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A Look at the 2007 MSU Athletics Hall of Fame Inductees
Sept. 6, 2007 Michigan State University will induct 11 members into its Athletics Hall of Fame on Saturday, Sept. 8 prior to the Spartans' home football game against Bowling Green. The Class of 2007 includes: Richard Frey (cross country/track & field) from the Pioneer Era; Shirley Cook (basketball/field hockey/track & field), Jim Ellis (football), George Guerre (football) and Dean Look (football/baseball) from the Early Era; Marshall Dill (track & field), Tom Ross (hockey), Scott Skiles (basketball) and Val Sterk Kemper (volleyball) from the Contemporary Era; and Grady Peninger (wrestling) and George Perles (football) from the former coach/administrator category. Throughout the week, msuspartans.com will take an in-depth look at each of this year's inductees. Today Richard Frey, Marshall Dill and Dean Look are featured.
Richard Frey Richard Frey's running days at Michigan State got off to a late start. But in running, it's not how you start, but where you finish. Frey graduated from high school in 1930 but didn't attend Michigan State until 1936. Coming from a large family - he was the 10th of 11 children - Frey was called upon to get a job and stay at home to help raise his younger sister. But that didn't stop him from running. After high school, he competed in races around New York, and eventually became an AAU Champion of Western New York. Frey won several more races and eventually caught the eye of Arthur (A.L.) Bibbins, who played baseball at Michigan Agricultural College from 1912-15 and was working in the area for GLF (Grange League Federation) in Ithaca, N.Y. GLF, a farm supply cooperative in New York, was the largest manufacturer of dairy and poultry feeds in the world. Bibbins, considered to be America's outstanding seedsman and agricultural industrialist, read about Frey and asked if him would be interested in running cross country at Michigan State. At the time, Michigan State was building a cross country power, winning the first of five straight IC4A titles in 1933. Bibbins arranged a meeting, drove Frey to East Lansing, and got Frey a job and into the Sigma Nu fraternity.
Frey's first semester at State was in March of 1936, six years after graduating high school. He had dreamed of going to college to run in the East, looking at schools such as Syracuse and Manhattan, but never seriously thought about it until Bibbins came along. Bibbins asked Frey, "Why not run up at Michigan State?" The rest is history. Frey maintained Michigan State's dominance in cross country, leading the Spartans to their first national title in school history in 1939, and became an ambassador for the school after leaving East Lansing. Frey won the freshman IC4A cross country title in 1936 and led the team to its fifth straight IC4A championship in 1937. He earned six varsity letters and became a four-time All-American (two-time cross country and two-time track). Going into the 1939 season, Frey told The State News he thought it was going to be his best year of his career. But he injured himself early in the season, tearing his Achilles tendon. Frey, captain of the team, recuperated all fall, and came back to run in the 1939 NCAA Championship meet, placing fifth overall (the best on the team) and helping Michigan State win its first national title in any sport. Although Frey left Michigan State to work for the GLF, Michigan State never left him. He worked tirelessly for the MSU Alumni Club in Western New York and would even drive students from the Buffalo area to East Lansing to see the campus when he went back to football games. Frey attended Spartan games all throughout his life, making the drive to and from Buffalo for every home game. Richard's daughter, Barbara, remembers her father playing the MSU Fight Song for his kids on a record. Richard's love for MSU was enough to make East Lansing the destination for his honeymoon. Barbara recalls the story of when her parents got married. "To give you a sense of the amount of attachment my father felt to MSU, he and my mother, Alma, got married on a Thursday evening, then drove from Buffalo to East Lansing on a Friday so they could see the game together on their honeymoon on Saturday," said Barbara. The date was Oct. 25, 1940, and it ended up being a 0-0 tie against Santa Clara. Asked if it was a boring game, Alma said: "Oh, we were so excited about getting married, I don't think we thought it was boring." Richard and Alma drove back on Sunday and Richard went to work that Monday. "If Richard were alive today, he would be in ecstasy," said his widow, Alma, who is 91 years old. Richard passed away in 2001, and Barbara spread his ashes around the campus of Michigan State, including spots by Jenison Field House and Demonstration Field. "My father would be extremely honored for this recognition," said Barbara. "He cared about Michigan State as much as he cared for anything in the world. He absolutely loved MSU and was proud of what he accomplished. He was an ambassador for the school - he worked for the alumni office when he was a student and continued to be involved in the alumni club in Western New York. "He imparted his passion of Michigan State into me and my family, as three generations went to MSU. He influenced many students, including athletes, in the Buffalo area to attend Michigan State." "He listened to Spartan football games on WJR during my childhood and attended games as late as 1995. When my mother heard the news, tears came to her eyes. She's very excited and will be one of many family members at the game. For him to be included in the hall of fame among the select few athletes in the history of Michigan State Athletics is such an honor."
Marshall Dill Marshall Dill was one of the most talented athletes in the history of the MSU track and field program. The sprinter from Detroit came to East Lansing as one of the top recruits in the nation, and he didn't disappoint.
Dill stormed onto the scene as a freshman in 1972, setting a world record in the 300-yard dash, winning the Big Ten indoor 300-yard dash and Big Ten outdoor 220-yard dash, and running on the Big Ten indoor champion and All-America mile relay team. Dill was a key component on the 1972 track and field team that won the Big Ten indoor and outdoor championships and placed second in the NCAA indoor championships in Detroit. "Winning the Big Ten indoor and outdoor championships in 1972 was special," Dill said, "and we also only finished one point behind USC at the NCAA Indoor Championships. That was a remarkable track team, with great runners like Herb Washington, Ken Popejoy and Al Henderson." Dill would go on to become an 11-time Big Ten champion and three-time All-American. He dominated conference competition during his career: he won four-consecutive Big Ten titles in the outdoor 220-yard dash, three straight in the indoor 300-yard dash and two straight in the outdoor 100-yard dash. In 1974, he broke his own world record in the 300-yard dash, running a time of 29.3 seconds, and was a member of the Big Ten indoor champion mile relay team for the second time in his career. At one of track's most prestigious events, the Drake Relays, Dill captured three-straight titles in the 100-yard dash to earn a spot in the Drake Relays Hall of Fame. Dill is the last Spartan to win an individual NCAA title for the men's track team. In 1973, he won the 220-yard dash at the NCAA Outdoor Championships with a time of 20.9 seconds. "I really enjoyed the competition," said Dill. "As track athletes from the Midwest, the teams from Texas and California perceived us as indoor runners only. As a result, my personal career highlight has to be winning the 220-yard sprint at the 1973 NCAA Championships in Baton Rouge. "I really enjoyed the camaraderie at Michigan State, not only with all of the other student-athletes but with the entire student body," Dill continued. "I was proud to wear the Green and White every time I stepped on the track, so I could represent the entire Michigan State community." Dean Look A recruiting trip to see Michigan play Ohio State on Nov. 19, 1955, in the Big House eventually sealed Dean Look's fate as to where he would spend his collegiate playing days. Look attended the game as a Michigan recruit and sat behind the Wolverine bench during the game. "Michigan punted to Hopalong Cassidy (1955 Heisman Trophy winner), and Cassidy made a great move and scored a touchdown," recalled Look. "During the play, I yelled `Go Hoppy'. I sure got some looks. After that, I figured I would not be going to U of M. The next day, I met with Duffy and told him I was coming to Michigan State." Look played football under Coach Daugherty and baseball under Coach John Kobs during his playing days at Michigan State. The Lansing native was named the baseball team MVP in 1958 and was a first-team All-Big Ten selection after leading the team in six offensive categories.
After playing halfback his first two seasons, Look made the switch to quarterback in 1959. The moved paid off, as Look was the only player in the country to be named to UPI's Backfield of the Week three times. He led the team in total offense with 875 yards, was named team MVP and earned All-America honors. A first-round pick of the Denver Broncos of the AFL, Look opted to sign a professional baseball contact with the Chicago White Sox and made his major league debut in 1961. After his playing days, Look spent 29 years as an official in the NFL. "The thing I'm proudest about is that our teams never lost to Michigan or Notre Dame during my career," Look said. "We did tie Michigan my junior year, but that game had one of my most memorable moments, which was running back a touchdown on a punt for 92 yards. Emil Matsos provided the key block, and we still get together and talk about our days at Michigan State. One of the other top moments was beating Michigan, 34-8, my senior year in the Big House. That was extremely enjoyable. "I also had a lot of fun playing baseball for Coach John Kobs," Look continued. "Kobs was a great coach and we had some excellent teams. Another great reason to play baseball was to get out of spring football practice (laughs). Spring football was all conditioning and getting hit for 20 days, so I would much rather play baseball. The two sports had entirely different atmospheres, but it was a great balance. I think playing baseball in the spring really helped me with football in the fall." |
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