July 10, 2025 • 5 mins
The Grand Rapids Sports Hall of Fame has announced it's 2025 class. Steve Kelly and Bret Bakita break down the class, including one inductee with ties to WOOD Radio.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Brett, you decide the order. I'm just saying a Wood
Radio alum has been justly honored, and we all found
out about it yesterday though we kind of knew. This
is West Michigan's morning news. Steve Kelly and Brett Bikita,
our friend Schmidty is coming back soon. But the inductees
(00:20):
of the twenty twenty five Grand Rapid Sports Hall of
Fame has been announced. And mister Bikita, who might I add,
is the sports director of award winning Wood Radio and
that other.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Sports station up the hall ninety six won the game.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
That's what it's called.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
You now have the floor, all right, Well, congratulations to
these honorees, and Mark Kimberl and his crew have done
a nice job of kind of reinvigorating the grand up
at Sports Hall of Fame. It's a part of the
Vanie Larna. If you ever walk around on the concourse level,
you see these plaques. Ty Hallick, a good friend of ours,
is inducted in there. And the current Hall of Fame
number of enshrined individuals or teams is one hundred seventy
(01:00):
six individuals and sixteen teams. And every year of class
goes in and then they have a ceremony and they're
inducted in the fall at Vanandelrena. Well, I am proud
to announce that the person that you're talking about that
I work with every fall season for high school football coverage,
he's been doing it for forty four years, who was
a mentor of mine when I was a young kid
(01:21):
listening to him and watching his broadcast and the old
Fox seventeen replays back in the day. Rick Burkee is
going to be honored as the Warren Reynolds Lifetime Achievement
Award winner. And that's obviously media base. Jack Doles has
won it before. Warren was there as the TV eight
sports director when I was interning back in my days
at Central Michigan. Just a lovely man, Oh absolutely, And
(01:44):
so I'm so proud that he has this award named
after him. But Rick Burkey forty four years, is going
into this class. But listen to these people.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
Hang on. I wanted to jump in about Rick Burkey.
He used to do sports on the morning show on
Wood Radio correct, so he's been a part of the
Wood Radio team all of those decades as well. Notwithstanding
what he's doing with you and all those others. When
it comes to football and the coverage that we do
of high school football is not just a sport thing.
(02:16):
It's a connection with community and it's stuff that people
talk about every day. And God bless him. Sometimes it
seems a little old fashioned, right, dragging a bunch of
equipment to a football game and talking about it, but
we all know it is so much more than that.
So hats off and congratulations to Rick.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
And when you look at Rick what he's done in
his career, He's done pretty much everything you can do.
He's been a part of our Riverbank run coverage. That's right,
Davenport University football and basketball voice. He was the first
voice of the West Miskin White Caps here on Wood
Radio by the way back in the day working for
the Caps. So he's done everything. Congrats to him. But
Jim Boyling one where East Ground Rapids basketball stand out.
(02:58):
Many people remember Jim in the day well. He was
a head coach of the Chicago Bulls for two seasons,
three NBA Championship rings. He's worked with Tom Izo in
Michigan State. He was a head coach at Utah University.
He's currently an assistant with the NNT Pacers. He's going in.
Ben hand logan and All State basketball player at South Christian,
All Mid American Conference at Western played for the Grund
(03:20):
Happens Hoops and the CBA back in the day. Oh
Man Sherry Ritz for sport athletes at Whalen, and I
love this story because of this standout softball player at
Michigan State stand out for the Wildcats a Whalen and
then went into coaching. She's been coaching at Whalen and
was the ad there. I worked with her directly since
nineteen ninety five. She stayed on as softball coach still
(03:43):
to this day. She's won over a thousand games, twenty
four conference championships, thirty five district and regional titles, and
two state championships. I mean, that's serving your community right there.
Dathan Ritzenheim, the Rockford standout, won across country national championship
at the University of Colorado. As you mentioned USA Olympics.
He's done everything. The late Doug Wabbick, multi sports standout
(04:07):
from Zealand, starting baseball Grandams Community College went on to
be the great manager and head coach of Granapts Community
College baseball teams sixteen years won fifteen league titles. I mean,
just unbelievable. And the last one I want to throw
in there from the team, the Colored Athletics are being
inducted in the team category, which is really cool. They
were a significant part of Granappid's semi pro baseball scene
(04:29):
in the first half of the nineteen hundred. So these
folks really do their homework and they've got a great
group of people that go through the nominations every year.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
I'll never forget a few years ago, Dathan Ritzenheim was
our in booth expert. Yeah, the Riverbank run and the
kid he was coaching won the thing and he was
yelling out the window. It completely forgot about the job
that we weren't paying them for. That's right, we didn't
pay him, and he grabbed the kid and brought him
in and it was just incredible.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
Well, here's the my favorite things about the grand up
at Sports Hall of Fame. And I look back at
my career, now this is going to be you're thirty
two of doing what I've done in West Michigan. Look
at the people Greg Meyer ground up at Sports Hall
of Fame. Now, Dathan Ritzenheim, we've done broadcast with them.
Ray Bentley. I did a morning show with him. He
was a part of what radio. Rick Burkey is going in.
(05:20):
Who I've worked with? I mean Ty Hallick is in there.
The list goes on and on and.
Speaker 1 (05:24):
It's time so cool. No, wait a minute, it's time
for Brett Pakeida. No, no, I'm let's start a write
in campaign. Why have you been Susan Lucci man, that's
what it's you're being.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
Hey, Rick Burkie needed to go in forty four years.
I mean, you want to talk about a lifetime and
He is a graduate of Goblin Heights High School.
Brett, you decide the order. I'm just saying a Wood
Radio alum has been justly honored, and we all found
out about it yesterday though we kind of knew. This
is West Michigan's morning news. Steve Kelly and Brett Bikita,
our friend Schmidty is coming back soon. But the inductees
(00:20):
of the twenty twenty five Grand Rapid Sports Hall of
Fame has been announced. And mister Bikita, who might I add,
is the sports director of award winning Wood Radio and
that other.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Sports station up the hall ninety six won the game.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
That's what it's called.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
You now have the floor, all right, Well, congratulations to
these honorees, and Mark Kimberl and his crew have done
a nice job of kind of reinvigorating the grand up
at Sports Hall of Fame. It's a part of the
Vanie Larna. If you ever walk around on the concourse level,
you see these plaques. Ty Hallick, a good friend of ours,
is inducted in there. And the current Hall of Fame
number of enshrined individuals or teams is one hundred seventy
(01:00):
six individuals and sixteen teams. And every year of class
goes in and then they have a ceremony and they're
inducted in the fall at Vanandelrena. Well, I am proud
to announce that the person that you're talking about that
I work with every fall season for high school football coverage,
he's been doing it for forty four years, who was
a mentor of mine when I was a young kid
(01:21):
listening to him and watching his broadcast and the old
Fox seventeen replays back in the day. Rick Burkee is
going to be honored as the Warren Reynolds Lifetime Achievement
Award winner. And that's obviously media base. Jack Doles has
won it before. Warren was there as the TV eight
sports director when I was interning back in my days
at Central Michigan. Just a lovely man, Oh absolutely, And
(01:44):
so I'm so proud that he has this award named
after him. But Rick Burkey forty four years, is going
into this class. But listen to these people.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
Hang on. I wanted to jump in about Rick Burkey.
He used to do sports on the morning show on
Wood Radio correct, so he's been a part of the
Wood Radio team all of those decades as well. Notwithstanding
what he's doing with you and all those others. When
it comes to football and the coverage that we do
of high school football is not just a sport thing.
(02:16):
It's a connection with community and it's stuff that people
talk about every day. And God bless him. Sometimes it
seems a little old fashioned, right, dragging a bunch of
equipment to a football game and talking about it, but
we all know it is so much more than that.
So hats off and congratulations to Rick.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
And when you look at Rick what he's done in
his career, He's done pretty much everything you can do.
He's been a part of our Riverbank run coverage. That's right,
Davenport University football and basketball voice. He was the first
voice of the West Miskin White Caps here on Wood
Radio by the way back in the day working for
the Caps. So he's done everything. Congrats to him. But
Jim Boyling one where East Ground Rapids basketball stand out.
(02:58):
Many people remember Jim in the day well. He was
a head coach of the Chicago Bulls for two seasons,
three NBA Championship rings. He's worked with Tom Izo in
Michigan State. He was a head coach at Utah University.
He's currently an assistant with the NNT Pacers. He's going in.
Ben hand logan and All State basketball player at South Christian,
All Mid American Conference at Western played for the Grund
(03:20):
Happens Hoops and the CBA back in the day. Oh
Man Sherry Ritz for sport athletes at Whalen, and I
love this story because of this standout softball player at
Michigan State stand out for the Wildcats a Whalen and
then went into coaching. She's been coaching at Whalen and
was the ad there. I worked with her directly since
nineteen ninety five. She stayed on as softball coach still
(03:43):
to this day. She's won over a thousand games, twenty
four conference championships, thirty five district and regional titles, and
two state championships. I mean, that's serving your community right there.
Dathan Ritzenheim, the Rockford standout, won across country national championship
at the University of Colorado. As you mentioned USA Olympics.
He's done everything. The late Doug Wabbick, multi sports standout
(04:07):
from Zealand, starting baseball Grandams Community College went on to
be the great manager and head coach of Granapts Community
College baseball teams sixteen years won fifteen league titles. I mean,
just unbelievable. And the last one I want to throw
in there from the team, the Colored Athletics are being
inducted in the team category, which is really cool. They
were a significant part of Granappid's semi pro baseball scene
(04:29):
in the first half of the nineteen hundred. So these
folks really do their homework and they've got a great
group of people that go through the nominations every year.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
I'll never forget a few years ago, Dathan Ritzenheim was
our in booth expert. Yeah, the Riverbank run and the
kid he was coaching won the thing and he was
yelling out the window. It completely forgot about the job
that we weren't paying them for. That's right, we didn't
pay him, and he grabbed the kid and brought him
in and it was just incredible.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
Well, here's the my favorite things about the grand up
at Sports Hall of Fame. And I look back at
my career, now this is going to be you're thirty
two of doing what I've done in West Michigan. Look
at the people Greg Meyer ground up at Sports Hall
of Fame. Now, Dathan Ritzenheim, we've done broadcast with them.
Ray Bentley. I did a morning show with him. He
was a part of what radio. Rick Burkey is going in.
(05:20):
Who I've worked with? I mean Ty Hallick is in there.
The list goes on and on and.
Speaker 1 (05:24):
It's time so cool. No, wait a minute, it's time
for Brett Pakeida. No, no, I'm let's start a write
in campaign. Why have you been Susan Lucci man, that's
what it's you're being.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
Hey, Rick Burkie needed to go in forty four years.
I mean, you want to talk about a lifetime and
He is a graduate of Goblin Heights High School.
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