1988 Jim Crowley Award Winner
1988 Jim Crowley Award Presented to
Elmer Engle
By Larry Sellers, Crowley Award Chair, Traverse City St. Francis
One of the highlights of the 1988 MHSFCA Battle Creek Clinic was the presentation of the highest award given by the Association, The Jim Crowley Award, to Mr. Elmer Engle. Mr. Larry Sellers, Traverse City St. Francis, as Chair of the Award Committee made the presentation.
The Jim Crowley Award is dedicated to the memory of the former coach of Jackson Lumen Christi High School. Jim Crowley was a great coach and a dedicated family man. The Award honors those individuals who have gone above and beyond the call of duty to aid football and the MHSFCA.
Mr. Engle coached high school football for one year in his native Illinois before joining the staff of Ray Elliot at The University of Illinois. Elmer spent three years on the Elliot’s staff. He moved on to Bay City and became the head coach at Central High School for the next 23 years. At Bay City Central, Coach Engle compiled the best coaching record in the history of the Saginaw Valley Conference, 165-34-8. Elmer Engle retired from coaching in 1972 and from teaching in 1978.
Many of coach Engle’s players and coaches have stated that playing football for him was “more than a game, it was an experience which stressed the value of living within the rules of fair play and morality.” Coach Engle developed many outstanding players.
Elmer Engle has received many honors, including his selection to the MHSFCA Hall of Fame in 1982. He has served the Association as Regional Director, Historian, and Clinic Speaker.
It is with great pleasure that we present Coach Elmer Engle with our most prestigious award, The Jim Crowley Award.