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Glory - Jack Tany Writes the Definitive History on Saginaw County's
Greatest Sports Legends
By Robert E. Martin
As an award-winning sports editor for ten years at The Township
Times, Jack Tany spent a considerable portion of his life on the frontlines
of local sports, watching heroes unfold while others faded. But as
certainly as teams would win or lose, invariably people would approach Tany
and ask him who was the best athlete in Saginaw.
Such was the impetus behind Tany's recently published hardcover coffee
table book, Glory: The History of Saginaw County Sports. Over 3 years in
the making, the work is an exhaustive 422-page tribute tracing the exploits
of thousands of Saginaw County's top male athletes dating back to the early
1900s.
Consisting of 12 chapters that function as a retrospective of very sport
from baseball to tennis, the work is also loaded with over 400 rare
photographs that when taken with his carefully constructed research, form a
long overdue homage to the athletic history, prowess, and impact of the
Saginaw Valley.
"People would often ask me how had the record for scoring in Saginaw
County," reflects Tany, "and nobody ever compiled or really kept those
records. So I started doing research and decided to tackle this book
project specifically because of all the athletic records that have come out
of Saginaw County. Everybody always says this area is a hotbed for
basketball, but it's an incredible sports town regardless."
"The most notable athlete to come from this area is probably Dick
Rifenburg," notes Tany. "In 1944 he led Arthur Hill High School to the
state championships in basketball and track and went on to become an
All-American football player at the University of Michigan, catching a
touchdown pass in the Wolverines' 1948 Rose Bowl victory. But in 1950
Rifenbrug signed a NFL contract with the Detroit Lions and led a remarkable
career. He died in 1994."
"But the most poignant Saginaw sports hero in my estimation was a gentleman
back in the 1930s named Bill Watson. He went to Saginaw High and played
football, basketball, and track when we went to the University of
Michigan," continues Tany. "He was the first black captain ever at the U of
M on any of their sports teams. On the track team he would outscore entire
schools simply by the points he would gather as one individual. He was set
to go to the Olympics but they cancelled the Olympics because of the World
War II. I have no doubt he would have won the Decathelon back then, just by
virtue of his scoring. And back then whoever won that event was always
published as the 'Man of the Year' on Time Magazine. "
Have there ever been any athletes from Saginaw County that made a major
mark on the Olympics?
"Two fellows from Saginaw made the Olympics," explains Jack. "One of them
was Jerry 'Petie' Armstrong who was a boxer in the 1960 Olympics. He fought
and won three fights and then lost the one that would have got him a medal.
The 1960 Olympics was the year that Cassius Clay rose to prominence and
Armstrong told me they still write back & forth to one another to this very
day, which is kind of neat."
"I was home one Saturday doing research on the book when Armstrong phoned
me long distance from Boise, Idaho," relates Tany. "He said he understood
that I was looking for a photo of him and he told me he had one 5x7 left.
Because of the hard work and effort I was putting into this project, he
told me he was sending it to me and that I could keep it. That meant a lot."
"Another interesting piece of local sports trivia that might interest
Review readers is that of Stewart Francke," notes Tany. "Most people know
of Stewart as a musician, but back in the 1970s when he attended Arthur
Hill he was quite the accomplished tennis player. Stewart is featured in
the book as well," states Jack.
Throughout the arduous course of compiling Glory, Tany conducted hundreds
of interviews with former Saginaw sports legends. "The photographs were
hard to come by," he adds. "I wrote the Saginaw News and asked them if I
could go through their photo library, but they declined, so I was basically
on my own. I wrote a lot of these athletes and their families personally
and got quite lucky in the process, gathering over 400 pictures. Some I
couldn't use because they were duplications, but many date back to 1903.
Needless to say, I made a lot of trips to Hoyt Library, as that is the only
place that has microfilm dating that far back."
Tany says that he opted for the self-publishing route after declining two
book offers from major publishers. "They wanted too much money - as much as
55% for each copy, so I figured that being in marketing & advertising now,
I would publish it myself. I'm glad I made that decision as they are flying
off the bookstands now."
Are there any athletes from Saginaw that have achieved what we would term
today 'superstar' status?
"If I could give you one name it would probably be Terry McDaniel,"
reflects Jack. "He played with the Raiders for nine years and was all-pro
for five of them."
Obviously, any professional pursuit requires a highly tuned mindset and the
determination to overcome adversity. In talking and researching the many
athletes that have emerged from the Saginaw Valley, does Tany have any
specific individuals that come to mind as being representative of that
driving will to succeed in the face of adversity?
"Without doubt I would say that individual would be Cliff Novak, "states
Tany. "At one time Saginaw on the eastside alone had a ton of Catholic High
Schools. He went to Holy Rosary and his family owned Novak's Donut Shop &
Bakery on Perkins Street. Cliff would get up at 4 am and work in the bakery
until 8 pm, go to school, then attend ball practice, then study, and then
go to bed, following the same routine day after day. Talk about a work
ethic!"
"There are a ton of stories like that in the book," concludes Tany.
"Another that comes to mind is a headline from the 1960s about three high
school students from Arthur Hill getting suspended so they couldn't
participate in any games. What did they do? They skipped school. Nowadays
you have to cut somebody's right arm off to get suspended, so it shows you
how times change."
With an initial pressrun of 1000 copies, Tany says he is busily readying
himself for a second printing.
Glory is available for $45.00 at the following locations: Jacobson's,
Media Play, Saginaw Photo, Westside Decorating, The Township Times, Saginaw
Township Recreation Department, City of Zilwaukee Administration Building,
Saginaw County Historical Museum, The Sports Junction (Saginaw & Midland),
and Wally's Sandwich Shop.
People can also order a copy by sending a check or money order for $48.00
to cover shipping & handling to Jack Tany at 708 S. Warner St., Bay City,
MI 48706.
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