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Athletic Department News
Herschell Turner's Jersey (#55) Retirement
 MARK YOUR CALENDAR: FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2013 What: 1st home bb game of 2013-14 season Place: Shortridge Magnet High School Gym 3401 N. Meridian Street Time: 7:30p (prior to varsity game) Danny Wilson, SMHS athletic director, announces plans to retire the third jersey of a former Shortrdge all-star athlete. Herschell Turner (aka "H.T.") was an outstanding basketball player for the Blue Devils in the mid 1950s. Those from that era will remember #55 and the fierce competition between rivals Shortridge Blue Devils vs. Crispus Attucks Tigers and their super star, Oscar Robertson. Robertson and H.T. were #1 and #2, respectively in nearly all basketball statistical categories during his senior year. Turner, who graduated in 1956, entered the University of Nebraska as one of only three blacks on the campus of 14,000, and the first black man to receive a scholarship at the university. He became the Husker's first 1,000-point basketball player. Athletic Career Highlights: 1952-56: Shortridge High School 1956-60: University of Nebraska 1960: Drafted by the Syracuse Nationals in the sixth round of the NBA draft; sent to the Baltimore Bullets of the Eastern League 1961: Turner joins the U.S. Army Reserve, drafted six months into his service by Chicago Majors of the newly formed American Basketball League. The league folded after less than two seasons 1962-63: Plays for the Harlem Globetrotters 1963: Plays games with Holland Oilers, then joins the Grand Rapids Tackers 1964-67: Played for Muskegon Panthers; and Pittsburgh Pipers, traded mid-season to Anaheim Amigos 1968: Plays with Anaheim Amigos, retired from American Basketball Association 1969: Retired from professional basketball. Turner had two passions as a youth: basketball and art. He graduated from Nebraska with a bachelor's degree in art and a minor in teaching. After his basketball experiences came to an end, the artistic side eventually won out. A highly accomplished artist, Turner has painted portraits of entertainer Al Green, President Gerald Ford, and golf legend Tiger Woods. However, he's most notably known for his "Black Cowboy" series of artistic pieces shown at art exhibitions across the country and sold around the world. Notable Awards He's been an engineer (General Motors), ran a development corporation, was owner/operator of a T-shirt store and director of Baxter Community Center (Grand Rapids, MI), and art teacher amassing dozens of civic and community awards along the way. He's received awards galore with some of the more notable including: * University of Nebraska Hall of Fame * Received a key to the City of Indianapolis on two occasions; once in 1981 when he was named to the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame and again a decade later for his work with youth * Harlem Globetrotters Hall of Fame * Dozens of awards for athletic, artistic talent, civic and community service, including: Man of the Year (Grand Rapids Jaycees), Comcast & McDonald's Pioneer Award; Outstanding Kappa Alpha Psi Award and others * Inducted into the Shortridge Hall of Fame (June 2013) (Visit the Shortridge Alumni Association website: www.shortridgealumni.com Hall of Fame tab for more details of Turner's outstanding career. His Hall of Fame plaque is on permanent display along the main corridor at Shortridge) Basketball behind him, H.T. turned to another passion: to work with disadvantaged youth In the community. This direction probably was the most rewarding as he became director of Baxter Community Center where he taught black history and other pride-building programs and improvements of social services in the Grand Rapids community. Herschell Turner and his wife, Julia, have called Grand Rapids, MI home for more than four decades. They have two grown daughters. Turner's retired jersey #55 will be the third in the school's history following the retirement of jerseys for George Pillow (Class of 1967) and William "Bo" Crain (Class of 1959). Don't miss this special evening. The Legacy Basketball Game - Wednesday, November 27th, Shortridge vs. Crispus Attucks This is the second edition of this event. Last season the Crispus Attucks Tigers took home the boys' trophy and the Shortridge Magnet H.S. girls took home the trophy in their inaugural game. The Shortridge band showed why they are one of the top bands in the area in last year's battle of the bands. Attucks vowed to make a better showing this year. This year a cheerleader's competition has been added. Commemorative Tickets. Once again, there will be a special commemorative ticket for the game. Our hope is that alumni from both schools will turn out in great numbers to support their schools. Each year the tickets will be different as the home school will be in charge of the ticket design. Admission to the game will be $5 for all school-aged children through adult. We hope to see all of you at this premiere basketball event on November 27, 2013, beginning at 2 p.m., 3:45, 5:30 and 8 p.m. All games will be played at the Crispus Attucks Magnet High School gym. Fall Sports Wrap Up This fall was a step forward for our Blue Devils teams as a whole. We competed well in all our high school sports. Volleyball: A very young volleyball team, playing a more competitive schedule, showed a great deal of improvement over the season. Although very challenging, they never quit working to get better. Student Prayyer Benyatta was named to the All-Conference team for her play in the PAAC conference tournament. Soccer: WOW! That is the only way to describe the year that our soccer team had this season with a 12-3 record. The soccer team was undefeated in regular season play. They won the PAAC conference title. We had four All-Conference players and two honorable mentions. In addition, the team played well in the sectional against the ultimate sectional champion, Ritter, who advanced to the semi-final round. We look forward to a great season next fall. Football: The football team set the bar high in their first year of varsity competition. A very young team, with some football talent, had a winning record for the season of 8-4. Losing to a very good Lutheran team early in the year, they regrouped and won their initial sectional game before losing 52-50 to Clinton Prairie in the semi-finals of the sectional. We hope to land a couple of Blue Devils on the All-City team. Voting for that honor is later this month and will be announced at the Kiwanis Football Luncheon on December 13, 2013. Girls Golf: Girls golf had a solid season. This group of young ladies continued to show steady improvement as they mature as a golf team. The highlight of the season was winning the IPSAC conference golf tournament and having all four of our team members named to the All-Conference team. First Place and medalist of the tournament was Emily O'Neal; Olivia O'Neal placed second, Lydia Gonzalez placed 3rd and Mary Baker placed 9th overall. | 
