Michigan Baseball Hall welcomes four

By Larry Hook
The Lookout Adviser

Four men who thrived in various aspects of baseball were inducted into the Michigan Baseball Hall of Fame on Friday, July 20 at Jackson Field, home of the Lansing Lugnuts.

The inductees were Detroit Stars legend Turkey Stearnes, longtime Detroit Tigers’ scout Clyde Weir, University of Michigan record-setter Ken Hayward and high school coaching great Jake Boss Sr.

The ceremonies took place prior to the Lugnuts’ game against the Great Lakes Loons. Hayward and Boss were present for the event. Stearnes and Weir are both deceased, but were well represented by friends and family.

Lugnuts Broadcaster and Media Relations Specialist Jesse Goldberg-Strassler led the ceremonies, which included the unveiling of Hall-of-Fame plaques above the left-field wall.

“We have an outstanding four-member class of 2024,” Goldberg-Strassler told the crowd of about 200 ceremony attendees. “Thank you for coming out and honoring them tonight.”

Gary Stearnes and Vanessa Ivy Rose, grandchildren of Negro League legend Norman "Turkey" Stearnes, stand next to their grandfather's new Michigan Baseball Hall of Fame plaque at Jackson Field in Lansing.  "He played with his heart," Gary said of his grandfather. "He played for the love of the game." Added Vanessa: "He's amongst the greats. He's finally where he belongs in terms of the mainstream recognizing him."  Photo by Larry Hook

Norman “Turkey” Stearnes left his home in Nashville to serve as the shining star atop the Detroit Stars’ lineup from 1923 to 1931. Stearnes led his Major Negro League in home runs seven times between 1924 and 1940.

In 639 career games with the Stars, he hit .360 with 139 homers and a 1.092 OPS. Throughout his career and upon retirement, Stearnes resided in Detroit. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown in 2000.

Stearnes was represented at the ceremony by his daughter, Joyce Stearnes Thompson.

“The conditions he and the Negro Leaguers had were brutal,” Joyce said. “They had to endure racism, insults, being denied access to restaurants or hotels, and traveling in non-air-conditioned buses in sweltering heat.

“However, I never heard my father complain about anything. He never said an unkind word about anyone his entire life.”

Doug Weir, son of long-time Detroit Tigers scout Clyde Weir, speaks at the Michigan Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony on July 20.  Photo by Larry Hook

Clyde Weir was born in Lansing and was a graduate of Western Michigan University. He spotted future MLB Hall-of-Famer John Smoltz in 1985 while working as a bird dog for Cleveland. Smoltz was drafted by the Detroit Tigers that summer, and Weir joined the Tigers’ organization the next season.

This marked the start of 37 seasons for Weir as an amateur scout for the Tigers, from 1986 until his death in October of 2023.

Weir was represented at the ceremony by his son, Doug Weir.

Doug said his father once gave him some good advice that he continues to live by.

“You never know who’s watching, so don’t give them anything to see,” Doug said. “That was something that stuck in my brain, and with the recent passing of Willie Mays, I thought of a quote that he said: ‘It’s easy to be good now and then. It’s difficult to be good every day.’

“So, with that, I hope (my father) is watching down, smiling on this beautiful day, just knowing that we knew he was good, every day.”

Legendary U-of-M baseball player Ken Hayward speaks at the Michigan Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony on July 20.  Photo by Larry Hook

Ken Hayward was a dominant force in Big Ten baseball from 1982 to 1985. On the mound, he posted a 12-2 career record with seven saves. At the plate, the slugger from Waterford set University of Michigan career records for most games played (234), highest batting average (.376) and most runs batted in (207).

In 1985, the team captain batted .432 with 13 homers among his 89 hits, logging 150 total bases and 64 RBIs in 65 games to earn the Big Ten Medal of Honor. In all three of his seasons at Michigan, Hayward was named First Team All-Big Ten and to the Big Ten All-Tournament Team.

“What this recognition did for me is it made me reflect,” Hayward said. “It made me appreciate what baseball did for me. That’s what this Hall of Fame is all about, and baseball led me to Michigan. Baseball led me to play in the Cape Cod League.”

Hayward said his personal accomplishments on the baseball diamond were a product of trying to be a good teammate.

“All my records are a product of doing anything that I could to help the team win,” Hayward said. “That is what I would want my legacy to be in baseball.”

Jake Boss Sr. began a 45-year coaching career in 1967, winning over 500 MHSAA games, three Diamond Classics, seven conference championships, 10 district championships and three regional championships.

Boss served as the head baseball coach of Lansing Everett High School from 1973 to 1996, then joined the staffs of Eastern Michigan (1996 to 1999) and Alma (1999 to 2001).

He returned to the high school ranks with Lansing Catholic Central from 2002 to 2008, and closed out his career at Michigan State University as a volunteer assistant coach for his son, Jake Boss Jr., from 2009 to 2012.

“What a night this is,” Boss Sr. said. “There are so many players here, so many memories, my family is here. It’s just incredible. … I want to thank the board on your very gracious announcement for the induction here. I’m just so thankful for this incredible award.”

The Hall of Fame Class of 2024 was decided by vote of a nine-member committee consisting of Joe Block, Mark Ditsworth, Gary Gillette, Fred Heumann, Mario Impemba, Bill Killian, Rich Maloney, Tim Staudt and Mark Uyl.

The Michigan Baseball Hall of Fame is in its 10th year of existence. Its purpose is threefold: to honor the state’s baseball heroes of yesterday; celebrate the national pastime today; and inspire baseball fans and ballplayers of tomorrow. The hall celebrates all levels of baseball, from youth to high school to college to the Major Leagues.

The new members join the 26 others inducted since 2015: Jim Abbott, Bill Freehan, Charlie Gehringer, Ernie Harwell, Al Kaline, Hal Newhouser, Alan Trammell, John Smoltz, Pat O’Keefe, Larry Tuttle, Kirk Gibson, Ty Cobb, Derek Jeter, Dave Keilitz, Willie Horton, Ron Oestrike, Javier Cavazos, Drew Henson, Bob Miller, Frank Tanana, Steve Avery, Danny Litwhiler, Fred Decker, the 2003-06 Homer High School baseball team, the 1959 Hamtramck Little League team and the Page Fence Giants of the 1890s.

Biographies, accomplishments and photos of the inductees can be found at www.michiganbaseballhall.org.