SAGINAW COUNTY SPORTS HALL OF FAME
Jason Russell,
Nouvel Catholic Central
2016
2011
2010
2017
2009
Sarah Appold, Valley Lutheran High School Softball, Volleyball
Lacy Tolfree, Heritage High School Saginaw Softball
2005
Tim Ryan played Baseball, Football and Basketball for Nouvel Catholic HS
Kayla Engelhard, Valley Lutheran High School Basketball, Volleyball and Softball
Lindsey Mertz,
Frankenmuth High School
Kelsey Ritter, Frankenmuth High School Volleyball, Basketball and Track and Field
Stacy Delaney, Freeland High School Softball
Bennett Lewis, Nouvel Catholic Central HS Football and Track and Field
Tori Jankoska, Freeland High School Volleyball Basketball and Soccer
2013
Peyton Apsey, Hemlock High School Basketball, Volleyball and Softball
Lily Beyer
of Freeland
High School
Derrick Nash, Carrollton High School Football
Lauren Huebner, Swan Valley
Angie Ritter, Frankenmuth High School Track Volleyball
2006
2014
Jenny Ryan, Nouvel Catholic Central HS Basketball
Jason Pratt played Football, Basketball and Baseball Merrill HS
Darquavis Tucker, Arthur Hill High School Basketball
Andrew Dodson’s,Frankenmuth High School Track and Field
2007
Greg Bartlett played Football, Basketball and Baseball for Hemlock and
Ashley Nieman, Freeland High School played Softball and Volleyball.
Eric Davis, Arthur Hill High School Basketball
2019
2012
Tom Slade was raised on Carter Street, exactly 200 yards from the doors to Saginaw High School where he excelled in football, basketball and tennis. He earned All-State honors in football as a strong-armed quarterback and an accurate kicker for the Trojans. After graduating in 1970, Slade fulfilled his childhood dream when the University of Michigan awarded him a scholarship to play football under legendary coach Bo Schembechler. As a sophomore in 1971, Slade helped lead the team to an undefeated 11-0 regular season. The Wolverines narrowly missed a National Championship that year, losing the ’73 Rose Bowl game 13-12 on a late field goal by Stanford. Slade was known for being a tough run-blocker who cleared the way for Billy Taylor and other Wolverine running backs after he handed the ball off. After graduating from U-M, Slade returned to attend the U-M School of Dentistry and received a Doctor of Dental Surgery degree in 1978. He taught at the U-M School of Dentistry for three years before starting his own practice in 1981 in nearby Ypsilanti Township. Schembechler was one of his dental clients. He would later become the dentist for the Eastern Michigan University athletic teams. Slade also worked as a color analyst for Michigan football broadcasts on radio station WUOM-FM. In his spare time he was a Michigan High School Athletic Association basketball official and officiated numerous state finals. He also served as a Big Ten and Mid-American Conference women’s basketball official. He was active in the Ypsilanti Area Chamber of Commerce and served a three-year term as the president of the EMU Baseball “Dugout Club.” In 2004, he was inducted into the Saginaw County Sports Hall of Fame. The previous year he served as keynote speaker at the hall of fame’s annual induction banquet. In 2005 Slade was diagnosed with leukemia. In June of 2006 friends and former U-M teammates, including fellow Saginaw High and Michigan alum Calvin O’Neal, helped organize the Tom Slade Bone Marrow Donor Registration Drive to help find marrow donors for Slade and others with leukemia. Slade remained extremely close to Schembechler. The coach sent weekly notes and frequently called and visited after Slade was diagnosed with leukemia. During a particularly difficult day in the hospital Slade woke up to see his former coach sitting in a chair against the wall. They looked at each other but said nothing and Slade fell back to sleep. When he awoke again five hours later, Bo was sitting in the same chair, looking right at him. Slade died on November 12, 2006 in Ann Arbor at age 54. Though Schembechler was ailing himself, he attended Slade’s funeral. That night, Bo delivered his traditional Thursday night pep talk before the Ohio State game. According to the Detroit News: “Bo’s speech was not about Ohio State, the Big Ten title or a national championship. The whole speech was about Tom Slade and how, if the players worked hard, listened to their coaches and stuck together as teammates, one day they might be as good a Michigan man as Slade. That was the goal at Michigan, not national championships.” The next morning, Schembechler collapsed and died of heart failure before taping his weekly television show.
2015
Alex Grace, Swan Valley High School Football
Brad Redford, Frankenmuth HS Basketball and
Draymond Green, Saginaw High School Basketball
Maurice Jones, Arthur Hill High School Basketball
Moria Joiner
of Heritage
High School
2008
DR SLADE AWARD
2018