Grand Rapids Sports Hall of Fame Induction

Date: Oct 14, 2025

Location(s):

The 2025 elected class for the Grand Rapids Sports Hall of Fame has demonstrated sports excellence at the highest levels, and includes an NBA and collegiate coach, a Western Michigan University star and NBA player, a record-setting local softball player and coach, a world-class long-distance runner, a standout baseball player and college coach, an award-winning local radio sports broadcaster and the historic Colored Athletics in the Team category.

The honorees will be inducted in ceremonies at Van Andel Arena this fall. The date is yet to be determined but will be announced soon.
The new members of the Hall of Fame will include:

Jim Boylen, a former East Grand Rapids basketball standout, played collegiately at Maine before becoming a coach. He has spent the greater part of three decades coaching in the NBA, including being head coach of the Chicago Bulls for two seasons. He has three NBA championship rings and won a Mountain West Conference title as a head coach at Utah. He is currently an assistant coach with the Indiana Pacers.
Ben Handlogten was an All-State basketball player at South Christian, then All-Mid-American Conference at Western Michigan, played in the CBA with the Grand Rapids Hoops, played two seasons in the NBA with the Utah Jazz and played overseas as a pro in Turkey, Japan and Greece. His team won the Turkish Super League in 2001. His son Micah plays for the NCAA basketball champion University of Florida.
Cheri Ritz was a four-sport athlete at Wayland and a standout softball player at Michigan State before starting her coaching career. She has been the head softball coach at her alma mater since 1995, and her teams have won over 1,000 games while collecting 24 conference championships, 35 district and regional titles, and two state championships.
Dathan Ritzenhein set national distance running records while at Rockford High, won the NCAA cross country individual national title while at the University of Colorado in 2003 and was the winner of USA Cross Country Championships three times. He also competed for Team USA in the London Olympics, competed professionally and is now the head coach at On Athletics Club in Boulder, Colo.
The late Doug Wabeke was a multi-sports standout in Zeeland, starred in baseball at Grand Rapids Community College and Central Michigan, was drafted and played in the minor leagues for four seasons. As a coach he was GLIAC Coach of the Year in 1984 at Grand Valley State University, then as head coach at GRCC for 16 years where his team won 15 league titles and four college world series titles.
Rick Berkey, an award-winning broadcaster in West Michigan for 44 years at multiple stations and in various sports, will be inducted as the Warren Reynold Lifetime Achievement Award winner. A Comstock Park resident, he currently produces and hosts high school football shows for 96.1 The Game and does play-by-play for Davenport University football and basketball. He has also written two children’s books.
The Colored Athletics are being inducted in the Team category. They were a significant part of Grand Rapids’ semipro baseball scene in the first half of the 1900s. The Athletics, managed by Jess Elster for 46 years, featured many athletes who went on to play in the Negro Leagues. The team often played in front of crowds of more than 2,000 at Ramona Park and played a variety of opponents including the famed House of David teams from Benton Harbor.

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Grand Rapids Sports Hall of Fame Induction

Oct 14, 2025