The Toughest Yard
1970 freshman team takes on Ionia prisoners in precursor to Laker football
STORY BY BRIAN VERNELLIS
HISTORIC PHOTOS COURTESY OF UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES
沿着主街向西走出爱奥尼亚市中心，你不可避免地会看到一个坐落在悬崖上的雄伟建筑.
密歇根感化院及其30英尺高的砖砌外墙俯瞰着爱奥尼亚西侧主街和华尔街的交汇处. Originally called the State House of Corrections in Ionia, 这座监狱于1877年开放，是由杰克逊监狱的囚犯用火车运送来建造监狱的.
After 145 years in service, the prison closed on November 13, 2022. Imposing swing gates restrict the main and auxiliary entrances, prohibiting vehicles and visitors from approaching the facility.
At one time, it was the oldest prison in Michigan. 曾经，这里也是大山谷足球历史上最早的一场比赛的举办地.
Lakers take the field
When President Emeritus Arend D. Lubbers arrived on Grand Valley’s campus in 1969, 有一样东西明显缺失了——学生之间的社区意识.
Lubbers had spent 10 years at Central College in Pella, Iowa, 在接受新生的大峡谷州立大学校长的职位之前. 他说，他意识到发展中的校园需要在本科生中树立学校自豪感. What better way than with a football team, he thought.
“我真的很喜欢足球，从我还是个孩子的时候就开始了，”吕贝尔斯说. “I loved the game, even though I was never good.
“大峡谷需要更多本科生的感觉和博天堂官方. [GVSU founder] Bill Seidman and the board were very supportive.”
With the full support of Lubbers, Seidman, and the school’s Board of Directors, Director of Athletics Chuck Irwin went looking for a coach. He found one in an old colleague: Robert “Rip” Collins.
“Grand Valley needed to have more of an
undergraduate feeling and a campus life.”
PRESIDENT EMERITUS AREND D. LUBBERS
“大峡谷需要更多本科生的感觉和博天堂官方.”
PRESIDENT EMERITUS
AREND D. LUBBERS
“Rip was a Navy veteran from World War II,” said former Laker wrestling coach Jim Scott, who was an assistant on Collins’ staff. “He was like most guys who came back from the war. 他们看到并做了别人没有做过的事情，所以他对团队非常严格.”
The 1970 Lakers were a hodgepodge of incoming freshmen, walk-ons and upperclassmen, who had played high school or college football elsewhere. Gary Sprecken, 谁在高中和阿尔比恩学院打球，然后转到GVSC, was one of the few players with any collegiate playing experience.
Because of the lack of talent and experience, the Lakers’ 1970 team was technically a freshman team, not a varsity program, in the eyes of the NCAA. The lack of amenities and facilities highlighted that fact.
“我们的球衣是从高中传下来的，”73年的斯普雷肯说. “那是我在高中和阿尔比恩时穿的那种厚重的棉质练习服.
The 1970 Lakers were a hodgepodge of incoming freshmen, walk-ons and upperclassmen, who had played high school or college football.
The 1970 Lakers were a hodgepodge of incoming freshmen, walk-ons and upperclassmen, who had played high school or college football.
The 1970 Lakers were a hodgepodge of incoming freshmen, walk-ons and upperclassmen, who had played high school or college football.
The 1970 Lakers were a hodgepodge of incoming freshmen, walk-ons and upperclassmen, who had played high school or college football.
“It was early in the 1970 season and still warm out, and we had been sweating in these things since the summer. We didn’t even have a locker room to hang clothes up, and a lot of times, the jerseys didn’t get washed until right before a game.”
湖人队的第一个训练场地——现在是网球场，在湖人队的室内训练设施里有孤注一掷的机会, the Kelly Family Sports Center — was more dirt than grass, said Scott.
“Whatever jerseys we practiced in, we played in,” Scott said. “在我们的团队照片中，你可以看到一半的人还没有穿袜子或鞋子.
Lakers head to Ionia’s Big House
斯普雷肯记得柯林斯告诉他的队友，是密歇根感化院出钱主办湖人队和囚犯之间的一场比赛.
囚犯们与来访的“平民”团队对峙并不罕见, said Kyle Kaminski, public information officer for the Michigan Department of Corrections, but playing a bunch of college students was unique.
斯普雷肯回忆说，柯林斯告诉球队，这笔钱将用于购买新的球衣和设备.
“这是因为柯林斯教练曾在大急流城初级学院执教。, and at one point, that team had already gone there,” Sprecken said.
新球衣的诱惑太大了，让人无法放弃，尤其是对这个刚刚起步的项目来说.
On game day, 当车队的大巴停在监狱前时，柯林斯发出了一个可怕的警告，强调了情况的严重性.
“Coach said, ‘You’ll probably be strip searched. They’re going to go through your bags,’” Sprecken said. “我们要确保没有违禁品，所以像气雾剂罐这样的东西都出去了. It got real somber after that.”
球员们没有接受脱衣搜查，而是接受了搜身和随身物品搜查. After they were cleared, the players were led into the prison’s rotunda, where they finally experienced the intensity of their surroundings, Sprecken said.
斯普雷肯说:“我们进入了这个圆形大厅，它有三、四层楼高，周围有栏杆. “The prisoners were yelling down at us, greeting us, jeering at us. It was a little intimidating to hear that.”
“裁判告诉我们，在30码线上有一个被水泥包围的井盖, so try to avoid getting tackled over there.”
GARY SPRECKEN ‘73
“裁判告诉我们，在30码线上有一个被水泥包围的井盖, so try to avoid getting tackled over there.”
GARY SPRECKEN ‘73
“我记得我走过一个他们正在做衣服的工作区，”斯科特说. “There was a guy at a sewing machine with scissors who looked up at us, and you could see him thinking, ‘Oh, these poor kids are going to soil themselves.’”
The Lakers’ locker room was a cramped, 没有窗户的房间并不能让队员们免受囚犯们的嘲弄和嘲笑. 最后，似乎过了一段漫长的时间，比赛官员终于把球队带到了球场上.
Sprecken and his teammates walked into the exercise yard, expecting to see a football field, only to be greeted by a barren, 这片肮脏的土地上的草甚至比他们在格兰德山谷的练习场还少.
“It was basically a driveway,” Sprecken said. “Rocks were scattered all over the place. The goal posts were right up against the prison walls. 裁判告诉我们，在30码线上有一个被水泥包围的井盖, so try to avoid getting tackled over there.”
当球队进行赛前热身时，囚犯队明显缺席. 官员和湖人队排着队准备抛硬币，但仍然没有主队的迹象.
“About a minute before kickoff, we hear this big, single line of guys coming out of the prison, making this grunting sound,” Sprecken said.
The game resembled the climatic game from the film “The Longest Yard,由伯特·雷诺兹(Burt Reynolds)执导的故事片，讲述了一队罪犯足球队对阵一队警卫的故事. Against the young Lakers, 密歇根管教所的囚犯们希望尽可能获得身体或心理上的优势, Scott said.
“Our kids would come off the field and say, ‘Man, I blocked him or I tackled him, and then he grabbed me,’” Scott said.
然后，还有一些囚犯甚至不想给人留下粗暴或肮脏的印象.
斯科特说:“球会被举起来，他们就会掉在地上，蜷缩起来。. “比赛结束后，孩子们和他们中的一些人交谈，他们会说, ‘Well, I’m getting out in a couple of weeks, so I don’t want to get into any fights.’”
尽管囚犯们的肮脏行径和湖人的一连串伤病, Grand Valley had a shot at winning the game. 在比赛最后阶段以13比6落后时，博天堂官方队得分将比分扳成13比12.
As the team lined up for the point-after attempt, Sprecken said an official approached the team’s placekicker, Bob Denison, who had not missed an extra point all season. The referee reminded the players of their situation.
“The ref standing close by was heard whispering, ‘It wouldn’t be wise to tie them either,’” Sprecken said. “[Denison] looked at us, and we all nodded our heads.”
The kick went wide right, careening off the cellblock, Sprecken said.
“I was so eager to get it started,
but we didn’t have a football field.”
PRESIDENT EMERITUS AREND D. LUBBERS
“I was so eager to get it started,
but we didn’t have a football field.”
PRESIDENT EMERITUS
AREND D. LUBBERS
A season to remember
Following the 1970 season, the Lakers gained varsity status in 1971. Collins stayed on as head coach for the 1971 and 1972 seasons, but never won a game as the program’s first head coach.
吉姆·哈克马被聘为1973赛季的教练，并为该项目奠定了基础. The Lakers were 68-29-1 during Harkema’s 10 seasons.
Lubbers’ dream of a stadium for the Lakers came to fruition in 1973. 湖人体育场最初被称为湖人体育场，它在1973年9月15日举办了第一场足球比赛. Grand Valley beat Kalamazoo College, 27-14. Six years later, the stadium was named for Lubbers.
President Emeritus Arend D. 卢贝尔斯与1970年的湖人队队员合影.
President Emeritus Arend D. 卢贝尔斯与1970年的湖人队队员合影.
“As I look back on it, I think I made one serious mistake,” Lubbers said. “I was so eager to get it started, but we didn’t have a football field.
“我应该更有耐心，等几年再组建一支足球队, 我们应该有橄榄球队需要的校园设施. Rip was faced with some difficult decisions.”
As for the $500 promised to the team, Sprecken said it never materialized, and neither did the new jerseys.
“这绝对是我参加过的最艰难、最肮脏的足球比赛，”斯普雷肯说.
Origins of Lubbers Stadium
When President Emeritus Arend D. Lubbers first arrived on campus in 1969, he understood how athletics could build camaraderie among students. Central to his mission was building a football stadium. Opened in 1973, the stadium was initially called Lakers Stadium, and it was the first facility for the football team. 在接下来的六年里，为来访球迷增加了永久性座位等设施. Lakers Stadium was officially renamed for Lubbers in 1979.
在1979年9月的落成典礼上，吕贝尔斯是右三.
在1979年9月的落成典礼上，吕贝尔斯是右三.
