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The Michigan Track & Field Hall of Fame
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Why a Hall of Fame? It’s simple. To inspire Michigan’s youth of today and tomorrow. To show them that greatness is possible no matter what path they find themselves on. The stories shared here show such a diversity of pathways to greatness that hopefully, today’s athletes can see a path forward for themselves to be the best that they can be, whether they’re aiming for the Olympics or simply to earn a varsity letter.
The athletes included all have one thing in common. They attended high school or they began their track & field careers in Michigan at an earlier age. In some cases they were stars during their school days, in other cases they blossomed later. Some, of course, have been stars every step of the way.
What does it take to be included? That’s actually a challenging question to answer, as the ultimate goal is that the Hall of Fame reflects “greatness”, a word that’s hard to define. Winning a state title is sadly not enough. Including relay members, there have been over 26,000 state champions in the history of Michigan high school track & field—and that doesn’t begin to count our cross country winners. While multiple state honors help, what really stands out is the athlete’s place in history as a transformative performer: achieving what’s not been done before, going faster, higher, farther. Dominating on a statewide or national level is key, as opposed to winning everything in a class or division with little competition. Being an All-American or even winning a national title does not make one a Hall of Famer; there are far too many competitions that bestow those awards. Greatness is something bigger.
For the athletes included primarily on the basis of their post-high school accomplishments, it’s a little easier to draw up criteria. Indeed, these are the athletes that we initially built the Hall of Fame around. They are the heroes of Michigan track & field and cross country. Participation in the sport’s biggest events, the Olympics and the World Outdoor Championships is important. For Michigan athletes who end up representing foreign nations, those accomplishments will be considered but they are not guarantees. It’s a truth that Team USA is the hardest team to make. Other categories that merit consideration: national champions in major events, NCAA champion in individual events, World and American Record breakers in standard events, and so on.
Note that this is not a ranking, per se. Many athletes in future classes may have similar or better credentials than those that are already in the Hall. The emphasis in creating the initial classes is that the athletes reflect a variety of eras and events, and thus we recognize that many more legends are still to come.
Nominations are being accepted for the next class of inductees. Please review what's been written above to understand the guidelines, and please remember that being a state champion simply is not enough--there have been over 26,000 state champions in Michigan history. Email nominations to jeffhollobaugh@gmail.com
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The entire Hall of Fame in PDF booklet form (46 pages)
Entries in alphabetical order; listed with school and graduation year. *=Short summary account; longer article coming, as time and funding permit.
The Michigan Track & Field Hall of Fame is supported by your tax-deductible donations. If an individual, team or organization would like to be publicly recognized here as a sponsor of the Hall of Fame, please follow this link for details.