Members of the Paw Paw High School Athletic Hall Of Fame, with graduation year.
Wade Killefer-1901
Bill Killefer-1905
Alan Smith-1935
Bud Breed-1952
Tom Horn-1953
Lavern Baxter-1953
Jerry Abnet-1955
Bert Kruse-1955
Gordy Blakeman-1956
Frank Walters-1956
Al McMachen-1956
Marlow Terry-1958
Bob Surdy-1958
1957 Football Team
Butch Hindenach-1957
Bob Root-1957
Bill Bradley-1957
Bob Crocker-1966
Ron Labadie-1967
Cindy Daines-1975
Rick Mitchell-1975
Ed Dow-1975
John Bonamego-1982
Kim McDowell-1983
Anita Capone-1985
Steve Johnson-1988
1904-05 Baseball.....state champions!
Paw Paw High School baseball had claimed the mythical state baseball championship in 1900 with a team that featured two future major league players, Wade Killefer and Pat Paige. In 1904, another Paw Paw team claimed the title again, with another future big league performer, Bill Killefer, Wade's brother. The team compiled a 21-3 season record, defeating teams such as Petoskey, Battle Creek, Jackson, and Evanston, Indiana. They also somehow lost to Gobles. In the mythical state title game it was Paw Paw against Flint. Pitcher Reynolds struck out nine Flint batsman to give his team a 6-3 victory. Royal Decker led his team in hitting with a .385 average, followed by Reynolds with a mark of .366, and Halstead at .314. Future twelve season major leaguer and also manager of the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Browns, Killefer batted .278.
2001-02 Lady Redskins a team of All State players..........
Paw Paw Lady Redskins basketball has enjoyed over a decade of great success, and one of the best of these teams perfomed in the 2001-02 season, winning 25 straight games before losing in the Quarter Finals. The Lady Reds breezed through the regular season with only two close games, defeating state rated teams Mattawan and Niles by three and four points. Besides claiming the KVA title, the Reds won District and Regional championships as well. Among one side contests were Portage Northern 57-22, Galesburg 72-27 and 93-19, Delton 74-12, and Dowagiac 69-21. The starting five all received All State recoginition at some point in their careers, Shanna Grubaugh and Andrea Selent each making the first team their Senior year. Julie Baltmanis was a third team pick, and Katie Anderson and Julie Abnet both were All State Honorable Mention players. To get to the Quarter-Finals, Paw Paw had to defeat both Mattawan and Niles again in the District and Regional tourneys, and they beat them by 13 and 14 points this time. The AP elected Paw Paw to third place in Class B in their final poll of the year. Point guard Shanna Grubaugh led her team in steals, assists, and scoring, averaging 15 points per game. Tall and talented Katie Anderson topped the team in rebounds, and added 12 points a game. Andrea Selent also scored in double figures, and Julie Baltmanis added eight a game despite having health problems much of the year. Other team members included: Renee Vesey, Kellie Nugteren, Ashley Herron, Chastity DeRoo, Ashley Surdy, and Catlin Brown.
2003-04 Baseball
Mike Hinga, long time area baseball coach was hired to coach the Redskins for the 03-04 season. His team started out with five straight wins, lost three of the next four, and then went on a tear the rest of the year. Starting with a 6-2 victory over Grand Rapids South Christian, the team went on a went on an incredible 25 game winning streak. Included in the streak were seven wins over Class A schools. The Redskins easily won the Kalamazoo Valley Association title, and defeated the top rated team in their class in the state Comstock, in the finals of the Greater Kalamazoo Tournament. The Redskins also annexed the first District Tournament title in school history. They lost in the Regional finals to Gull Lake, after having played a twelve inning game against St. Joseph an hour earlier. Lucas Gumper topped the pitching Staff with a 12-0 record and an ERA of 1.03. Eric Beebe had a 6-1 pitching record, Bret Beebe was 5-1, Matt Peshl 4-0, and Rhyan Rogers was 4-0 with a no-hitter. Derrick Mitchell was the leading hitter with a .473 average with 8 home runs, 47 runs scored, and 48 RBIs. Matt Peshl ended with a .383 average, and Cody Winter was at .375.
Bret Beebe, Derrick Mitchell, Lucas Gumper, Matt Peshl, Cody Winter Ferris Baker, and Kyle Galbraith all were selected to the All KVA Team. In addition, Gumper, Mitchell, and Peshl were awarded All District honors, and Mitchell was chosen to the All State second team.
1988-89 FOOTBALL
It could have been called the best of times, and the worst of times. Coach Rick Smith's team flirted with a state record and the play-offs, but came up short on both. It started opening night at Falan Field, when preseason rated Forest Hills Northern fell 23-0. The next week Kalamazoo Christian was shut out 51-0, and so it continued through 8 games, all wins and shutouts for the Redskins. Adding a whitewashing in the last game of the previous season, Paw Paw arrived at the final game of the year unbeated and unscored upon, and still not certain of making the play-offs. One more shutout would have tied the modern Michigan High School record of ten shutouts in a row. (Actually, the Paw Paw teams of the late 1920s had shut out fourteen teams in a row, but this was not included in the newer records kept by the MHSAA.) Otsego came into the game with a 1-7 record, but played like anything but, scoring early to break the Redskin's chance at the record. From the on it was simply a matter of trying to win the game, and it went down to the final play. Leading 12-6 with less than a minute to go, Otsego took a safety in their end zone so they could punt safely to the 'Skins. Paw Paw was unable to find the Bulldog endzone, and ended scored upon, defeated, and out of the play-off picture. There were many good results of the season however. A KVA championship and a #6 Class B rating helped make up for the disappointing conclusion. Trevor Smith and Steve Houghton were accorded first team All State honors, and place kicker Troy Hendrickson made the Honorable Mention list. Other honors includes: All KVA 1st Team: Trevor Smith, Steve Houghton, Mike Fall, Brian Bugg, Troy Hendrickson, Mark Kruizenga, Bob Roy, William Carter, Scott Flick, Eric Lean, and Jason Coffman. Chris Collier, John Roberts, and Eric Greene made the KVA Honorable Mention team, and Eric Lean was name Academic Football All State First Team. Other team members: Todd Blaylock, Jim DeGroof, Micah Billings, Dan Kolosar, Tim Coombs, John Woodruff, Jason Johnson, Brad McKenzie, Jason Marcelletti, Chris Overacker, Roy Barnett, Bill Krumeri, Marv Melson, Ron Wolthuis, Chris Brill, Brian Carter, and Jeff Crouse.
1998-99 Boys Soccer:
State Champions!
At the start of the season, coach Dave Clark felt he had a good team, he had almost everyone back from the team that had gone 20-5 the previous season, winning the KVA title and the District trophy, losing to Ludington in a controversial game. The season did not get off to the best start, a 2-1 overtime loss to Lakeshore. However the team then went on a 14 game winning streak including wins over Mattawan and Kalamazo Hackett. a 3-2 overtime loss to Mattawan in the league tournament was the only other blemish on the regular season. The Redskins breezed through the District tourney in South Haven, and won a pair of very tight games over Lansing Catholic and Marshall to bring home the Regional trophy. It was payback time in the semi-finals, a 5-0 whitewashing of Ludington. Best of all, the championship victory was over Detroit County Day, 1-0 on a goal by Weston Selent.
The Redskins ended the season 23-2 with the State Championship trophy in the school case. David Holzworth, Ken Rushing, Jon Clark, Jonathon Hughes, Jeff Hodges, Weston Selent, and Nate VanLoon were all members of the All KVA 1st team. Holzworth and Hughes also made first team All State, with Holzworth making the all class select Dream Team. Jon Clark and Ken Rushing were third team All State members, while Weston Selent and Nate VanLoon made Honorable Mention at the state level. Holzworth led the team with 33 goals, followed by Selent with 29, and Hughes 18. VanLoon recorded 13 shutouts in goal.
1935-36 Boys Basketball
Basketball coach Bryan Emmert had a rare commodity in 1936. A 6-6 center. Horace Adams, later to become a prominent attorney in Paw Paw, was an imposing figure on the court during Depression days. The Redskins compiled a 15-5 record, and won the District Tournament, and the only Regional title until this year. There was only once during the year that Paw Paw was at a height disadvantage, at Holland Christian. The front line of that squad measured 6-3, 6-4, and 6-5, which caused one Paw Paw fan to remark he had "Never seen a team with that size, outside of a side show!" A pair of big wins over Decatur were highlights of the season, the Yellowjackets as they were known then, had been beating most opponents by 30 points. The Regional final game against Bangor was close until Dean Clow and Rich Lummis took charge in the final minutes to earn their team a trip to the Quarter-finals. Paw Paw was shelled by the Zeeland Chix in that contest to conclude a very successful season.
Team members: Dean Clow, Horace Adams, Rich Lummis, Jim Warner, Dale Beach, Louie Oswalt, Willis Smith, Don Mearing, Louie Lelli, and Bob Brandy.
1956-57 Redskin Football Team
Coach Wayne Falan suspected he had a good football team in the fall of 1956. This was borne out opening night, when the Redskins rolled over Hartford 33-0. Late in game two, Mattawan recorded a safety in a 31-2 loss to Paw Paw. This along with seven points scored by South Haven late in their game with the Redskins were the only points allowed in the undefeated eight game season. Comstock fell 39-0, Bangor 47-0, and Galesburg-Augusta 69-0. In this game, halfback Marlow Terry touched the ball four times, and scored four touchdowns. Kicker Norm Newman converted nine of ten extra point attempts, and the Rams never crossed midfield the entire game. When Richland was defeated to close out the season, Paw Paw was rated #1 in the state of Michigan in Class C. They were also the top defensive team in any class, allowing just nine points in eight games. Marlow Terry and Bob Root were accorded first team All State honors.
Team members: Marlow Terry, Ed Buskirk, Steve Holcomb, Norm Newman, Bob Surdy, Jim Holcomb, Mike Miller, Glen Belanger, Tom Smith, LeRoy Castle, Roger Goens, Roger Baker, Larry Glidden, Bob Greene, Don Price, Ray Cutler, Mike Hartman, Larry Coleman, Chip McLellan, Bill Tokarchick, Bob Root, Larry Burns, Dick Bonarski, Bill Bradley, Phill Crowder, Bob Casanto, LeRoy Castle, Fred Wenz, Jim Frego, Bob Barnes, Alvin Adams, and Eugene Cross.
1985-86 Baseball
Coach Wil Billing's 1985-86 baseball team was an awesome offensive machine. They scored ten or more runs 14 times during the year, slugging their way to the KVA Championship. Overall they had a 17-12 won lost record, and won eight straight at the end of the conference schedule to claim the trophy. Steve Johnson, who went on to play baseball at Michigan State, ended the season with a 9-0 pitching record, and batted .389. Mike Burk topped the team with an amazing .582 batting average, and the 59 runs he scored placed in fifth place all time in season runs scored nationaly. Tom Wunderlich batted .500 and Pat McGuire posted a .442 average while driving in 42 runs, two more than Wunderlich.
Team members: Rob Weatherwax, Tom Wunderlich, Steve Johnson, Pat McGuie, Clint Baney, Kevin Staniszewski, Bobby Yarbrough, Chris Krumeri, T. Buskirk, Aaron Rickli, Paul Schincariol, Mike Burk, Mike Larson, and Glen Dillon.
2001-02 Lady Redskins Basketball
The best, or one of the top two girls basketball teams at Paw Paw High School compiled a 25-1 in 2002, not losing until the Quarter Finals against Lansing Catholic. They easily cruised through the 20 game regular season, winning all 20 games by an average of 23 points a game. Of course they annexed the KVA Championship, and District and Regional titles as well. All five starters at one point in their career were accorded All State Honors, Shanna Grubaugh and Andrea Selent both making the first team, Julie Baltmanis third team, and Katie Anderson and Julie Abnet Honorable Mention. All five starters also went on to play college basketball.
Team members: Shanna Grubaugh, Katie Anderson, Andrea Selent, Julie Abnet, Renee Vesey, Julie Baltmanis, Kellie Nugteren, Chasity De Roo, Ashley Herron, Catlin Brown, Ashley Surdy, Jamie Warkentien, and Christy Booth.
1927-28 Football
The 1928 season started about as well as it could have. The results of the first four games were: Paw Paw 51-0 over Lawton, 50-0 over Hartford, 51-0 over Decatur, and 50-0 over Niles. In game five, Otsego scored but lost 48-6. This was due to an error in keeping the time. The regular time keeper was absent, and a Paw Paw student took on the task. He didn't realize that the clock was supposed to run as long as the ball stayed in bounds, and stopped the clock after every play. Near the end of a very long game, Otsego crossed the Redskin goal line. Paw Paw won every game on their schedule, and then arranged a game with Richmond, who was also undefeated. They played a 0-0 tie, and both schools claimed they were state champions. Halfback Burnell Morlan scored a school record 21 touchdowns, all coming in the first six games. Starting in game seven, coach Bryan Emmert for some unknown reason, moved Morlan to the position of blocking back, and he did not carry the ball the rest of the year. Paw Paw outscored their opponents 331-25 for the season, and finished 9-0-1.
Team members:Burnell Morlan, Chuck Hoger, Jim Jindrich, Maurice Cole, Ed Griffith, George St. Pierre, Bron Witek, Bob Buskirk, Ralph Washburn, Boyce Cole, Walter Hartman, Ren Jacobs, Ross Lyon, George Henderson, Max Krisztof, Willis Bolinger, William Curtiss, Fred Dillon, Al Freeman, Dean Hamilton, Lynn Munson, DeLyle Otten, Russ Rowan, Ernest Shaw, Jerome Warner, and Bernard Olmstead.
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