ShowsMick McCabe
Son of Swami Detroit Free Press Hall of Fame Sports Write November 17, 2021 For over half a century Mick McCabe has followed high school stars on and off of the field for the Detroit Free Press. There is literally no one who has gone wider and deeper in pursuit of the high school stories that make up the sports culture in Michigan. Truth is, the guy is a Michigan sports legend in his own right.
He is also the guy who decided to start drafting up the Detroit Free Press “Dream Teams”. This listing is incredibly appealing, as it lends itself to tremendous sports arguments, and the ultra satisfying feeling that someone has compiled all of the greats in one place. McCabe started with the Free Press on June 3, 1970 and had a hand in selecting the All State teams. Since 1980 he has handled all of them. So with this background and the keys to the kingdom of the Free Press articles archives, he decided he could come up with the best of the best for the last half century, and that’s exactly what he did, compiling it all in to a book called Mick McCabe’s Golden Yearbook. He is certainly the right man for the job, and given the state of journalism today, is likely to be the only right man for the job forever. To that end, he is one of only three sportswriter inducted in to both Michigan’s sports and journalism Halls of Fame; Hal (Swami) Schram, McCabe's mentor at the Free Press; Joe Falls, one of McCabe’s first bosses at the Free Press; and Harry Atkins of the Associated Press, one of McCabe’s biggest fans. To say his propers are firmly in place would be understating the fact by magnitudes of order. But that doesn’t mean he’s omnipotent, especially when it comes to talking Flint sports, because there he has to run the ‘Fish Gauntlet’. And that’s exactly what we do sometimes in the Aquarium, especially when we’re talking about things we think we know better than anyone else - and Flint sports history certainly qualifies. The real story, though, as it relates to McCabe, isn’t what he gets slightly wrong (according to us of course), and there’s not much of that, but how much he gets so spot on right. It’s an impressive book, with crazy impressive lists, with just a few of those glaring Flint omissions that we are obligated to call out. To that end, we’ve prepared the Ultimate Flint Guide to Mick McCabe’s glorious Dream Team Golden Yearbook. McCabe focuses on Boys' Football and Basketball and we do, too. |
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Here are the Flint area football players who have been named to the Detroit Free Press Dream Teams:
Schools Represented/ # of times:
Flint Northern 11
Flint Central 10
Flint Southwestern 8
Davison 4
Carman Ainsworth 4
Flint Powers 4
Grand Blanc 4
Burton Kearsley 3
Flint Northwestern 2
Flint Beecher 2
Fenton 1
Ainsworth 1
Goodrich 1
Lapeer East 1
Lapeer West 1
Lapeer 1
Boys Basketball.
Here’s the Detroit Free Press Dream Teamer’s of the last 50 years:
Schools Represented/ # of times:
Flint Northwestern 7
Flint Northern 6
Flint Beecher 5
Flint Central 3
Flint Southwestern 1
Grand Blanc 1
Flint Powers 1
Notables:
It’s a helluva list and lots of representation from Flint and Genesee County on both the football and basketball squads. There are a few Flintcentric exceptions, though. Full disclosure: I personally watched almost every single Flint player on both the football and basketball Dream Teams play over the last 50 years, so I am highly biased by experience.
Here are my Flint Dream Team bones of contention:
Cases can be made for higher consideration for others too numerous to mention (Marty Embry, Terry Furlow, Andre Wiley, Barry Stevens, T. Greene, Roy Marble, Monte Morris, Marquise Gray, come to mind).
But other than those five people named out of two major sports and half a century, Mick McCabe pretty much gets Flint and Genesee County right (and the rest of the state, too), which is more than amazing. When you stop to consider the enormity of the challenge, it’s a borderline impossible job. But McCabe is up the task, and delivers the goods, which is magnificent. But then again so was our conversation!
Having a living legend like Mick McCabe on the show for a swim in the Aquarium was more than special. That’s because when it comes to high school sports in Michigan Mick McCabe is a Dream Team of ONE.
His book is a gem, and there is lots more of both local and state wide coverage including other sports, girls sports, and a great feature story on Flint’s own Jimmy Abbott. Highly recommended!
- Fred Lakes RB Flint Central 70
- Ron Polk E Flint Northern 70
- George Washington G Flint Central 72
- Gene Johnson E Flint Southwestern 74
- Rick Leach QB Flint Southwestern 74
- Bill Broadway RB Flint Northern 74
- Booker Moore RB Flint Southwestern 75, 76
- Rodney Feaster WR Flint Southwestern 76
- Reggie Mitchell RB Flint Southwestern 77
- Willie Todd LB Burton Kearsley 77
- Lloyd McClelland K Ainsworth 77
- Carl Banks DL Flint Beecher 79
- Steve Smith QB Grand Blanc 79
- Duane Woods DL Flint Northern 80
- Matt Conquest LB Grand Blanc 81
- Eric Earnest DB Flint Northwestern 81
- Edward Greer RB Flint Central 82
- Terrence Greene DB Flint Central 84
- Andre Rison DB Flint Northwestern 84
- Curtis Feaster LB Flint Northern 85
- Mike Staisil OL Flint Central 85
- Todd Lyght E Flint Powers 86
- Fred Mclendon DL Flint Southwestern 86
- Courtney Hawkins DB Flint Beecher 86,87
- Aaron Johnson OL Davison 87
- Dale Blassingame DB Flint Northern 87
- Mike Oswald OL Burton Kearsley 88
- Maurice Bulls LB Flint Northern 88
- Ed Feaster OL Flint Northern 88
- Jason Addington OL Burton Kearsley 89
- Aaron Brown OL Flint Central 91
- Michael Fordham OL Flint Central 92
- Andre Weathers DB Flint Central 93
- Stan Brown DL Flint Central 95
- Robaire Smith E Flint Northern 95
- Kemp Rasmussen DL Lapeer West 96
- Demetrius Solomon OL Flint Northern 98
- Reggie Benton RB Grand Blanc 99
- Mike Deloge DL Carman Ainsworth 99
- Sean Poole DL Flint Central 99
- Matt Trannon E Flint Northern 01
- Jake Long OL Lapeer East 02
- Otis Wiley DB Carman Ainsworth 04
- Kirk Elsworth RB Goodrich 04
- Adam Antonides OL Lapeer West 04
- Laval Lucas Perry DB Fint Powers 06
- Ryan Wheat OL Carman Ainsworth 06
- Aaron Ball OL Davison 06
- Mark Ingram Jr. RB Flint Southwestern 07
- Tony Jones E Grand Blanc 09
- Thomas Rawls RB Flint Northern 10
- Danny O’Brien DL Flint Powers 11
- Garrett Pouget QB Flint Powers 12
- Darryl Johnson Jr. OL Carman Ainsworth 13
- Dan Perry OL Lapeer 15
- Reid Thompson OL Fenton 16
- Deron Irving Bey DL Flint Southwestern 16
- Logan Pasco LB Davison 19
- Harry Unger DL Davison 19
Schools Represented/ # of times:
Flint Northern 11
Flint Central 10
Flint Southwestern 8
Davison 4
Carman Ainsworth 4
Flint Powers 4
Grand Blanc 4
Burton Kearsley 3
Flint Northwestern 2
Flint Beecher 2
Fenton 1
Ainsworth 1
Goodrich 1
Lapeer East 1
Lapeer West 1
Lapeer 1
- Only Booker Moore and Courtney Hawkins made the team twice.
- Flint Central closed in 2009
Boys Basketball.
Here’s the Detroit Free Press Dream Teamer’s of the last 50 years:
- Wayman Britt G Flint Northern 71-72
- Ricky Baskin F Flint Northern 75-76
- Tony Flanory F Flint Beecher 76-77
- Trent Tucker F Flint Northwestern 77-78
- Eric Turner G Flint Central 79-80, 80-81
- Mark Harris G Flint Central 81-82
- Darryl Johnson G Flint Central 82-83
- Jeff Grayer F Flint Northwestern 83-84
- Roy Marble F Flint Beecher 84-85
- Glen Rice F Flint Northwestern 84-85
- Anthony Pendleton G Flint Northwestern 85-86
- Leon Derricks C Flint Northwestern 91-92
- Antonio Smith C Flint Northern 94-95
- Charlie Bell G Flint Southwestern 95-96,96-97
- Mateen Cleaves G Flint Northern 95-96
- Kelvin Torbert G/F Flint Northwestern 99-00,00-01
- Jaquan Hart G/F Flint Northern 00-01
- Matt Trannon F/G Flint Northern 01-02
- Olu Famutimi G/F Flint Northwestern 02-03
- Marquise Gray F Flint Beecher 03-04
- Tom Herzog C Flint Powers 05-06
- Monte Morris G Flint Beecher 11-12, 12-13
- Jalen Terry G Flint Beecher 19-19, 19-20
- Ty Rodgers F Grand Blanc 21
Schools Represented/ # of times:
Flint Northwestern 7
Flint Northern 6
Flint Beecher 5
Flint Central 3
Flint Southwestern 1
Grand Blanc 1
Flint Powers 1
Notables:
- Matt Trannon of Flint Northern, is the only player in the entire Detroit Dream Team world of the last half century to make it in both football and basketball.
- Flint Central closed in 2009
- Flint Northwestern 85
- Lansing Everett 77
- Flint Central 81
- Detroit Southwestern 90
- Flint Northern 72
- Three of the top five are from Flint.
It’s a helluva list and lots of representation from Flint and Genesee County on both the football and basketball squads. There are a few Flintcentric exceptions, though. Full disclosure: I personally watched almost every single Flint player on both the football and basketball Dream Teams play over the last 50 years, so I am highly biased by experience.
Here are my Flint Dream Team bones of contention:
- Rick Leach isn’t the QB on the All Time Dream Team. McCabe goes with Mill Coleman as his #1 and Drew Henson as his #2. Both highly worth and admirable selections. But neither came close to the legendary status that Leach achieved after school, and neither are the all around athletes Leach was while in high school (although Henson sure comes close). In the end Leach walked out of his high school graduation ceremony, and about 12 weeks later became a legend at one of the most storied football programs in American sports history, as the Quarterback and team leader. That says everything about his skills in high school. He’s my #1 QB of the last 50 years in Michigan.
- Booker Moore is absent from the all time Dream Team and even the second team in Class A football. To be clear: No one is arguing with the top 3 running backs McCabe picks for his all time Dream Team : Jerome Bettis, Tyrone Wheatley, and Flint and Grand Blanc’s own Mark Ingram Jr. But then in the second string (he only goes two deep for all time Dream Teams in football) Booker doesn’t appear either. He was McCabe’s ONLY two year Dream Team Running Back in high school. If we’re looking at only high school performance, Booker is not only at least on the second team, for me he is on the first team, the All Time Dream Team. Many feel he was better than Mark Ingram Jr. was in high school, for not just one, but two years which McCabe’s own Dream Teams agrees with.
- In hoops there is one glaring omission and that is Eric Turner. Turner probably doesn’t make the All Time Dream Team with Flint’s Glen Rice who does, Shane Battier, Magic Johnson, and Campy Russell - but that’s only because McCabe doesn’t have two guards on his all time Dream Team. If he did, Eric Turner would be one of them opposite Magic on my list. But not only isn’t Turner on the all time team, he doesn’t appear anywhere on the four deep! That makes no sense. No less an authority than former Michigan Quarterback John Wangler, also a tremendous high school basketball player, (who McCabe has on his Class B All Time third team), told me this: I played with Eric Turner at Michigan recreation league hoops when he was still in High School at Flint Central. I also played against Magic when he was in high school. Turner was better in high school than Magic- and Magic was incredible. I personally didn’t see Magic play in high school so I’ll go with Wangler on this point. But I did see Turner play since he was in Junior High with me and should at least be on the all time second team. There isn’t a single guard on the Class A three deep after the Dream Team first team that was close to Turner in high school. Not one. Another big swing and a miss for me (and likely all Flintstones) is the absence of Mark Harris. He also definitely deserves to be on the four deep somewhere. Harris was maybe a tick or two behind Turner in court sense, ball handling and passing, but he was a better shooter, an explosive leaper, and the ultimate clutch shooter. In fact he is arguably the best shooter in Flint hoops history, and that includes Trent Tucker, Glen Rice, Charlie Bell, and Paul Krause. For some reason Turner and Harris never quite get their due outside of Flint. Undoubtedly the lack of big D1 championship March Madness pedigrees and lack of having had NBA careers is part of that. But considering only high school performances, these are two of the greatest high school guards in Michigan history, and I’ll fight that battle with anyone who says otherwise.
- Kelvin Torbert was one of only a few repeat Dream Team basketball players. He is one of the only National Players of the Year ever recognized from Michigan. He doesn’t make the four deep? That feels like a pretty big omission.
Cases can be made for higher consideration for others too numerous to mention (Marty Embry, Terry Furlow, Andre Wiley, Barry Stevens, T. Greene, Roy Marble, Monte Morris, Marquise Gray, come to mind).
But other than those five people named out of two major sports and half a century, Mick McCabe pretty much gets Flint and Genesee County right (and the rest of the state, too), which is more than amazing. When you stop to consider the enormity of the challenge, it’s a borderline impossible job. But McCabe is up the task, and delivers the goods, which is magnificent. But then again so was our conversation!
Having a living legend like Mick McCabe on the show for a swim in the Aquarium was more than special. That’s because when it comes to high school sports in Michigan Mick McCabe is a Dream Team of ONE.
His book is a gem, and there is lots more of both local and state wide coverage including other sports, girls sports, and a great feature story on Flint’s own Jimmy Abbott. Highly recommended!