The Saginaw County Sports Hall of Fame welcomed seven individuals and one team, honoring its eight new members at its 17th annual Induction Banquet at Horizons Conference Center. Sue Guevara, Rick Havercroft, Tory Jackson, Danielle (Kamm) Carter, Dennis Konuszewski, Terrance Roberson, Stuart Schweigert, and the 1999 Saginaw High football team comprised the Class of 2018.

Saginaw High is blessed with elite athletes, state title

Saginaw Heritage’s Spencer Schwellenbach and Swan Valley’s Callie Burgess were honored as the 2018 Tom Slade Athletes of the Year. Frankenmuth’s Savannah Baker was named the first Pat Brady Community Service Scholarship winner.

Heritage’s Abbie Bethune won the Team One Credit Union Scholarship.

Who was your sports idol as a kid? Billie Jean King

Who had the biggest impact on your career? Marsha Reall

What is your first sports memory? My first sports memory is playing pigtail softball as a 9-year-old at Hoyt Park. It was down on Field No. 13, and I played left field. Who was your toughest opponent? I went to St. Stephen’s, so our toughest opponent was always the SS. Peter & Paul’s girl’s basketball team. Who do you wish could have been here to see you join the Hall of Fame? My mom, Ann Houlihan. She died in 2002. She would have been so proud of me. She was always supporting me in whatever I wanted to do. She was there for me with no judgment. Who was your sports idol as a kid?

Al Kaline
Who had the biggest impact on your career? Bill Humphrey
What is your first sports memory? My first sports memory was playing Little League baseball when I was 11 years old for, I believe, the Mannion Builders team. I was the pitcher and played third base.
Who was your toughest opponent? Bob Von Rich Bauer. He was a halfback at Mount Pleasant High School who was tough.
Who do you wish could have been here to see you join the Hall of Fame? My mom, Norma Havercroft. She passed in 2008. Funny story. My parents came down to Florida to watch my umpire. They were in the stands, and one of the parents watching asked her which one was her son. She said her son was the home plate umpire. The other lady said, ‘I didn’t know umpires had parents.’

Who was your sports idol as a kid? Michael Jordan

Who had the biggest impact on your career? Sarah Jackson. My mother was always there, always supportive.
What is your first sports memory? My first sports memory was winning the state title at Buena Vista in my sophomore year. We weren’t big, but the team played hard, and I won with my brother Cory.
Who was your toughest opponent? Tajuan Porter from Detroit Renaissance. He was all of 5-5, but he was so quick. He was a great defensive player. Who do you wish could have been here to see you join the Hall of Fame? I want my parents (James and Sarah Jackson) to have seen this. I owe them everything. They raised me not just to be a basketball player but to be a good father.

Who had the biggest impact on your career? Steve Saults, my AAU coach.

What is your first sports memory? When I was in fourth grade, I got to play basketball with the boy’s team at St. Elizabeth in Reese. They had teams for fifth graders and up, but I got to play in fourth grade. Who was your toughest opponent? Rutgers. Anyone from Rutgers. They had players who could beat you inside and players who could win you over the top. Who do you wish could have been here to see you join the Hall of Fame? My grandfather, Bruce Dunn, was a great athlete. He was drafted to play baseball but went to fight in the war instead. He died when I was 5, but I have great memories. He would have loved this.

Who had the biggest impact on your career? Steve Saults, my AAU coach.

What is your first sports memory? When I was in fourth grade, I got to play basketball with the boy’s team at St. Elizabeth in Reese. They had teams for fifth graders and up, but I got to play in fourth grade. Who was your toughest opponent? Rutgers. Anyone from Rutgers. They had players who could beat you inside and players who could win you over the top. Who do you wish could have been here to see you join the Hall of Fame? My grandfather, Bruce Dunn, was a great athlete. He was drafted to play baseball but went to fight in the war instead. He died when I was 5, but I have great memories. He would have loved this.

Who was your sports idol as a kid? Of course, Magic Johnson was everybody’s idol back then, but I always looked up to Larry Walker from Saginaw High. I wanted to be just like him.
Who had the biggest impact on your career? My dad, Kenny Roberson,
What is your first sports memory? When I was 5 years old, Reg Robinson let me play on a team with third and fourth-grade kids in kindergarten. We were the Salina Alphabets. I was one of them. I was on the team. That’s where it all started.
Who was your toughest opponent? Albert White from Inkster and Ron Mercer.
Who do you wish could have been here to see you join the Hall of Fame? My mom (Rhonda Gardner) and my grandma (Suzie Turnbull). My mom passed when I was 11, and my grandma passed four years ago. My sister is here, but I never knew my mom because she died when she was six months old. When I look at her, I see my mom and grandma, so in a way, they’re here.

My grandma went to all of my games. She’d be there cheering, yelling, screaming. So, if you went to a Buena Vista game, you knew who my grandma was. Who was your sports idol as a kid? Dan Majerle. That’s why I wore No. 9. As a kid, I loved basketball more than football, and when I found out he was from Michigan, he became my idol. Who had the biggest impact on your career?

Kenny Green. He was my defensive backs coach at Purdue during my first three years there. What is your first sports memory? Competing in gymnastics. I remember I hated the vault. Once, I slipped on the pad and hit hard, so I was always scared of it. I did gymnastics for 10 years, and I think it was great for my coordination and balance, so much that it helped me become a better athlete and football player. Who was your toughest opponent? Charles Rogers.

He was one of the greatest athletes I’ve ever been against, from high school to the NFL. Who do you wish could have been here to see you join the Hall of Fame? My grandfather, Cliff Schweigert, passed away in October. He was a tough, tough guy. It’s where I get my toughness from, through my dad, who got it from his dad. He was a great athlete but had to give up sports to work. But he would wear my Oakland Raiders jersey to the bowling alley in South Dakota and make sure they bought my game to show on TV.