Friday, July 29, 2022

2022 Greater Lansing Sports Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony - - Jim Brandt

 

THE GREATER LANSING AREA SPORTS HALL OF FAME

INDUCTION CEREMONY

JIM BRANDT

July 28, 2022

By Chuck Krafft

 

Jim Brandt coached Track at Grand Ledge for 28 years; he also coached Cross Country for 19 years and Basketball for 10 years.  He had a big hand in founding the Lansing Invitational Cross Country Meet in 1989.

In cross country, he had 66 consecutive dual meet wins and won 11 CAC Championships in 12 years.  He also won 3 Regional Championships and coached 6 All-State Runners.  He was the Lansing State Journal Coach of the Year in 1994.

In track, he won one CAC Championship, two West Central Championships and ten Eaton County Championships.  In 2005, he was entered into the Michigan High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

His first comment was a story about a Magic Johnson dunk against one of his basketball teams that was so impressive that his Grand Ledge bench gave its props!  He noted that Magic Johnson went on to coach in the NBA while he went on to coaching track!  (Like most inductees, Mr. Brandt was quite humble!)

He thanked his athletes for their hard work and dedication.  He also thanked the coaches that helped his teams to achieve on a level that earned this recognition.

He showed a great sense of humor throughout his talk as he ended by telling us that he was happy to see his grandchildren at the event.  He noted that if he had known about grandkids, he would have skipped the “kids” part of the process!

For those who wish to read about the entire event, here is a link to the Overview page!

https://lansingcivicevents.blogspot.com/2022/07/2022-greater-lansing-area-sports-hall.html

 

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