Saginaw County  Sports Hall of Fame Inductees:

The Class of 2004

By Jack B. Tany
Review Sports Columnist

For the first time ever, a pair of female individuals will be inducted into the Saginaw County Sports Hall of Fame this fall.
 

Lori Gnatkowski-Vondette, a basketball standout at Carrollton High School and then the University of Michigan, along with Patti Shook-Boice, arguably the finest female golfer Saginaw County has ever produced, will be inducted along with nine other individuals and a pair of teams.
In addition, counting athletes who have attended high school in Saginaw County, Gnatkowski and golfer Steve Brady, who prepped at the former Dwight D. Eisenhower High School in Saginaw Township, become just the second and third individuals from outside the city of Saginaw to be enshrined.  Birch Run's Ed Periard, a 2003 inductee, was the first.
 

The Hall of Fame committee also announced that it finally has a place to call home. According to Hall of Fame President Donald Bethune, the SCSHOF has reached an agreement with Saginaw Valley State University to house its plaques on the second level of the Jack Ryder Center. Bethune, who has been pushing for a permanent home since the Hall of Fame's inception three years ago, was elated with the news.
 

"I couldn't be happier," said Bethune, a life-long resident of Saginaw. "The Ryder Center is an attractive building. We have formed a committee which will look at how to display the plaques. SVSU has been very helpful to us and we appreciate Dr. (Eric) Gilbertson for agreeing to do this."
 

The Class of 2004 features a pair of golfers (Brady and Shook-Boice), two coaches (Herb Korf and Leo 'Sam' Franz), two football players (Tom Slade and Brian Pruitt), four basketball players (Tony Smith, Bob Chapman and Gnatkowski-Vondette), one softball ace (Ralph Minnis), and a pair of cage teams (Buena Vista's back-to-back state champions of 1992 and  '93).
The group brings the three-year total of individuals honored to 33, and the total number of teams enshrined to 11.
 

The Saginaw County Sports Hall of Fame will hold its third annual banquet Friday, November 5, 2004, at the Horizons Conference Center in Saginaw Township. Tickets, which are $35 apiece, can be obtained by calling Selection Committee Chairman Jack Tany at (989) 753-2951.

The Class of 2004 consists of:

STEVE BRADY - Not only is Steve Brady one of the finest golfers to ever tee it up in Saginaw County, but in the state of Michigan as well. A four-year performer at Dwight D. Eisenhower High School, Brady won the 21-club championship two years in a row. He went on to Saginaw Valley State College where he was named All-America in 1980. His lengthy list of accomplishments include winning the Michigan Open three times (1991, 1992 and 1996), as well as runner-up finishes in 1984 and 1994.
Brady won the Michigan PGA twice (1993 and 1995), and finished as runner-up on three other occasions (1990, 1994 and 1998). He has played in two U.S. Open championships, 1984 at Winged Foot and 1987 at Olympic Club.
Brady has played in the PGA championship three times, and was a three-time medalist at the U.S. Open local qualifier, and a medalist at the U.S. Open Sectional qualifier in '87. He has played in 10 Buick Opens and was the medalist in the Buick Open qualifier four times.
Brady was named Michigan's PGA Player of the Year in 1995 and set the PGA tour record for a 9-hole score of 30 at the 1984 Buick Open. Brady, who was named to the Michigan PGA Fuller Cup team 11 times, currently is the teaching professional at the Oakland Hills Country Club.

BOB CHAPMAN - Bob Chapman was one of the most talented athletes to ever play at Saginaw High School. The 6-2, 200 pounder excelled at basketball, football and track for the Trojans. He was named all-state his senior year in basketball (1973), after averaging 15.3 points, five assists and five blocks per game, helping the Trojans to a runner-up finish in the Class A state championship game. 

He always drew the opponent's top scorer and held his player to an average of seven points-per-game, and committed only 15 turnovers all season. Chapman also helped the Trojans' track team to a state title the same year as he ran a leg on the winning 880-yard relay team.  During the season the versatile Chapman high jumped 6-6, long jumped 23-feet and threw the shot over 50-feet.
Chapman accepted a basketball scholarship to Michigan State University, but was slowed at the start by a pair of knee surgeries. He battled back to become a solid player for the Spartans. Chapman averaged 19.6 points during his junior season and was then drafted by the Kansas City Kings. He returned for his senior season (1977-78) and was named team captain, helping lead MSU to a 25-5 record, the most wins ever by any State team at the time. He ended up with 1,382 career points, which still ranks him in the top 10 of all time. He signed with the Detroit Pistons as a free agent but was waived.

LEO  "SAM' FRANZ - Leo F. Franz was born February 6, 1920, and went on to become a legendary high school basketball coach, winning two state championships at two different high schools. Franz, who was an excellent athlete at SS. Peter & Paul High School, turned the trick in 1953 at St. Mary's Cathedral when the Maroons won the Class C state title with a 59-57 win over Muskegon St. Mary.
He posted a 226-94 record in his 18 years at the Eastside high school. Franz, who was employed at Eaton Manufacturing, also coached St. Mary's football team from 1949-53. St. Mary's won the Valley Parochial League title in 1950 by going undefeated.
He was named head basketball coach at St. Stephen's High School in 1966, and won his second state championship just three years later in ë69 when the Titans defeated Grosse Pointe St. Paul's, 48-43. His Titan teams reached the state finals on three other occasions.
He was named to both the Michigan High School Coaches Hall of Fame and the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan Hall of Fame. Franz also coached St. Stephen's varsity football teams for five years, including a perfect 8-0 mark in 1970. His resume also includes a pair of Class C state championships in golf while at St. Stephen's, along with one second place finish, one third place finish, while finishing fourth two other years.
He wound up his basketball-coaching career at Merrill and retired after the 1985 season with a 526-196 record. He, along with his brother Russell 'Lefty' Franz, became the only brother coaching combination in Michigan to win 500 games each.  Franz died January 3, 1990 and is buried at St. Andrew Cemetery.
 

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