Belleville High School Athletics Hall of Fame inducts 11 into first class

The first 11 inductees into the new Belleville High School Athletics Hall of Fame were honored Jan. 18 at halftime of the boys’ basketball game. Their photos have been displayed on a wall at BHS.
Those honored were:
• Peg Curtis, who was the softball coach at BHS for 39 years, and in that time won 14 League Championships, 17 District Championships, three Regional Championships, and the only two State Championships in BHS history in 1983 and 1984. These teams were the first softball teams to win back-to-back State Championships in Michigan. She is also a member of the Michigan High School Softball Coaches Hall of Fame and BHS’ softball field was named after her in 2016.
• Mike Garland, who was both an outstanding student athlete and coach at BHS, played basketball from 1969-72, was a two-year football varsity starter at quarterback and also ran the 400-meter his senior year in track. His skills in basketball lead to a full athletic scholarship at NMU. He returned to BHS in 1977 to begin his basketball coaching career. He was selected as the 1993-94 Associated Press Michigan High School Coach of the Year, the Michigan Mega Red Conference Coach of the Year, and the All-Suburban Coach of the Year. He won six Mega Red Conference Championships, four District Championships and one Regional Championship. Garland left BHS in 1996 to become the Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach at Michigan State University where he still coaches.
• Anne Maureen Gray was a 1993 graduate of BHS, lettering in cross country and track 1989-93. As a freshman, at the age of 13, Anne won gold at the Wolverine “A” Conference Cross Country Championships, the first freshman to win the tournament. She earned a four-year athletic scholarship in cross country/track at DePaul University and earned several awards, including 1993-94 Newcomer of the Year for the Midwest Conference, Most Valuable Runner at DePaul for 1993-94 and 1996-97, and All-Conference First Team, Conference USA.
• Harry Hidenfelter became BHS assistant varsity football coach in 1951 and earned his way to head coach in 1955. He held that position for 1955-63 while also coaching the varsity track team. As head coach of football in 1958, his team went undefeated (8-0) and won the Suburban Six League Championship. This team was also named “State Champs” by news outlets, as this was pre-playoffs. During his coaching years at BHS, he also assisted with the varsity basketball and varsity baseball teams. In 1963 Hidenfelter was named Athletic Director at BHS and he served in this capacity until 1976.
• Bob LaPointe coached football for a total of 28 seasons at a variety of schools (Wayne, Aquinas, Divine Child, Notre Dame, and Belleville). His overall record was 164 wins and 84 losses. He was the City of Dearborn Coach of the Year in 1974 and 1975 and the Detroit Catholic League Coach of the Year in 1975. He was selected as the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association Class B Coach of the Year in 1975 and Class B Regional Coach of the Year in 1974, 1975, and 1976. He was Class A Regional Coach of the Year at BHS in 1993-95, 1997, and 2000. In 1975 he won the MHSAA Class B State Championship. He was inducted into the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2002.
• Frank Nunley was a three-sport athlete while attending BHS from 1959-63, playing football, basketball, and baseball. He went on to play football at the U of M from 1964-66 where he was selected by the Associated Press as a First-Team Linebacker on its 1966 All-Big Ten Conference Football Team. He was inducted into the U of M Athletic Hall of Honor in 1989. He was selected in the third round of the 1967 NFL draft by the San Francisco 49ers and remained with them for ten seasons, 1967-76. He helped lead the 49ers to consecutive appearances in the NFL championship games, losing both times to the Dallas Cowboys.
• Keith Simons earned four-year varsity letters in football and wrestling at BHS, as well as two-year varsity letters in track. He played defensive tackle at the University of Minnesota and was the first-ever player to start all 44 consecutive games his freshman to senior year. He was All-Big 10 Second Team as a junior and All-Big 10 First Team as a senior and was captain all four years. He was a third-round draft pick in the NFL and played for the Kansas City Chiefs and the St. Louis Cardinals. He earned his bachelor of science from the University of Minnesota and worked for many years as a sales manager before becoming Director of Empowerment at Twin Cities RISE!, mentoring people with unique barriers to employment and as a motivational speaker.
• Barry Susterka graduated from BHS in 1972. He was a diver all four years of high school: All Area all four years, League Champion 1971 and 1972, Western Wayne Champion all four years; qualified for State Championships all four years, placed third at State in 1972 and was All American in 1972. He was team captain in 1971 and 1972 and held team records for six dives, 11 dives, and old pool record for six dives. He earned a bachelor of science degree at Eastern Michigan University and coached at the University of Wyoming 1978-85 and University of Kansas 1985.
• Sam Vicchy came to Belleville in 1970 after teaching and coaching swimming and water polo for nine years in Pennsylvania and Ohio. At BHS he coached both the men’s and women’s swimming teams for 17 years total (17 with the boys, 10 with the girls) and finished with a win/loss record for the men’s team of 108-32 and the women’s team 120-6. Along with coaching swimming and diving, Vicchy also coached women’s cross country, women’s track, and women’s soccer at BHS. Besides his other honors, Vicchy was named Men’s Michigan Interscholastic Swimming Coach of the Year, Women’s Michigan Interscholastic Swimming Coach of the Year and was inducted into the MMHSCA Hall of Fame in 2016.
• 1983 and 1984 Softball Teams, who won Class A State Championships back to back. The 1983 team roster: Coach Peg Curtis, Mia Bridges, Michelle LaMance, Judy Wisniewski, Kim Thick, Debbie Stull, Dawn Zajac, Nancy Wisniewski, Nancy Orr; Carrie Kobish, Sandy Mattson, Laurie Shreckengost, Tina Cicotte, Debbie Sumner, Jill Pense, Carol Wisniewski, Jane Kause. 1984 team roster: Coach Peg Curtis, Michelle LaMance, Jill Pence, Judy Wisniewski, Laurie Shreckengost, Tina Cicotte, Debbie Sumner, Nancy Wisniewski, Nancy Orr; Mia Bridges, Melissa Stafford, Gena Forest, Tamara Richard, Carol Wisniewski, Karen McMillian, Reiko Snider, Jill Parent.
The 1984 softball team was a little different than the 1983 team. Although they were made up of mostly the same players, they were now seniors and felt the heavy pressure of the expectations that they set for themselves with their state title the year before. At one point during the season, the team had a record of 9-9 and things did not look good. However, instead of giving up, Coach Curtis and the team rallied behind one another and went on a winning streak and won their next 16 consecutive games. They finished that season with another State Championship title and a final record of 25-9.
At the induction ceremony each inductee was presented with a plaque and program by BHS Athletic Director Joe Brodie.
The BHS Athletic Hall of Fame exists to recognize and honor student-athletes, teams, and coaches for their achievements and/or contributions to BHS. If you are interested in nominating someone, contact the BHS Athletic Department at (734) 697-0016.