THE GREATER LANSING AREA SPORTS HALL
OF FAME
INDUCTION CEREMONY
1975 Lakewood High Boys Basketball
Team
July 29, 2021
By Chuck Krafft
The 1975
Lakewood High team won the Michigan Class B State Basketball Championship. Coach Rolly Krauss introduced the team and
made some remarks. The team always came
on to the court to “Thank God, I’m a Country Boy” which was a huge hit by John
Denver in the late 1970s - - this was appropriate because Lakewood High is in a
rural area and draws students from four local towns.
Coach Krauss
told us that the team’s goals of 25 wins and the State Championship. They achieved both of those goals!
Coach Krauss
related a humorous story where Jay Kimble had read a fortune that said the team
would win. He blurted this during a
timeout late in the tournament; the team went on to win that game. They then beat Jackson Lumen Christi in the
semifinals with a late run and rolled over Mt. Pleasant in the championship game.
He told us how adults lined up at 7 AM to try to get tickets for the tournament
games. (My small town, Frankenmuth, went
on runs when I was in seventh and eighth grade; I remember how everyone was totally
behind the team and understand this.) To
tweak the sports writers who were dismissive of a small town rural team, the
students dressed up in cliché “farmers’ outfits” to attend the games.
After they
won the championship, cars were lined up for miles to congratulate the players
as their team bus arrived in town.
Coach Krauss
finished by thanking the committee for inducting his team!
For those
who wish to read about the entire induction ceremony, here is a link.
https://lansingcivicevents.blogspot.com/2021/07/2021-greater-lansing-sports-hall-of.html
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