Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Members of the 1943 Ironwood football team include from left, first row: Frank Stano, Nick Pavlovich, Joe Gotta, Nils Lakvold, John Klug, Ray Kuklenski, James Carpenter, J. Domencich; second row: J. Dixon, W. Hirvela, Jim Gotta, Marshall Treado, Robert Mazurek, D. Siskonen, Robert Sandell, W. Erickson, Richard Hendrickson; third row: R. Gorilla, E. Moderson, E. Rose, J. Jones, W. Mazurek, W. Olson, R. Ahonen, R. Osborne; fourth row: J. Slivensky, R. Begalle, L. Winkowski, C. Swanson, J. Dravecky, P. Kolesar, R. Kalcich, D. Johnson; fifth row: L. Griewski, C. Kusz, R. Sendek, J. Karmormy, J. Sobolewski, J. Gutowski, D. Pudas, M. Garland, W. Hendrickson; sixth row: R. Pertile, B. Krause, B. Zuchowski, R. Ackerman, A. Puller, J. Banfield, Paul Coleman and Ernest Dear; seventh row: coach Jack Kraemer, Bill Lyne, Max Newcomb.
IRONWOOD - A longtime Ironwood high school ski coach whose tenure lasted five decades tops the 2015 induction class of several individuals and a team voted on by members of the Ironwood Area Sports Hall of Fame Foundation at a recent meeting.
Along with coach Theron Peterson and 1943 football team, inductees are: John Serbin, the finest offensive performer on Bob Black's 1928 football team; Shawn McMullin, an all-around male athlete who garnered 11 letters in the early 1990s; Pete Kopecko, the top scorer on Ironwood's 1961 regional champions, who also made his mark as one of the top hurlers in the area in fast-pitch softball; Lee Belmas, a top offensive lineman on the 1966 grid team who collected U.P. Lineman of the Year honors; Andrea Smith, who played volleyball at Northern Michigan University; and Kristen Ruppe, who was a basketball star at Ironwood.
Ruppe was selected last year but wasn't able to make the induction banquet.
This year's banquet, the 10th annual, will be held Saturday, Aug. 8, at Gogebic Community College.
Theron Peterson
In a career spanning from 1957 to 1993, Peterson's ski teams captured 12 Upper Peninsula boys titles and six girls crowns. He established the high school ski program in Ironwood in 1957.
He also introduced skiing into the grade school physical education program and started a racing program for grade schoolers.
In 1992, he was elected to the Michigan Ski Coaches Hall of Fame.
John Serbin
Selected out of the Legends category, Serbin was the sparkplug of Robert Black's 1928 football team. One of only 11 players elected to the U.P. First Team, Black earned a spot at left halfback for his ability to run, pass and catch the football out of the backfield.
He also had an uncanny knack of placing punts deep in opponents' territory.
Shawn McMullin
McMullin was an all-around performer from 1990 to 1992. He earned all-class Dream Team honors in football and basketball, in addition to being selected to the Class C All-State First Team as a defensive end by the Detroit Free Press in 1991 and being named to the Duluth Herald-Tribune All-Tri-State Team (Northern Minnesota, Northwest Wisconsin and the U.P.) at an end spot.
Pete Kopecko
Kopecko was one of the top pure shooters in the history of Ironwood High School basketball. His patented jumper from either corner frequently found the hoop.
Leading the Red Devils to only their second regional crown in 1961, Kopecko earned the Jack Kraemer Award as the Outstanding Basketball Player in 1961 and was selected to the all-U.P. Class B First Team and to the all-regional Class C tournament team.
He also was an outstanding fast-pitch hurler on the area scene.
Lee Belmas
One of the most outstanding offensive linemen in Ironwood football history, Belmas started at offensive guard on Wayne Melchiori's unbeaten 1965 team before coming into his own in 1966 by earning U.P. Lineman of the Year honors, in addition to being selected to the Michigan-Wisconsin and all-Upper Peninsula first teams.
He was also selected to the Associated Press Class B All-State First Team.
Andrea Smith
In her four years of competing in track-and-field and volleyball at Ironwood, Smith earned all-conference, All-U.P., and All-State honors.
She holds records at Ironwood in shot put and discus and held the U.P. Division 2 shot put record.
She may have been better in volleyball. As a hitter, she earned a scholarship to Northern Michigan University, where she helped the Lady Wildcats to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Division II tournament before playing one year for the USA Athletes International team in Germany.
Kristen Ruppe
Ruppe earned 11 varsity letters at Ironwood but excelled in basketball, where she made the All-U.P. team and Dream Team honors list twice.
In her high school career, she scored 1,138 points. She ended her two-year basketball career at Gogebic Community College as the all-time leading scorer. She is now ranked No. 2.
1943 Ironwood football team
The 1943 Ironwood gridders under Jack Kraemer went through its entire eight-game schedule without a team coming within 15 points of them.
The Red Devil 11 raced through its first four opponents, trampling them by a combined 76-0 score. Ironwood earned the mythical U.P. crown defeating Stambaugh 21-6.
