Congratulations to the six charter members of the Brother Rice Athletic Hall of Fame.  In a reception at the school last night, six of the most noteworthy members of the Warrrior family were honored. With 52 state championships in 50 years of competition, Brother Rice has scores of potential Hall of Fame members.  This first class represents the best of the best and features three coaches and two players.

Al Fracassa

Legendary football coach Al Fracassa has coached for 50 years (40 at Brother Rice) and is the winningest coach in Michigan High School football history.  He has won seven state championships and has appeared in several more Championship Games.  Fracassa is in the Michigan High School Football Coaches Hall of Fame, was a former National Coach of the Year and in 2009 was named Michiganian of the Year by the Detroit News.  Before retiring several years ago, he was a teacher at Rice and earlier in his career coached the baseball team.  The Michigan State graduate has received numerous honors over the years, and is now enshrined in the Rice Hall of Fame.

Bill Norton

A former teacher and basketball coach at Rice, Norton coached the school’s only state championship team in basketball in 1974.  He also coached in the State Championship game against Magic Johnson’s Lansing Everett team, losing in overtime to Everett.  Norton is a graduate of the University of Detroit, where he played for the Titans football team.  Norton is currently a teacher at Birmingham Groves High School, where he coached basketball until his retirement two years ago.

Bob Stark

Bob was a member of the school’s first graduating class in 1964.  After graduating from the University of Notre Dame, Stark returned to his alma mater as a math teacher and coach.  He has coached the track and cross country teams ever since.  He is respected by his peers as one of the the top coaches in the state and is a legend at Brother Rice, who has touched the lives of thousands of Rice graduates, not only on the track, but in the classroom.

Mike Popson

Longtime Athletic Director,  Popson supervised the Rice athletic program while its teams were winning 35 state championships.  He also was an offensive line coach for the football team and an assistant coach of Track and Field.  Popson also taught biology at Rice.  He retired a few years ago and shortly after his retirement was killed in a car accident.  His positive influence on the Warrior athletic program will be felt for years to come.

B.J. Armstrong

A 1985 Brother Rice graduate, Armstrong, went on to star at the University of Iowa and was a first round draft choice of the Chicago Bulls.  B.J. played in the backcourt with Michael Jordan and won two NBA Championships with the Bulls.  He was with the Bulls for eleven years before retiring.  Armstrong still holds the Brother Rice individual game scoring record of 52 points (before the three point shot was instituted).  He is a successful West Coast businessman today.

Mike Lodish

Mike is a 1985 graduate of Brother Rice and was an All-Amercian defensive lineman for the Warriors on the team that finished third in the National Rankings.  He was also an All-American lacrosse player.  After Rice, Lodish played at UCLA before being drafted by the Buffalo Bills.  He later played for the Denver Broncos.  Lodish played in six Super Bowls–winning two of them.  He has played in more Super Bowls than any player in NFL history.  Mike now resides in Birmingham.

The ceremony last night was full of Warrior memories and, at times, very emotional.  It was well attended by alumni, current parents and students and former players of the honorees, who  traveled  from all over the country to attend.   The Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held annually.