Seven Michigan sports figures make up the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2025, including Red Wings legend Chris Chelios and boxer Claressa Shields.
The Michigan Sports Hall of Fame will add seven new faces in its 2025 class: four athletes, a writer, a coach and a baseball executive.
The Hall announced its inductees for this year on Friday, July 25, headlined by Detroit Red Wings legend Chris Chelios and Detroit Pistons champion Rasheed Wallace. Also in the class: Boxer Claressa Shields, basketball player Jason Richardson, coach Mark Dantonio
The induction will take place on Friday, Dec. 19 at the MotorCity Casino Hotel in Detroit. Tickets for the event are available at mshof.org and start at $25.
Chelios played for four NHL teams across 26 seasons (1983-2010), including the Red Wings from 1999-2009. He was a two-time Stanley Cup winner while in Detroit and was named one of the NHL's 100 greatest players.
Chelios is the 20th Red Wings player to be inducted into the Hall, and the first since Henrik Zetterberg's induction in 2023.
Wallace played for the Pistons for parts of six seasons (2004-09) in his 16-year NBA career, helping the team win a championship in 2004 after arriving via a midseason trade. He was a two-time All-Star with the Pistons, receiving the honor in the 2005-06 and 2007-08 seasons.
He will be the fourth member of the 2004 championship team to be inducted (following Ben Wallace in 2016, Chauncey Billups in 2020, Rip Hamilton in 2023) and will be the 13th Pistons player enshrined.
Receiving the honor for her work as an amateur, Claressa Shields will become the seventh boxer (and first female boxer) to be inducted into the Hall. Born in Flint, Shields was the first American boxer to win consecutive Olympic gold medals (2012 and 2016) and finished her amateur career with a record of 64-1.
Shields is considered by many to be one of the greatest female boxers of all time and is currently the undisputed heavyweight champion. She's is set to defend her title at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday, July 26.
Also to be inducted for his time as an amateur, former Michigan State basketball star Jason Richardson will be inducted. Richardson was the state's 1999 Mr. Basketball as he led Saginaw Arthur Hill to the 1999 Class A Championship before beginning his college career at Michigan State and winning a national title with the Spartans in 2000.
Richardson played for 13 seasons in the NBA, averaging 17.1 points per game over 857 appearances.
Already inducted into the Michigan State Athletics Hall of Fame for 2025, former Spartans football coach Mark Dantonio will receive the same honor from the state's sporting Hall of Fame. As the winningest coach in Spartans football history, he is the fourth MSU football coach to be inducted into the Hall (Biggie Munn, Duffy Daughtery and George Perles).
Former Tigers executive Dave Dombrowski will also be inducted into the Hall. Under Dombrowski, the Tigers won two American League pennants (2006 and 2012) and four AL Central division titles in his 14 seasons at the helm of the organization (2002-15). Dombrowski is an alumnus of Western Michigan, earning his bachelor's in business administration in 1979.
Lastly, former Free Press writer John Lowe will receive induction. Lowe covered the Tigers with the Free Press from 1986-2014. He was NSMA Michigan Sportswriter of the Year in 2012 and was honored by the National Baseball Hall of Fame with the Ford Frick career achievement award in 2023.
In addition to the seven members of the class of 2025, the Hall is giving out the Michigan Treasure Award to former U-M football equipment manager Jon Falk and former Tigers clubhouse manager Jim Schmakel.
The Hall is also awarding its Courage Award to two recipients: Andy Isaac and Carolyn King Lewis. Isaac was a popular Detroit sports fan who died on March 6 after complications from Hodgkin's lymphoma. Lewis is considered a trailblazer for girls baseball, with her participation in Ypsilanti's Little League in 1973 a reason for Little League Baseball ending its "no girls" policy.
You can reach Christian at[email protected]
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan Sports Hall of Fame 2025 class features champions galore
Category: General Sports
