hopefully we can have continued success.”
Carmien and Griesinger have impacted Nichols’ coaching style, which is also linked to his studies abroad as a student at Hope. He played some soccer in the Spanish cities of Murcia and Pontevedra as he earned academic honor roll recognition all four years at Hope.
“My expertise comes from my development as a player through high school, college, and afterwards playing and engaging the soccer community in a variety of countries,” Nichols said. “My coaching style comes heavily influenced by Jason Carmien, the founding father of the West soccer program.
“He trained me as a high school player and then again as a coach when I joined the staff around 2013,” Nichols elaborated. “Of course, more recently, head men's coach Matt Griesinger has challenged our staff and the program to exceed the high standards set by Jason.”
Nichols is not a school teacher. He manages payrolls for several companies as the director of operations for Integrative Payroll Services in Traverse City. Still, he intends to stay with coaching for the foreseeable future.
“My ‘career’ goal is to merely engage the soccer community where I live and stick around as long as I can offer value,” he said. “Obviously I was drawn to give back to the program I participated in as a player, and that's as far as it will likely go. With my daughter's birth this year, odds are good that you'll see me in the girls coaching pool in a few years.”
Rest assured, no matter where he is, Nichols will always remember the feeling of winning a state championship.
“It was amazing,” he said. We had a chip on our shoulder the whole playoff run since we were the nobodies from up north, so to win brought a mixed bag of feelings – excitement, accomplishment, relief, vindication,” he said.
“We didn't play particularly well, but most teams don't once they make it to that game. Nerves take their toll, just like with a big rivalry game, so anything can happen. That has become even clearer now that I have coached both rivalry games and a state Final. That day we were fortunate to have a future All-American to clinch it for us.”
But, as a coach, Nichols said he is “hoping to leave it one of many in the West program trophy case.”
Made in Michigan 2020
July 17: Miss Tennis Serving Now as 'Hero Coach' - Read
July 9: Joplin Always Has Known Value of Home - Read
June 24: Fracassa's Remarkable Records Still Rule - Read
June 16: Muskegon Grad Casts "Magic" in HBO Series - Read
Tom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Drew Nichols was a standout midfielder for Traverse City West during the mid-2000s, and led from the sideline as the Titans’ assistant varsity coach during last season's Division 1 Final. (Middle) Nichols, left, enjoys a celebratory photo in 2006 with then-West coach Jason Carmien and teammate Dan Kellogg. (Below) Nichols and his wife welcomed a daughter after last season. (Photos courtesy of Drew Nichols.)