The Grand Rapids City League (GRCL) was a high school athletic league in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The GRCL originated in the spring of 1928 when seven Grand Rapids high schools competed in the first City Track Meet on May 18-19. The meet doubled as the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) Class A Regional Meet. Catholic Central, Central, Creston, Davis Tech, Ottawa Hills, South and Union competed in the meet under the direction of newly appointed City League athletic director Henry Lightner. The league's final membership consisted of the four public high schools of the Grand Rapids Public Schools (Central, Creston, Ottawa Hills and Union) plus Catholic Central, West Catholic and Christian.
The last league secretary was Melvin Atkins, the Grand Rapids Public Schools' Executive Director of Athletics and Activities. This made the GRCL among the few athletic conferences administered by a public school district that has a significant non-public school membership.
Due to a lack of parity and competitiveness within the league because of changing enrollment figures and demographic shifts, the Grand Rapids City League had attempted in 2004 to disband and join the larger Ottawa-Kent Conference, which the majority of schools in metropolitan Grand Rapids are members of. The Ottawa-Kent Conference rejected the Grand Rapids Public Schools while extending an invitation to the three private schools. The member schools decided to keep the league intact and reapplied for Ottawa-Kent Conference membership in 2006. On February 8, 2007 the Ottawa-Kent Conference voted to invite the City League schools for membership. The 2007-2008 school year was the last year of competition for the City League as all schools accepted the invitation to join the Ottawa-Kent Conference.
Members
The following high schools, all within the City of Grand Rapids, were the final members of the Grand Rapids City League:
Davis Technical High School was a member of the Grand Rapids City League from the 1920s until 1943, when its building was turned over to Grand Rapids Junior College. Grand Rapids South High School, alma mater of former U.S. PresidentGerald R. Ford, was a league member until the school was closed in 1967.
Grand Rapids West Catholic High School was established in 1961, began varsity boys basketball a year later in 1962-1963 as an independent, and then joined the City League for the 1963-1964 school year. However, West Catholic's varsity football team did not have its first season until 1963-1964 and played as an independent for two years before entering league competition in 1965-1966.
Also, from 1964-1965 through 1971-1972, Grand Rapids Christian High School was divided into Central Christian and East Christian high schools. Central Christian joined the league in 1964-1965 and East Christian became a member in 1965-1966. The Central and East Christian football teams played as independents from their first years in 1967-1968 through their last seasons in 1971-1972. The reunited Grand Rapids Christian High began participation in the City League in 1972-1973, with the football team starting league play in 1973-1974.
The Grand Rapids City League's last competitions were held in the 2007-2008 school year. The league's member schools joined the Ottawa-Kent Conference prior to the 2008-2009 school year.
1949 football (Detroit Free Press & mythical championship)
1951 football (Detroit Free Press)
1959 football (Associated Press & Detroit Free Press)
1982 boys' cross country
1984 boys' cross country
1985 baseball
1987 football
1987 girls' cross country
1999 competitive cheer
Grand Rapids Central Rams
1896 football (mythical championship)
1900 boys' track and field (pre-MHSAA)
1907 boys' track and field (pre-MHSAA)
1912 football (mythical championship)
1913 boys' track and field (pre-MHSAA)
1916 boys' track and field (pre-MHSAA)
1917 boys' track and field (pre-MHSAA)
1931 boys' tennis
1932 boys' tennis
1932 football (mythical championship)
1933 boys' tennis
Grand Rapids Central Christian Eagles
none
Grand Rapids Christian Eagles
1938 boys' basketball
1979 girls' cross country
1980 girls' track and field
1997 girls' basketball
1998 boys' soccer
2001 girls' team track and field (MITCA)
2001 boys' soccer
2002 girls' team track and field (MITCA)
2003 equestrian (MIHA)
2005 girls' cross country
2006 girls' cross country
2007 girls' team track and field (MITCA)
Grand Rapids Creston Polar Bears
1980 girls' volleyball
Grand Rapids Davis Technical
1945 Boys Tennis
Grand Rapids East Christian Panthers
1966 boys' basketball
1966 boys' cross country
Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills Indians/Bengals
1932 boys' track & field
1934 boys' track & field
1934 boys' golf
1934 boys' tennis
1938 boys' tennis
1951 boys' track & field
1952 boys' golf
1968 boys' basketball
1969 boys' basketball
1989 girls' basketball
1997 boys' basketball
Grand Rapids South Trojans
1924 football (mythical championship)
1928 boys' tennis
1929 boys' tennis
1930 boys' cross country
1944 football (mythical championship)
Grand Rapids Union Red Hawks
1925 football (mythical championship per Associated Press article)
1931 football (mythical championship)
1932 boys' golf
1948 football (Detroit Free Press & mythical championship)
1952 boys' cross country
1953 boys' cross country
Grand Rapids West Catholic Falcons
1979 girls' basketball
1984 gymnastics
1990 girls' basketball
2003 boys' cross country
2004 boys' team track and field (MITCA)
2008 boys' team track and field (MITCA)
2008 girls' team track and field (MITCA)
Notable alumni
Notable alumni who participated athletically in the Grand Rapids City League (or participated for a school that later joined the City League) include the following:
Thomas Kelley, Grand Rapids Union High School, Basketball, Michigan State University
Frank Steketee, Grand Rapids Central High School, Football
Related Research Articles
Arthur Hill High School is a public secondary school in Saginaw, Michigan, United States. It serves students in grades 9-12 as one of three high schools in the Saginaw Public School District.
Catholic Central High School is a college preparatory high school in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Divine Child High School is a parish Catholic high school in Dearborn, Wayne County, Michigan, United States.
Unity Christian High School is a private Christian school located in Hudsonville, Michigan. It is a member of Christian Schools International.
Elk Rapids High School is a public high school located in Elk Rapids, Michigan. It serves grades 9-12 for the Elk Rapids School District.
The Catholic High School League (CHSL) is a school athletic conference based in Detroit, Michigan, led by director Victor Michaels. All member schools are also members of the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA), the governing body for Michigan scholastic sports. Unlike many similar leagues, the CHSL governs secondary, middle, and elementary sports for most of the parochial schools in the Detroit area. Most league schools are Catholic, but there are other religious denominations as well. Every school in the CHSL is a private school. In 2019, the CHSL council voted to rename the AB/ Division I/II championship to the Bishop division championship, and the CD/ Division III/IV championship to the Cardinal Division championship.
Ottawa Hills High School is a high school in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Ottawa Hills is one of five high schools of the Grand Rapids Public Schools. The school colors are orange and black, and the athletic teams are referred to as the Bengals. They were previously referred to as the Indians.
The Capital Area Activities Conference is a high school sports league located in Central Michigan. It is a member of the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA). There are currently 19 member schools in the conference that come from the counties of Clinton, Eaton, Ingham, Ionia, and Livingston. The Capital Area Activities Conference Logo was designed by Lansing Catholic 2003 graduate Raymond B. Corey.
West Catholic High School in Grand Rapids, Michigan was opened in 1962. It is located within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Grand Rapids.
The Ottawa-Kent Conference is an athletic league located in West Michigan. It has member schools from Allegan, Barry, Ionia, Kent, Montcalm, Muskegon, and Ottawa Counties. It has 49 member schools that partake in athletics. According to the MHSAA they have the main offices located at Grandville High School. The current commissioner is Jim Haskins. Dave Bos is an assistant commissioner of the conference.
Kalamazoo Christian High School is a private Christian high school in Kalamazoo, Michigan, serving students from ninth through twelfth grades.
Rockford High School in Rockford, Michigan services grades 10-12 for the Rockford Public Schools. The freshman center is next door at 4500 Kroes Street. The current high school was built in 1992.
Forest Hills Northern High School is one of the three high schools in the Forest Hills Public Schools in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The district's two other high schools include Forest Hills Central High School and Forest Hills Eastern High School.
Forest Hills Central High School is located in Ada Township, Michigan, near Grand Rapids. It is one of three high schools in the Forest Hills Public Schools system. The district also includes Forest Hills Eastern High School (FHE) and Forest Hills Northern High School (FHN).
East Grand Rapids High School is a public secondary school located in East Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States. It serves grades 9–12 for the East Grand Rapids Public Schools.
St. Francis High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Traverse City, Michigan. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Gaylord.
Luke M. Powers Catholic High School is a private Roman Catholic high school located in Flint, Michigan serving students in grades 9–12 for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lansing.
NorthPointe Christian Schools is a private Christian school located on the North East side of Grand Rapids, Michigan.
The Lake Michigan Conference is an interscholastic athletic conference affiliated with the Michigan High School Athletic Association. It is located in Northern Michigan and contains eight teams that encompasses six counties: Antrim County, Charlevoix County, Crawford County, Emmet County, Grand Traverse County, and Kalkaska County.
Kenowa Hills High School is a public secondary school in Alpine Township, Michigan. It serves grades 9-12 for the Kenowa Hills Public Schools.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
