Greater Lansing Area Sports Hall of Fame Induction 2017 - - 1973 East Lansing Football Team

THE GREATER LANSING AREA SPORTS HALL OF FAME

INDUCTION CEREMONY

2017

1973 East Lansing Football Team

The 1973 East Lansing Football Team won all nine of its games.  They scored 312 points and limited their opponents to 27 points.

They were voted the number two team in the State of Michigan that year.  

Coach Jeff Smith gave the acceptance speech.  Many of the team's players introduced themselves.  He noted that this was the eighth undefeated football team for East Lansing High since they started playing football in 1920.  

They only trailed in one game the entire year.  He also noted that the team played an entire game vs. Lansing Sexton with only one penalty.  Every player played in every game.  The team was in excellent condition, which helped them to pull away from opponents late in games.  Coach Smith noted that they did not have any player who was as large as 200 pounds on the team.

They tried to set up a game with the Saginaw Arthur Hill team which was undefeated and unscored upon that year.  (I was extremely familiar with that team; I grew up a few miles away in Frankenmuth and Arthur Hill's game was the highlight game in every Saturday's Saginaw News.)  They were not able to set up the game; I suppose that we will never know who would have won.  

As the State of Michigan did not have a football playoff that year, we will never know who the true champion would be.

Coach Smith pointed out that East Lansing had accumulated more playoff points if the State's system for determining playoff seeding had existed then.

Congratulations to the East Lansing Football Trojans on their fine season!