As if Ishpeming wasn’t bad enough as is ... It’s kind of like if your last name is Humperdink. Jim or Bill might go good with that, you know. Definitely not Englebert though.
So what is a hematite anyway? It’s basically just a mineral form of iron oxide – i.e., the basis of iron ore, the primary input into making steel.
So, why not the Steelers, or the Miners, or … anything else, for that matter?
Mining the stuff does actually seem to be the town’s reason for being. Founded in 1868, Ishpeming currently has about 6,500 people. It’s parked firmly in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
And speaking of that last bit, Ishpeming is also the home of the band Da Yoopers, as well as the Da Yoopers Tourist Trap, Museum & Rock Shop.
Apart from the iron ore, the town is also the birthplace of skiing in US, and is home to the National Ski Hall of Fame. Why is that, you might ask. Swedes, lots and lots of Swedes.
The town does have some famous sons, including Chuck Fairbanks (college & NFL coach), Tom Izzo (longtime Michigan State basketball coach) & Glenn Seaborg (Nobel-winning chemist).
The high school dates back to 1874, with complete rebuilds in 1908 and 1930. Currently, there are only about 210 students. Interestingly, the mascot dates all the way back to 1901.
It’s a small school, so when the Hematites won the state football championship, it made Sports Illustrated.
It’s quite a story … The Div 7 school had only 30 players, with a number of the team playing both offense and defense. They also had a backup kicker with Down’s syndrome, a player who had to fight a long, protracted legal battle to even be on the team. To make things even more dramatic, they also had a star receiver pass away, the coach’s son & former QB commit suicide, and a future star get killed by a drunk driver. Finally, they had lost a previous final in the final seconds two years previously. Oh, and let’s not forget the 7+ hour drive the team had to make. Whew!
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