Michigan Hall of Fame class has Oakland County ties
The 2020 Michigan Sports Hall of Fame class, announced on Wednesday, is highlighted by two inductees with strong ties to Oakland County.
The nine- member class includes former Birmingham Detroit Country Day basketball star Shane Battier and former Oakland Press sports writer Tom Kowalski, who covered the Detroit Lions for 30 years before his sudden death in 2011.
“Even though we couldn’t gather in person to honor this outstanding class, whose members are among the most revered names in sports in our state, we will be proud to recognize them with an induction ceremony as soon as it’s safe to host an event, hopefully in 2021,” Hall of Fame Chair Scott Lesher said in a release. “We thank the thousands of Michigan sports fans who took part in our voting process this year.”
Battier and Kowalski join a class that includes Calvin Johnson ( Lions), Chauncey Billups (Pistons), Jordyn Wieber (Olympic gold medalist), Margo Jonker
(CMU softball coach), and Pete Schmidt (football coach at Albion College and Okemos High School).
Also in the media class with Kowalski is Mary Schroeder ( long-time Detroit Free Press photographer). The late Ralph Wilson Jr. (founder of the Buffalo Bills) was named in the contributor class.
The class was selected by a statewide task force comprised of current and former journalists and former sports executives, along with a public online vote.
Kowalski, who got his start in sports writing at the Oakland Press, was writing for MLive at the time of his death in 2011.
Kowalski was a regular on Detroit sports talk radio and FOX 2 Detroit. The media room at the Detroit Lions Headquarters in Allen Park is named for him.
Battier, born and raised in Birmingham, won the 1997 Mr. Basketball Award as the best player in Michigan and the Naismith Prep Player of the Year Award as the nation’s top player at Detroit Country Day.
He went on to play four years of college basketball at Duke, where he captured the 2001 National Championship and the Naismith National Player of the Year Award.
Battier was selected with the sixth overall pick of the 2001 NBA draft by the Vancouver Grizzlies (who soon became the Memphis Grizzlies). During his NBA career,
Battier won two NBA titles with the Miami Heat in 2012 and 2013.
Battier’s number has been retired by both Detroit Country Day and Duke. He is the only basketball player to have ever won both the Naismith Prep Player of the Year Award and the Naismith College Player of the Year Award.
In a tweet, Battier had the following to say about his induction to the Michigan Hall of Fame:
“I am very honored to enter the @MSHOF. Michigan has an amazing sports history that shaped the way I trained and competed. It’s been a heck of a journey, better than I ever thought possible! Super grateful for the ride and the lessons learned.”
Other inductees in the 2020 class include:
Chauncey Billups
Detroit Pistons championship point guard who won the Most Valuable Player Award for the 2004 NBA Finals.
Calvin Johnson Jr.
Six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver for the Detroit Lions.
Jordyn Wieber
DeWitt native and gymnastics national champion who won a gold medal as part of the 2012 U.S. Women’s Gymnastics Team.
Margo Jonker
Softball coach at Central Michigan University from 1980-2019, with 10 conference tournament titles.
Pete Schmidt
Record- setting championship football coach at Albion College and Okemos High School.
Mary Schroeder
Pioneering Detroit Free Press sports photographer who captured iconic images of memorable championship moments. Kirk Gibson’s celebration after his three-run homer to clinch the 1984 World Series for the Tigers is among her famous shots.
Ralph Wilson, Jr.
Native Detroiter and lifelong Southeast Michigan resident who founded the Buffalo Bills as an original American Football League franchise and owned the team for the rest of his life. His contributions to the game led to his 2009 induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.