Kalamazoo College poet (and professor emeritus of English) Conrad Hilberry once wrote a poem about kids playing sandlot baseball, noting that, after a hit, the run from home to (hopefully) home again was counterclockwise—in other words: against time, a circle-sprint (maybe even ending in a dramatic slide) in the general direction of that magical place called when-we-were-younger.
Well, dust off your old baseball hat, it’s time for some time travel and everything else associated with an evening at the ballpark.
Kalamazoo College, and the Kalamazoo Growlers baseball association, presents “K Night” at Homer Stryker Field (undoubtedly the most aptly named baseball park in the country!) on Friday, July 17, at 7:05 p.m. And to throw in a little mythology to go with all that poetry, “K Night” activities include Star Wars Night and a raffle of Chewbacca-themed jerseys. Whoopee! Or, should we say: WOOKEE!
At the game, the College’s first class of Promise students will be introduced. And, speaking of firsts, the first pitch will be thrown by Kalamazoo College head softball coach Melanie Hamlin, the four-year collegiate standout from the University of Redlands. (After that first pitch, we wouldn’t be surprised if the home team asks her to stay on the field.)
Fireworks follow the game, and tickets ($12) include a new Growlers hat, which means you can throw out the old one you dusted off, or start a collection.
Bring your friends and family to support both Kalamazoo College and the Kalamazoo Growlers.
To get your tickets contact Lynsey VanSweden (269.337.7082) in the Athletic and Physical Education office. Last day to purchase tickets is Friday, July 10. Cash or check is accepted. Go Hornets! Go Growlers!
Five Hornet members of the men’s and women’s swimming and diving team have qualified for the 2015 NCAA Division III Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships. Qualifiers are Tristyn Edsall ’17, Ellen Neveux ’17, Colleen Orwin ’17, Christina Park ’17, and Will Guedes ’15. The championships take place March 18 through March 21 at the Conroe Natatorium in Shenandoah, Texas. In addition to the national competition, there will be an opportunity to meet the K swimmers, divers, and coaches in an informal dinner setting on Saturday, March 21. The Office of Alumni Relations will host a complimentary dinner immediately following the competition at Guri Do Sul Brazilin Steakhouse (1400 Research Forest Drive, The Woodlands, Texas). Please confirm your attendance no later than Monday, March 16, by contacting Kerri Barker, assistant director of alumni relations (269.337.7289). Tickets for the championships are $80 for an all-session pass, which includes prelims and finals on all four days.
Charles Tucker ’56 has been responsible for handing out a lot of athletic awards through the years. Now, one of those awards bears his name. Charles, known professionally as “Mickey Charles,” is founder, CEO, and president of The Sports Network, a Hatboro, Pa.-based wire-service providing sports information in real time.
Nearly 30 years ago, Tucker and The Sports Network (TSN) established the FCS awards by presenting the Walter Payton Award, given to the most outstanding player in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), known formerly as Division I-A and I-AA. The “Payton” is generally acknowledged to be the second most prestigious award in college football, following only The Heisman Trophy which is given to the most outstanding player in all of college football.
Through the years, TSN added the Eddie Robinson Award, given annually for FCS coach of the year, the Buck Buchanan Award for FCS defensive player of the year, and the Jerry Rice Award for FSC freshman of the year. All afforded smaller colleges and universities opportunities to expose their talented football players and coaches to a larger network. Past winners of these awards include National Football League standouts such as Tony Romo, Brian Westbrook, Jared Allen, Dexter Coakley, and many others.
On Dec. 15 in a nationally televised awards banquet in Philadelphia, South Dakota State University football running back Zach Zenner received the inaugural Mickey Charles Award for the most outstanding FCS student/athlete.
K Professor of Physical Education, Emeritus, Rolla Anderson, Charles “Mickey Charles” Tucker ’56, the late Kalamazoo Gazette Sports Editor Bob Wagner and Herb Lipschultz ’56 during a 2010 gathering on the K campus.
Created in secret by Tucker’s TSN colleagues, the award created a stir when they announced it several weeks prior to the awards ceremony, resulting in a “deluge of congratulatory and complimentary messages from New York to London, Philadelphia to Paris, Detroit to Macau, Las Vegas to Rome,” said TSN Director of Operations Phil Sokol.
“All were indicative and reflective of Mickey’s standing in so many areas, not just sports.”
Kalamazoo College Provost Michael A. McDonald said “the FCS Mickey Charles Award for outstanding academic achievement is aptly named for a great student athlete—Kalamazoo College’s Charles Tucker (a.k.a. Mickey Charles), class of 1956. On the basketball court and in the classroom, his hard work and achievements did credit to higher education, the liberal arts, and Kalamazoo College. We at K are rightly proud of one of our ‘favorite sons.’”
K Professor of Physical Education, Emeritus, and retired Athletic Director Rolla Anderson said “My sincerest congratulations go out to “Charlie,” as he was affectionately called by his basketball coach and mentor (and my former colleague), the late Ray Steffen. I have so many fond memories of Charlie’s time at Kalamazoo College and his visits over the years. Congratulations, my friend.”
Born and reared in Bronx, N.Y., Tucker, a.k.a. Mickey Charles, launched The Sports Network from his kitchen table nearly 30 years ago. Since then, TSN has become the world’s largest independently owned supplier of sports scores and information, with more than 2,000 outlets globally. Today TSN is expanding geographically (into China, India, Malaysia, Thailand, Algeria, among others) and technologically (complementing its saturation of websites by expanding to mobile devices). It provides news, weather, injury reports, instant scores, Gamecasts, photography, fantasy coverage data, and much more.
Charles “Mickey Charles” Tucker ’56 at The Sports Network’s 26th Annual FCS Awards Presentation on Dec. 15, 2014. (Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images)
Tucker transferred to Kalamazoo College from Columbia University and played for two seasons on the Hornet basketball team. He was named team captain his senior season of 1956, leading that squad to a 14-9 record and a second-place finish in the MIAA conference. He earned his law degree (Brooklyn Law School) and began a career as a sports columnist for several newspapers and magazines (including the Philadelphia Inquirer), as a television sports talk-show host (for CBS and later ESPN), as a college English professor (St. Joseph College in Philadelphia) and then, in 1983, as the founder of a sports scores telephone service that evolved into TSN. He is a popular public speaker who was once offered a contract as an opening-act stand-up comedian.
Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell said “Mickey Charles is one of our sports-crazed nation’s most astute experts. But he is much, much more than that. He is an incredibly caring person who has done so much to help so many.”
National Hockey League Commissioner Gary Bettman congratulated Mickey on the creation of the award that will bear his name “and will honor an FCS student’s successful combination of athletic achievement and academic excellence. A disruptor long before that term became trendy, Mickey is a scholar when it comes to sports business and a life-long friend of innovation. Mickey has a personality as big as the sports world and a heart that’s even bigger; it is a delight to see him recognized for decades of entrepreneurship, his devotion to education and his relentlessly positive approach to life.”
Kalamazoo College Men’s Golf Coach Mitch Wilson had a good summer playing the sport. He was on the winning team in the Golf Association of Michigan (GAM) vs. Golf Association of Ontario tournament. He won the club championship at The Moors golf club in Portage, Mich. He made it to the semifinals of the GAM Michigan Senior Match Play. And he finished third in the Michigan Senior Open.
Hard to top that! And yet the 57-year-old is having an even better fall.
In the recent U.S. Senior Amateur played at Big Canyon Country Club in Newport Beach, Calif., Wilson shot a seven-over-par 151 (76-75) to miss by just two strokes making the top 64 and qualify for the match play portion of the tournament. It’s the first time he’s ever played in the event operated by the United States Golf Association (USGA).
“Was I happy with my scores? Well, no,” Wilson said with a smile. “I would like to have three shots and one putt over.
“I made three double bogeys, two on the first day and one on the second day, and all of them were preventable. The rest of the tournament was pretty good.”
The local veteran golfer, who has played national tournaments before, (including the USGA’s U.S. Mid-Amateur (for players 25 and older) in 1998 and 2000), still had that nervous feeling on the first tee at the Senior Amateur.
“As much experience as you have in events like this, you still have those first-tee nerves,” he said. “I had enough birdies, but I made a few bad mistakes and it cost me.”
What Wilson has found is that there are a lot of very good golfers in the 55-over set. However, it’s a different mindset.
“It’s not as intense as a senior and you understand it’s not the end of the world,” he said. “It’s a real pleasure to play in these events and become reacquainted with guys you haven’t seen in a while.”
He’s been able to work on his golf game a little more than usual this summer. He retired as the executive director of Pretty Lake Camp near Kalamazoo this past March.
“I’m going to take a year to see how things are going, possibly do some consulting,” Wilson said.
He keeps busy by being on the board of the First Tee of Battle Creek, a nonprofit organization that teaches life skills and leadership through the game of golf, and coaching the Hornet men who are having one of their better seasons of late.
Looking at his tournament results this summer, the extra work has paid off.
Tucker Rigney (right) at a bass fishing competition
Ask any college graduate and they will tell you their time in school was the basis for countless tales of fun, adventure and, yes, late night study sessions.
Tucker Rigney ’17 is busy crafting some stories of his own – fish stories, to be exact. But he can back up his bluster with results, and in the process, is giving Kalamazoo College a good name in the world of competitive college fishing.
A rising sophomore at K, Tucker recently finished in third place in the Michigan College Bass Circuit (MCBC), a summer-long series of bass fishing contests between small colleges and large universities in Michigan at lakes throughout the state. He and his fishing partner Cameron Hasen, a Kellogg Community College student, finished third in the MCBC’s two-day, season-ending tournament.
Earlier in the season, the pair took first place in the individual boat competition at a tournament in Haslett. The pair barely eked out the top spot, besting a duo from Ferris State University by about a third of a pound. Seven Michigan schools participated in the event, where a team’s total haul was weighed to determine a winner.
Tucker grew up an outdoorsman, he says, raised in a rural home near Gobles, about 25 miles northwest of Kalamazoo. His father taught him and his brother to fish on a small lake about 15 minutes from their house. The siblings would also bike down to their grandparents’ home and fish for bluegills in a nearby creek.
His largest bass? A not-too-shabby 22-inch, five-pound largemouth.
“It can be how I get away from things and just relax, or a challenge where I am trying to get on some big fish and win a tournament,” he says of fishing. “It’s what I want it to be. It has been a blast, fishing in these tournaments is such a rush.”
He got involved in the collegiate competition after his dad walked past a MCBC booth at an outdoor show in Grand Rapids. Rigney jumped at the opportunity to get involved, he says. The avid hunter and former Hornet baseball player also hopes to organize a fishing club on campus.
He thinks the club will take off, but stresses that competitive fishing is not your lazy, drop-a-line-and-hope-for-the-best kind of day out.
“I know students at K that fish, but I do not know of anyone that fishes competitively. There is a big difference between the two,” he says.
That’s true. Rigney knows the fickleness of fishing. At an earlier tournament at Hardy Dam Pond, near Newaygo, he and Cameron took seventh place out of 18 teams, only weighing three fish.
“We were ‘slaying’ them the days before. So that was a little disappointing,” he says.
Rigney says he’s hunted and fished in several states and Canada, hauling in his largest ever fish (he thinks it was a halibut) on a family vacation in Alaska.
Maybe it’s no surprise that the passionate outdoorsman plans to study biology at K.
“Biology is challenging, but it is also very interesting to me,” he says. “I guess that interest, in a way, comes from my love for the outdoors.”
Pictured on the George Acker Court are (l-r): Gigi Acker, Nancy Acker, and Judy Acker-Smith.
On Saturday, August 2, Kalamazoo College named center court of Stowe Stadium “George Acker Court,” dedicating it to the memory of the legendary coach and teacher who touched the lives of so many K students and Kalamazoo community members. President Eileen B. Wilson-Oyelaran delivered a moving address, which is published below.
“Tonight we are pleased to honor the late Coach George Acker, a teacher and mentor who believed in the potential of others, and had a profound influence on the lives of many.
“George was dedicated to Kalamazoo College for more than five decades (1958-2011). His legendary 35-year career ranks him as the most successful men’s tennis coach in NCAA Division III history. In the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA), he is ranked first among coaches for all sports (men’s and women’s) with the most conference championships. Coach Acker’s tennis teams won seven national championships and 35 MIAA championships. He was twice named NCAA Division III Tennis Coach of the Year and was also named NCAA Division III Tennis Coach of the Decade for the 1980s. Coach Acker ranks fourth in the nation among all Division I, II, and III tennis coaches with the most NCAA titles.
“Coach Acker had a far-reaching presence on the campus of Kalamazoo College. Although tonight we are focusing on his tennis accomplishments, it is important to acknowledge that George also taught physical education classes and coached football, wrestling, and cross-country. He coached and mentored more than 600 student-athletes on 65 different teams during his storied career at K. He earned respect and admiration because he was hardworking, humble and honest, and, he valued everyone equally.
“It is fitting that we should honor Coach Acker at the opening night of the USTA Boy’s 18s and 16s National Tournament. Coach Acker played an integral role in this tournament, serving for more than fifty-one years (1959-2010) in a variety of roles including: referee, athletic trainer and umpire, tournament official, and tournament administrator. In 1983 his contributions were recognized when he was awarded a Green Jacket. In 1993, he was declared Honorary Referee. Always available to provide wise counsel and an historic perspective, Coach Acker was an active member of the Kalamazoo USTA Advisory Board from 1998-2011, a total of 13 years. Coaches, players and the tennis community all recognize that the NATS at the Zoo is the best junior tennis tournament there is. There are many reasons for this, and one of those reasons is the commitment of George Acker.
“Tonight we honor this coaching legend and say ’thank you’ for his many contributions to the sport of tennis. We are delighted to have several members of the Acker family with us tonight, including Nancy Acker, affectionately known as ’Mrs. Coach,’ and daughters Gigi Acker and Judy Acker-Smith. We also have more than 175 former players and friends of the family with us this evening. Your attendance tonight speaks volumes about the profound impact George had on the lives of so many.
“And now, it is my distinct honor to announce to all of you that from this day forward center court at Stowe Stadium will be known as the George Acker Court.”
Professor Emerita of English Gail Griffin has been particularly prolific recently, publishing a number of essays in a variety of journals. A short list and description of those essays will appear in the Fall issue of LuxEsto, but we couldn’t wait that long to share one that will let you know that Gail is now a published baseball writer! Her essay “Night, Briggs Stadium, 1960” describes her 10th birthday present–a Tiger’s night game! It appears in the new book A DETROIT ANTHOLOGY, a collection of some 60 stories about what it was (and is) like to live in the city of Detroit. Gail gave an interview about the piece on WMUK radio station. Consider the following short excerpt a first-inning triple topped by a steal of home:
“A rectangle of night sky opens ahead. Brilliant banks of lights against the black. The low crowd hum, rising, like a sea sound. Then acres of green seats and then, below it all, the blazing diamond, emerald they should call it, nothing has ever been so green.
Left field, Maxwell. Right, Colavito, the outrageous Cleveland trade, who points his bat at pitchers like a gun.
Humidity haloes the lights. Men yelp HOTdogs, HOTdogs, PROgram. I am transfixed…”
Kalamazoo College Head Football Coach Jaime Zorbo ’00 is known for making good pitches during football recruiting season. On July 18 he hopes to make a good pitch on the baseball diamond. Zorbo is slated to throw the ceremonial first pitch during “Kalamazoo College Night” with the Kalamazoo Growlers baseball team at Homer Stryker Field in downtown Kalamazoo.
“I am honored to be throwing out the first pitch at K Night Out. I just hope I can get it over the plate. It will surely be a great evening with family and friends, and I am looking forward to it,” said Zorbo.
All students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends of the College are invited to the game that starts at 7 PM. K tickets cost $12 and come with either a Growlers hat or a hot dog, chips, and a drink. Wear pink because the event coincides with a breast cancer awareness event at the stadium called “Pink Out the Park Night.” To help raise funds, the team will auction off pink jerseys, and the first 1,000 fans to enter will get a pink baseball cap, courtesy of Borgess Health.
To get tickets stop by the Anderson Athletic Center or contact Athletics Office Coordinator Emily Wiegand at 337-7082 or ewiegand@kzoo.edu.
While K will be one of many groups present, staff and faculty will be recognized on the field. “It’s a good place to see and be seen,” said Jeanne Hess, head volleyball coach and chair of the physical education department, “and a great opportunity to bring families together.”
To reach out into the community and local businesses, the Growlers’ hired four Kalamazoo College students as their summer interns. Assistant General Manager John Bollinger said, “Being a small market team, our intern class gets a lot of hands-on work.” While there are interns from larger universities, Bollinger emphasized, “K students really take it to a different level. They are always following through, and are always thorough.”
The students work behind the scenes on promotions, media, and sponsorships. Ranjeet Ghorpade ’15 designed a season survey, and Carter Chandler ’17 and Nate Donovan ’17 helped develop a grassroots marketing campaign to reach into the community. Additionally, K’s Head Baseball Coach Mike Ott serves as associate coach and pitching coach for the Growlers, and K’s Assistant Baseball Coach Jake Van Alten runs the sound system at Homer Stryker Field.
Ghorpade said, “You can tell that the Growlers are moving in the right direction. From their original ’selfie’ jerseys to the Bell’s Bear Cave, they’ve really got it going on.”
Hess said these internship opportunities through the Athletics Department “let our students know there’s life beyond K.”
Though K won’t be the only group in attendance, Hess hopes “we’ll be the most vocal and fun group.” Other activities that evening will include Trino the Magician, a flat screen TV giveaway, and post-game fireworks.
“There’s no better way to enjoy summer than with America’s favorite pastime,” said Hess. “The field is a wonderful place with co-workers, friends, and family.”
The Ed Baker Family invites you to join them for a “Celebration of Life” service in remembrance of their husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, who died on December 11, 2013. The service will be held in Stetson Chapel on Tuesday, July 29, at 11 AM. There will be a buffet reception immediately following the service in the Hornet Suite at the Kalamazoo College Athletic Field House. All are welcome to attend.
Ed Baker was a professor emeritus of physical education and former Hornet head football coach. Ed came to K in 1967 from the Haverford School in Philadelphia (Pa.), where he led the football team to a 50-20-2 record in nine seasons. He coached Hornet football from 1967 to 1983, when he left that position in order to direct the College’s career service center. He coached the football Hornets again in 1988 and 1989. Ed earned his bachelor’s degree at Denison University and his master’s from Ohio State University. His overall record at K was 62 wins, 89 losses, and 5 ties. His best season was 1978, when the Hornets posted a 6-2 record. On three occasions, Ed’s Hornet teams finished third in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association. When he retired in 1990, then acting president Tim Light wrote of Ed Baker: “In his role of coach and teacher, he has manifested a wonderful sensitivity towards young people and an appreciation of their talents. Ed has been consistently one of our finest encouragers of young people, and his sure and proven sense of judgment of people’s character and their potential ability to succeed has been an inspiration to the rest of us.”
On the occasion of its annual Founders Day ceremony (celebrating 181 years of operation) Kalamazoo College announced the George Acker Endowed Scholarship. The scholarship will support juniors or seniors who best exemplify the qualities and character of Coach Acker, including an exceptional work ethic, leadership, a commitment to involvement in campus activities, and a high standard of integrity. Preference will be given to students who are (like Coach Acker was) the first in his family to attend college.
Acker served as a coach and professor at Kalamazoo College for 35 years (1958-93) and was inducted into the Kalamazoo College Athletic Hall of Fame in 1998. He coached men’s tennis teams to seven NCAA Division III championships while winning 35 consecutive MIAA championships. His tennis teams were 573-231 overall and an incredible 209-1 in conference play.
Acker was as true a “liberal arts coach” as they come. He served as head coach of the Hornet wrestling (1960-74) and cross-country (1985-88) teams. He also was line coach for the Hornet football team from 1959-69, helping guide Rolla Anderson’s squads to back-to-back MIAA championships in 1962 and 1963. He served as the College’s athletic trainer and director of the intramural sports program at different times during his career.
Most of all, he loved teaching. “Nothing has given me as much pleasure as teaching the students in my theory and activities classes,” said Acker in 1985, when he accepted the Florence J. Lucasse Award for Excellence in Teaching, the faculty’s highest honor. “Teaching and coaching are very similar, so that I feel that when I’m coaching a sport it is an extension of my teaching.” Many persons, including this author, knew “Coach” as “Teacher,” and as profoundly as the athletes he instructed, they, too, were touched by his compassion and his ability to bring out their best. Coach Acker died on July 20, 2011, of complications surrounding the stroke he suffered several days earlier.
Kalamazoo College poet (and professor emeritus of English) Conrad Hilberry once wrote a poem about kids playing sandlot baseball, noting that, after a hit, the run from home to (hopefully) home again was counterclockwise—in other words: against time, a circle-sprint (maybe even ending in a dramatic slide) in the general direction of that magical place called when-we-were-younger.
