MCSHOF Inductee

Lee T. Snyder was a one-man wrecking crew one fine spring day at the 1954 Class B state track meet. The Ludington Oriole single handedly gave his school the state runner-up trophy as he won state titles in the pole vault and high jump while taking second in the low hurdles and third in the long jump. Snyder's prowess wasn't limited to the track as he was a member of the boys basketball teams and f ...Read More...

Although Matt Urka saw his playing days with baseball cut short by an accident, his love for the stick-and-ball game never subsided. He helped to sponsor fastpitch softball teams and he organized what was one of the premier fastpitch softball tournaments in the country over the Memorial Day weekend, turning MacPhail's field in Scottville into a fastpitch paradise with a who's who of players and te ...Read More...

The Ludington gymnastics program in the late 1970s was dominant, and that was partly thanks to the work of Rae Jean, then known as Debbie Hineline. She was a three-time All-State selection in 1976, 1977 and 1978. She was the first Ludington gymnast to win an all-around state championship, doing so in 1978, as she won state titles in three individual events: vault, uneven bars and floor exercise. I ...Read More...

Perhaps no person is as synonymous as the voice of Ludington football and basketball as Rod Beckman. For 40 years, Beckman was the play-by-play voice of both programs on the airwaves of WKLA and for a year of basketball at WMOM. And when he wasn't delivering sports on the air, he continued to play in a sport where he excelled — baseball and softball. He was a member of the Custer VFW teams long ...Read More...

Don Stokely keeps a watchful eye of the baseball diamond at the corner of Gaylord and Lowell streets. That diamond bears his name after he oversaw the Ludington baseball program for 33 years. Stokely compiled a record of 452 wins and 288 losses and saw his teams win 11 league titles, six district titles and one regional crown. He was a regional coach of the year in 2001 and was the Class A & B Mus ...Read More...

Fabian Knizacky was a great race-walker, finishing ninth in the 1984 Olympic trials for the 50-kilometer race walk. The four-year varsity letterwinner from Free Soil in cross country went on to Aquinas College where he really excelled. At Aquinas, he was the first three-time all-American for the school and was the first person to win All-American honors in indoor track. In all, he is a five-time a ...Read More...

Melissa (Thompson) Gross ran her way into what's seemingly a permanent place in the Ludington High record books. While an oriole, she set a school record in the 1,600-meter run and was a member of the school-record setting 1,600-meter relay team. She was also a state champion miler in 1982 while running to third in 1983 in the 800-meter run and third in 1981 in the 1,600-meter run. She also was a ...Read More...

The Orioles' gymnastics program was built by Patricia M. Jensen and under her guidance, Ludington went 143-3 in duals and won state championships in five consecutive seasons, from 1975 to 1979. That record included 111 consecutive victories, a national record. Sixteeen of her gymnasts were named all-state and 14 earned full college scholarships. She was named the Detroit News Michigan High School ...Read More...

Todd Patulski has lived a life of athletics and it all began at Mason County Central. Patulski was the 1985 Mason County Central Athlete of the Year as he was a guard on the Spartans' 19-1 boys basketball team and was a state qualifier in the high jump, 300-meter hurdles and 400-meter relay team in track and field. He also played fastpitch softball, including being the starting pitcher on the Clas ...Read More...

The 1947 edition of the Abrahamson-Bannon softball team helped to set up decades to come of softball greatness from Mason County as it won the MASA Class B state championship. The team compiled a 35-4 record that season and went 17-2 in its league. At the state tournament, the team allowed just one run and eight hits while scoring eight runs on 20 hits. Bob VanDyke tossed the first two games, incl ...Read More...