[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 128 (Saturday, August 4, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1766]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            TRIBUTE TO MENOMINEE HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL TEAM

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                            HON. BART STUPAK

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, August 3, 2007

  Mr. STUPAK. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay homage to a legendary 
team that made my hometown of Menominee, Michigan, proud. Forty years 
ago, an exceptional Menominee High School basketball team made history, 
under the coaching leadership of Bob Krysiak.
  The 1967 Menominee High School basketball team won the Michigan Class 
B State Basketball Championship in March of 1967. Coach Krysiak's team 
faced a great deal of adversity during the season, which made winning 
the State championship seem like an impossible dream. The team was 
young, with a junior and two sophomores in the starting lineup.
  Moreover, the team's season was plagued with personnel difficulties 
and other challenges. Early in the season, Coach Krysiak was forced to 
remove one player from the team for disciplinary reasons. At mid-
season, one of the starters was declared ineligible and all games 
played in the first half of the season had to be forfeited.
  Menominee lost the second to the last game of the season to Peshtigo 
High School, a team that was not, at that time, regarded as a 
basketball powerhouse. Faced with these daunting circumstances, the 
Menominee basketball team had little hope of winning even one 
postseason playoff game.
  Despite these difficulties, Menominee would persevere and prevail. 
Under Bob Krysiak's leadership, Menominee won the district championship 
in Iron Mountain, Michigan. Shortly thereafter, the team won the 
regional championship in Marquette, Michigan, earning a trip down 
State.
  After dominating a team from Standish-Sterling, Menominee faced the 
number one ranked team in the State, Lansing O'Rafferty. The game was 
played on Lansing O'Rafferty's home court on St. Patrick's Day in the 
State semi-finals.
  By clinching a hard fought victory from O'Rafferty, Menominee earned 
the right to face Ypsilanti Willow Run, which was widely regarded as a 
team superior in strength and skills to Menominee.
  Madam Speaker, according to those who were there, Coach Krysiak spent 
much of the 12 hours between games talking to other coaches, to gather 
scouting information on Willow Run. Willow Run was a bigger, stronger, 
faster team than Menominee, but Coach Krysiak prevailed in the finals 
by outsmarting his opponents. He coached his team to lure Willow Run's 
top player into foul trouble, which proved to be the deciding factor. 
The game remained in flux and undecided until the final seconds and a 
thrilling finish.
  Menominee was not favored to win the district tournament, the 
regional tournament, or any of the final three games down State. 
Menominee is the only team to win a State championship after having 
entered the State tournament with a losing record. In all regards, 
Menominee was truly the quintessential ``underdog.''
  Despite Menominee's underdog status, the community of Menominee 
rallied behind the basketball team.
  Twenty bus loads of students, teachers, and fans rode yellow 
schoolbuses nearly 500 miles from Menominee to East Lansing to watch 
Menominee play the final two games. They were there in the final 
moments when Menominee clinched the championship and made this small 
town in Michigan's Upper Peninsula proud.
  Madam Speaker, in all of America, high school athletics are important 
to a community's identity. However, in small towns and rural 
communities, high school athletics become all the more important. This 
weekend, my hometown, the small town of Menominee, Michigan, will 
celebrate the 40th anniversary of Menominee High School's unexpected 
Class B High School basketball championship.
  As the Menominee community comes together to honor the 1967 Menominee 
Maroons, I would ask that the entire U.S. House of Representatives join 
me in saluting the 1967 Menominee basketball team of Pat Miller, Fred 
Matz, Dewey Bellisle, Dale Englund, Joe Gypp, Dave Haglund, Skip 
Heckel, Bob ``Cubby'' Johnson, Bill Jones, Joe Kaufman, Bill Kelley, 
Jay Nelson, Merle Russell and Rick Stultz, as well as Coach Krysiak. 
The people of Menominee, Michigan remain grateful to the team and the 
coach for their inspired and improbable championship, 40 years ago. 
Today, I am proud to enter their names into the Congressional Record.

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