Steve J. Szasz was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois (Arlington Heights). He attended Michigan State College to play football as a Right Halfback from 1935-1940, graduating in the spring of 1940, and lettering in his final 3 seasons (‘37, ‘38, ‘39). He was a member of the 1937 team that went to the Orange Bowl and finished 8-2. At the time, this was only the 5th team in the program’s 42 year history to win 8 or more games, and the first bowl game appearance in the history of Michigan State Football (they would lose to Auburn in the Orange Bowl 6-0 on January 1st, 1938). Coach Szasz would accept a job at Grand Ledge High School in the summer of 1940 after graduation to be a History & Physical Education teacher as well as the football, basketball, and baseball coach. Coach Szasz led Grand Ledge Football to its first two championships in school history as well as its first ever undefeated season. He also led the basketball team to an 11-3 overall record and a conference championship. Coach Szasz would be called to service in the army at Fort Sill in Oklahoma as a response to Pearl Harbor in February of 1942, leaving an interim coach to finish out his 2nd season for both basketball and baseball that winter and spring. We are unable to find much information about Steve after he was called to service in World War II. An article in the Lansing State Journal interviewing his former Michigan State Football teammate, Ole Nelson, mentions Szasz, saying about him: “...upon returning from the war, he moved out east, was working for a major publishing company, and changed his last name from Szasz to Shaw”.

1st photo: Coach Szasz pictured in the 1941-1942 Grand Ledge High School yearbook.

2nd photo: Szasz in an action shot as a member of the Michigan State College Football Team.

Circa 1938.

3rd photo: Szasz accepting an award at a banquet as a member of the1938 Michigan State College Football Team, the first team ever to be invited to a bowl game.

Known to many as Bill, died on April 22, 2016, at age 97. Mr. Shippey was born on June 7, 1918, to William Lee and Bernice (Henry) Shippey in St. Louis, Michigan.  He graduated from Lansing Eastern High School where he played on the varsity football and baseball teams for three seasons each. Earning 1st Team All-State in football in 1935. He then attended Western Michigan University where he played guard both offensively and defensively on the football team, lettering in his final three seasons (‘37, ‘38, ‘39).  

       He went on to earn a Master's Degree in Education from Michigan State University.  He called himself "the luckiest man alive" when he married Florence Cook in 1938, and they shared 66 years together until she died in 2004.  Like so many others of his generation, he left his work and family during World War II and joined the US Navy where he proudly served as an officer aboard the USS Haas in the South Pacific.  Upon his return, Mr. Shippey had a long, respected career that included time as a teacher; a coach of football, baseball, track, basketball, and wrestling; and an athletic director, starting first at Grand Ledge High School (where he was coaching when he was called into service, then returned to after the war), then briefly at Lansing Technical, and for most of his years at Lansing Everett.  He was especially proud of his involvement with the Dean Shippey Capital Diamond Classic baseball tournament which has been a premiere high school baseball tournament for area teams for more than 50 years at Lugnuts Stadium. He was the founder and original director of the Diamond Classic beginning in 1962. He was inducted into the Greater Lansing Area Sports Hall of Fame in 2001. Mr. Shippey also enjoyed building houses, playing golf, and doing crossword puzzles. 

First Photo: Coach Shippey pictured in the GLHS Yearbook in 1941-1942.

Second Photo: Coach Shippey pictured for his service with the Navy in the mid 1940s.

At the time of his death, Grand Ledge’s Charles “Charlie” Gorman Jr. was considered one of the state’s top coaches in 3 sports and was well respected in his community and by the state-wide athletic community. Coach Gorman was tragically killed in a car accident at the age of 36 following the 1966 football season. The Grand Ledge Baseball Stadium at the high school is known as Gorman Field in his honor. Coach Gorman was hired in 1959 as a physical education teacher and a junior varsity football coach. That winter he started the school’s first wrestling program and, soon after, started serving as both the head football and baseball coaches while leading the wrestling program.

           Coach Gorman was a graduate of Lansing Resurrection High School (which would later become Lansing Gabriel’s High School) where he lettered in Baseball, Basketball, Football, and Golf. He attended Michigan State University to play baseball as a pitcher. While there, his senior season he was a member of the 1954 Big Ten Championship Team, the team that finished 3rd at the NCAA College World Series, and he was also the Vice President of the Varsity “S” Club. While still playing for Michigan State, Coach Gorman was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in 1953. After graduating, he served in the Armed Forces, and he was subsequently offered a contract by the New York Yankees. 

          Coach Gorman was inducted into the Lansing Sports Hall of Fame in 2014 for his numerous achievements while coaching high school sports. Including, but not limited to: starting the Grand Ledge Wrestling Program in 1959 (achieving a record of 84-20-1 and 5 league titles in 7 seasons as its 1st head coach), achieving a 27-11-4 record in only 5 seasons as Head Football coach (winning 2 league titles), establishing with Coach Love & Coach Dukes the Youth Football Program, achieving an 85-27 record in 6 seasons as the Head Baseball Coach (winning 2 league titles and 2 Diamond Classics).

         Coach Gorman’s achievements and influence are still felt today across three different varsity sports at Grand Ledge High School.

First Photo: Coach Gorman pictured alongside his assistant coach John Krupa in the 1962 yearbook during the night of a game.

Second Photo: Coach Gorman’s photo used for his induction into the Lansing Sports Hall of Fame. Circa mid-1960s coaching baseball or football.

GLHS Athletic Hall of Fame - Class of 2024 

Roger “Moose” Love has Grand Ledge running through his bones. He was born here, he spent his youth and adolescence here, and he currently lives here with his wife, Sandy, with whom he's been married to for nearly 50 years, and they raised their daughter Kelley here.

        For many years, Roger Love has served as one of the greatest ambassadors for youth sports in the Lansing area. From 1958-1962, Roger played Baseball, Basketball, Football and ran Track for Grand Ledge High School, graduating in 1962. In 1963, with Coach Gorman & Coach Dukes, Roger started the Grand Ledge Youth Football League using his own money to purchase uniforms. Since that time, he has been constantly involved with youth sports at varying levels including coaching football, basketball, and baseball at the high school level.

        Coach Love coached both Grand Ledge Football and Baseball at different high school levels from 1963-1987. He played Basketball for the Army during his service (1965-1967). Following his tour of duty, he took over the Grand Ledge Youth Football League and worked with PONY Baseball (1967). In 1968, he ran 5th-8th Grand Ledge Football and Scouted all Grand Ledge Varsity Football opponents.

         From 1979-2011, Coach Love owned and operated First Place Sports and supplied many uniforms for teams in Grand Ledge. In 1987 he became the Grand Ledge JV Football Coach as well as the Assistant Athletic Director and currently serves in that capacity while also helping to manage and maintain all athletic facilities.

          For 25 years, Coach Love donated all the trophies for the Diamond Classic Baseball tournament, and was / is active with First Place Sports when it comes to awards to young people in the entire Mid-Michigan area.

          In 1998, the Greater Lansing Area Sports Hall of Fame began honoring Lansing Area citizens whose efforts, and dedication have improved the quality of life for the greater Lansing area. Citizens who have given to young people through sports, and other recreational activities an opportunity to grow into contributors of the community. The Richard “Dick” Letts Community Service Award reflects the spirit of his namesake.  A humanitarian, public servant, and civic leader, Letts symbolized the Lansing area’s allegiance to worthy causes.  His work with the City of Lansing spanned 44 years and his work with volunteer organizations was endless. In 2019, State Representative Angela Witwer presented Coach Love with the award for his endless work as one of the greatest ambassadors for youth sports and sports in general in Grand Ledge and the Greater Lansing Area.

First Photo: Coach Love pictured for the GLHS Yearbook in 2019.

Second Photo: Coach Love’s senior picture in the 1961-1962 GLHS yearbook.

Third Photo: Coach Love observing during Football practice in August 2018 at the Grand Ledge Football Stadium.

Mike Rademacher completed his 45th season coaching High School in 2021, and his 41st season at Grand Ledge. Anyone involved at any capacity with Grand Ledge sports, or simply a follower of Grand Ledge Baseball or Football over the last 50 years, knows Coach Rad. 

Coach Mike “Rad” Rademacher needs no introduction, and his impact on Grand Ledge Football, Baseball, the Grand Ledge community, and the endless players and students of Grand Ledge from the past 5 decades, is nearly impossible to reduce to a few paragraphs. 

Coach Rademacher began coaching in 1977 after graduating from Grand Ledge High School in 1973, where he played for legendary coaches John Krupa, Pat O’Keefe, and Park Baker. While playing football for Grand Ledge, alongside fellow teammate and future legendary Comet Coach Tony Sweet, Coach Rademacher was a member of 4 straight conference championship teams for the Comet Varsity Football team (‘69-’72), a streak that would extend to 6 straight after he graduated. 

Coach Rademacher would begin his coaching career in 1977 under Head Coach Valdy Gailitis as an assistant for the Varsity football team at Beal City High School while he was still a senior at Central Michigan University. He would then follow Coach Valdy Gailitis to Mason, Michigan, and he coached the next 3 seasons 1978-1980 at Mason High School as a Freshman Head Coach, JV Assistant, and Varsity Assistant. 

In 1981, Coach Rademacher would return home to Grand Ledge to coach as a Varsity Assistant from 1981 to 1984 with his former high school coaches John Krupa, Pat O’Keefe, and Park Baker. In 1985 Garth Barrett would become the Head Varsity Coach, asking Rademacher to become the Head JV Coach. He would remain the JV Head Coach through 1992. Pat O’Keefe would take over as Varsity Head Coach in 1993, and Coach Rademacher would coach as a Varsity Assistant for the 1993 season and again for five more seasons from 2001-2005.  During O’Keefe’s tenure, Coach Rademacher would also return to be the JV Head Coach again from 1994-2000. Coach Matt Bird would take over the Varsity Head Coach position in 2006. During Coach Bird’s tenure, Coach Rademacher would take over as the JV Head Coach again from 2006-2011, the Freshman Head coach position in 2012, 2017, and 2018, and he was a Varsity Assistant from 2013-2016. Coach Rademacher would then coach JV under Coach Brya in 2019-2021. 

Prior to retiring from coaching football at the end of the 2021 season, Coach Rademacher would earn the distinction of being the only coach on staff to have coached with the previous 5 Varsity Head Coaches, spanning 4 decades: Coach Barrett, Coach Krupa, Coach O’Keefe, Coach Bird, and Coach Brya. A feat which anyone would be hard pressed to find replicated before, during, or after Coach Rademacher’s time coaching. The Grand Ledge Junior Varsity Football team went 190-18-3 from 1989-2012 under variations of Coach Rademacher, Coach Jim Price, Coach Roger “Moose” Love, and Coach Tony Sweet. From 1996-2000 the JVs won 39 straight games, including four straight undefeated seasons. The entire decade of the 90s the JV team only lost 3 total games. 

Coach Rademacher was awarded Michigan Assistant Coach of the Year in 2013 by the MHSFCA. It would be possible to write a further page or two committed to Coach Rademacher’s additional wins, achievements, success, impact, and longevity as a coach with Grand Ledge Baseball. Notable individual accomplishments as a Baseball Coach: Michigan Baseball Assistant Coach of the Year in 1992 & Bob Gross Award in 2010 for outstanding baseball contributions and achievement. Coach Rademacher was also a teacher nearly as long as he has been a coach. He was a substitute teacher in 1978-79. He then taught at Mason High School from 1979-1981. He would become a substitute in GL from 1981-1987, while working for Vandervoorts and Adidas. He then taught in Grand Ledge from 1987-2016 at Hayes Middle School. He retired from teaching after the 2015-2016 school year after teaching for nearly 40 years.

Arvilee “Arv” Wayne Pettit, born September 2, 1950, of Grand Ledge, passed away peacefully on November 29, 2017, at his cottage on Douglas Lake, 26 years to the day of his father's passing. He is remembered by all those who love him for his jovial smile, big hugs, and sense of humor that kept us all laughing. Arv was a longtime fixture of Grand Ledge athletics, he was a graduate of Michigan State University, retiree of General Motors, photographer and seasoned driver's education instructor. Many remember Arv from his witty sports' articles in the Grand Ledge Independent and The Lansing State Journal, and his uncanny ability to catch a photo at the perfect moment.  Family, friends and former Grand Ledge High School students say Pettit devoted his life to the community's youth. He retired from coaching in 2005, but continued highlighting the achievements of local high school sports teams as a sports writer and photographer for the Grand Ledge Independent.     

           Quoted in the LSJ, saying: "I love Grand Ledge," Pettit said in December of 2015. "Grand Ledge has great people. We've still got enough of small-town America here."  

Friends, family and former Grand Ledge High School athletes all described him as a "passionate" advocate for Grand Ledge youth sports, and a true community volunteer.

           As the freshman football coach from 1989 to 2005, “Pettit had a proven track record for helping athletes excel in the sport”, said Bill Moore. He coached the sport with Pettit, running defense to Pettit's offense for 16 years.  Arv highlighted the achievements of the high school sports teams as a sports writer and photographer for the Grand Ledge Independent for nearly 30 years. He also taught many area kids as a driver education instructor for seven years.

Pettit developed a love for coaching at Michigan State University. For five years, while he pursued a degree, he served as a student volunteer with the football team, helping with gear and delivering game film to rival schools.

          He came to the Grand Ledge football program in 1984 and said student athletes there already had a desire to win. "Fundamentally, the kids had a pretty good idea what was happening when they came on to the field. I didn't spend two weeks trying to teach them how to tie their shoes. We got right into football the first day and we were in it until the last game."

He started writing for the Grand Ledge Independent in 1990. It kept his mind sharp, he said.

"I loved the writing," he said, and he kept at it until 2014, when his health got in the way.

          During the more than two decades he coached freshman football at Grand Ledge High School, Arv Pettit tried to impart a few life lessons: be polite, to each other and the officials, and work hard. Words of wisdom that he lived by and imparted on all the young men who played for him.

First Photo: Coach Pettit pictured coaching on the sidelines in the 1990s.

Second Photo: Coach Pettit photographed in his home for the LSJ in 2015.

 Garth Barrett graduated from Lansing Resurrection High School in 1961 after lettering 12 total times between football, track, and basketball. He attended Michigan State University, graduating in 1966 after completing his student teaching at Grand Ledge. He would be hired in the fall of 1967 by Grand Ledge Public Schools to teach social sciences and physical education while also immediately coaching football for the Comets as an assistant in three different sports before eventually becoming the Varsity Head Coach in football in 1985. 

           In his time teaching at Grand Ledge Public Schools, Coach Barrett taught for more than 30 years at various levels between Sawdon, Hayes, and Beagle before eventually retiring from teaching while at Beagle in 200?. Upon retiring from coaching football on December 15th of 1992, Coach Barrett had coached 27 years of track, 26 years of football, and 17 years of basketball. Coach Barrett, 49 years old at the time, decided to retire from coaching in order to spend more time with family and to focus more on teaching and the youth fitness program at Beagle.

          Before taking over as the Varsity Head Coach in 1985, Coach Barrett had coached Freshman & JV football during the previous 18 seasons in Grand Ledge. In 8 seasons as the Head Varsity Football Coach, Barrett led the Comets to a 51-23 overall record, including 35 league victories, and, in his final 2 seasons, two conference championships, the 3rd undefeated season in school history (1992), the first playoff appearance in school history, and first playoff victory in school history. The 1992 team went 10-1 which was the first team in school history to win 10 games. In 1992, Coach Barrett was named the LSJ Class A Coach of the Year as well as the MHSFCA Regional Coach of the Year.

First Photo: Coach Barrett pictured in the Lansing State Journal in 1992.

Second Photo: Coach Barrett pictured in the Grand Ledge Independent during the 1992 season.

 Pat O'Keefe is not only one of the greatest high school coaches in Grand Ledge’s history, he’s one of the greatest coaches in Michigan High School history, especially in the world of baseball. Coach O’Keefe is a Standish, Michigan native, where he starred in sports at Standish-Sterling High School. He was an all-state selection in football and basketball in 1963. He went on to play baseball at Central Michigan University, lettering in 1965, 1966, 1967, and he was an all-conference selection his senior season. O'Keefe was inducted into the CMU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2009. He spent 1968-70 playing minor-league baseball in the Houston Astros organization. 

          Coach O'Keefe is an icon in Grand Ledge as the longtime Head Varsity Baseball Coach for more than 50 years and Head Varsity Football Coach for 13 seasons. He is one of only two baseball coaches in state history with more than 1,200 victories. He is the winningest Baseball Coach in Michigan High School history with 1,315 wins (as of Feb, 2020). The recently retired baseball coach guided Grand Ledge to state titles in 1977 and 1995. In 2000, he led Grand Ledge to a Class AA football state championship. He retired from coaching football in 2005 with the most total wins as the Varsity Head Coach in school history at 95, the most conference wins at 69, only one losing season (4-5), 5 conference championships, 8 playoff appearances, 4 district titles, 1 regional title, and the 2000 state title. He was named the LSJ Class A Coach of the Year 4 times (1994, 1997, 2000, 2005), the MHSFCA Class AA Regional Coach of the Year 3 times (1994, 1997, 2000), and the MHSFCA Coach of the Year in 2000. O'Keefe was inducted in the Michigan High School Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame in 1990 as well as the Greater Lansing Area Sports Hall of Fame in 2006.

         Coach O’Keefe is enjoying being fully retired by spending time with his wife of nearly 50 years, Melody, and spending time with his numerous grandkids. He still resides in downtown Grand Ledge. Coach O’Keefe quoted in the LSJ in February, 2020 upon retiring from baseball: "The community has been awesome," said O'Keefe, "I couldn't have coached in a better community that loves their sports. I've always said I coached for the kids and because of the parents, and that certainly can be said in this community. They just have been fantastic to myself and our family. This has been a great place to raise the family."

First Photo: Coach O’Keefe coaching fall of 2005 in his final season.

Second Photo: Coach O’Keefe on the sidelines of the Clarkston game during the playoff run in 2000.

Third Photo: Coach O’Keefe embraces Nic Jensen after winning the 2000 State Championship.

Fourth Photo: Coach O’Keefe raises the State Title trophy towards his players, staff, and the GL community in the stands in 2000.

 Matt Bird had very big shoes to fill upon the retiring of Pat O’Keefe in 2005 and his subsequent hiring in 2006 with O’Keefe leaving as the winningest coach in school history and winning a state championship. Coach Bird is a Lansing native, and he played football at Lansing Catholic, lettering 3 years from 1989-1991. After graduating in 1992, Coach Bird began coaching almost immediately at Lansing Eastern in 1993, helping the Quakers to their lone playoff appearance (1997) while on staff there from 1993-98. Coach O’Keefe would hire Bird as his offensive coordinator in 1999. Coach Bird would coach under Coach O’Keefe for seven seasons prior to taking over as head coach in 2006. During that time as an assistant & offensive coordinator, he helped lead the Comets to the Division 1 State Championship in 2000 while also being a part of the run to the regional championship game in 2005. 

             After Coach Bird took over as the head football coach in 2006, he led the Comets to 88 wins in 13 seasons (the 2nd most total wins in school history), 64 conference wins (3rd most in school history), 9 playoff appearances (most in school history), 6 CAAC Blue Titles (2nd most league titles by a coach in school history) including 3 in a row (only the 2nd GL coach ever to achieve that), and a State Semifinal appearance in 2015. Coach Bird was the LSJ Coach of the Year in 2015, the LSJ Class A Coach of the Year in 2008 & 2010, the AP Honorable Mention Coach of the Year in 2015, the Detroit Lions High School Football Coach of the Week during Week 1 in 2017, the 2011 Steve Spicer Memorial Award recipient for community leadership, he has been nationally recognized by the Gold Star Families for starting the annual Fallen Heroes Night event in 2010, and he served as offensive coordinator for Team Stars in the third annual Addix All-Star Game, a Grand Rapids-based event, at Hope College in 2018. 

              Coach Bird earned his B.S. in education from Central Michigan early in his coaching career which led him to be the U.S. Government teacher for well over a decade along with teaching history and civics at Grand Ledge High School. Coach Bird and his wife of more than 20 years, Jamie, now reside in Muskegon, Michigan. He coached as the Varsity Football Head Coach at Muskegon Reeths-Puffer and was the Assistant Athletic Director from 2019-2021. In 2022, he joined the Hope College Football staff as their Wide Receivers coach, and he began working at Grandville HS in 2023. 

First Photo: Coach Bird hoisting the 2015 district title trophy after GL defeated Brighton.

Second Photo: Coach Bird coaching during the “snow bowl”, the blizzard-riddled 2015 semi-final game against Romeo.

Third Photo: Coach Bird coaching during the 2017 season.