DETROIT -- The Michigan Sports Hall of Fame on Thursday inducted perhaps its most unique class.
At Detroit's Gem Theatre, around the corner from Ford Field, a record class of 24 entered the Hall of Fame in the 56th induction event.
"There were a large number of athletes from decades ago that, for whatever reason, were never inducted into Michigan's Hall of Fame," MSHOF executive director Jim Stark said. "We addressed that issue by having a task force that was chaired by Jerry Green and Bob Becker.
"This class is a result of their work. It's doing the right thing. They've been due their honors a long time and it's a great class."
The inductees were divided into decades, with those from the 1930s and '40s going in first.
University of Michigan football standouts Chuck Bernard and Bob Chappuis, U-M track star Bill Watson and Detroit Lions center/linebacker Alex Wojciechowicz were in that group.
From the 1950s, Gene "Big Daddy" Lipscomb, a Detroit Miller High School football star and star NFL player for the Los Angeles Rams, Baltimore Colts and Pittsburgh Steelers; Barbara Marchetti-DeSchepper, a champion speedster from the Upper Peninsula; Miller High and Wayne State basketball star Charlie Primas; and Detroit Red Wings defenseman Marcel Pronovost entered the Hall.
Pronovost, who lives in Windsor, Ontario, said of his induction, "It was a long time coming."
A highly physical player, Pronovost was known as "the Most Injured Man in the NHL," and said, "It was better when we played because there was more payback."
The largest group came from the 1960s: Fred Arbanas, who played tight end for Redford St. Mary's, Michigan State and the Kansas City Chiefs; Ed Budde, an offensive lineman from Denby High, Michigan State and the Kansas City Chiefs; Rex Cawley, a Highland Park native who won a gold medal in the hurdles in 1964; Bob Devaney, who started his football coaching career in Birmingham, eventually assisting Duffy Daugherty at Michigan State and going on to great success at Nebraska; Richie Jordan, known as the "Fennville Flash," is the only Michigan native to be named to the National High School Sports Hall of Fame; Detroit native Milt Pappas, who had a 17-year career in Major League Baseball; Bob Strampe, a star bowler who won seven titles, including three majors; Chet Walker, a Benton Harbor native who went on to become a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Budde, who won Super Bowl V along with Arbanas, said he had to buy 10 extra tickets for the induction ceremony for his friends and family who still live in the Detroit area, has fond memories of his MSU days.
"Michigan State, I played with a lot of great people," Budde said. "Duffy Daughterty was our head coach. Bill Yeoman was our offensive coordinator. Hank Bullough was the defensive coordinator. So we had a lot of good people, we had a lot of talent.
"We never went to the Rose Bowl, but I tell you how Duffy kept his job: We beat Michigan and Notre Dame all the three years."
After so many years, Budde wasn't expecting the Hall of Fame to call.
"Fred Arbanas and I, we thought that Detroit or Michigan forgot us, but they didn't," Budde said. "I'm so thrilled to be inducted to the Michigan Hall of Fame. It's a big deal for me."
The 1970s group included Detroit native George Allen, a legendary NFL coach with the Los Angeles Rams and Washington Redskins; Tom D'Eath, also a native Detroiter, who won three national hydroplane championships; Earl Lloyd, the first African-American to play in an NBA game and first African-American to be a bench head coach; Ted Simmons, a three-sport Southfield High star who went on to a 21-year career with the St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers; and Ralph Simpson, a Detroit native who played for Michigan State before a professional career with the ABA's Denver Rockets, Detroit Pistons and two other teams.
Simmons has lived in St. Louis for the last 36 years so he wasn't expecting a call from the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame, even though he returns to Michigan frequently to visit family.
"I was surprised because I was born and raised here in the Detroit area, but since I was 17, I've been pretty much gone," Simmons said. "But it was a nice surprise because you don't expect that sort of thing unless you're here all the time or part of the community or doing active things.
"I've spent so much time away, but when I got that phone call, it was a nice surprise."
The final three inductees were from the 1980s. Willie Hernandez, who helped the Tigers win the World Series in 1984, could not attend the induction as his wife is expecting a baby; George Acker, acclaimed tennis coach at Kalamazoo College; and Dan Roundfield, a Detroit native who attended Central Michigan and had a long NBA career mostly with the Atlanta Hawks, but also spent a season with the Pistons.
Sadly, Roundfield died Aug. 6, when he and his wife, Bernie, were swimming in Aruba and got caught in rough water. Roundfield was swept away after helping save his wife.
Roundfield's funeral is in Georgia on Friday.
Rick Mahorn and James Edwards accepted the award on Roundfield's behalf.
The Michigan Sports Hall of Fame expects to return to a regular-size class at the next induction ceremony in February.
