Vehicle City Sports CommitteeKeeping Flint’s Sports Spirit Alive

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Duncan Beagle and Tom Saxton share a deep affection and appreciation for Flint’s venerable Atwood Stadium, the site of countless memorable sporting events and other community happenings for nearly a century.

The list of athletic, entertainment and political icons who have appeared at Atwood is staggering, including baseball legends Jackie Robinson and Ted Williams, four-time Olympic gold medalist Jesse Owens, boxing greats Jack Dempsey and Willie Pep and rockers Journey, Eddie Money and Pat Benatar at the peak of their careers in the early 1980s.

Presidents Franklin Roosevelt (1936) and John F. Kennedy (1960) delivered campaign speeches there before crowds of more than 13,000.

The 77-year-old Beagle, who retired at the end of 2022 after more than 31 years as a Genesee County Circuit Court Judge, first became acquainted with Atwood during the late 1950s while attending several spirited Thanksgiving Day high school football clashes between Flint Central and Flint Northern with his father and grandparents.

Later, he took to Atwood’s field as a member of Flint Southwestern’s baseball and football teams.

Beagle’s most treasured Atwood memory came in the spring of 1965 when he hurled a no-hitter for Southwestern just three weeks after losing older brother John Jr. in an automobile accident. Afterward, Beagle and his father shared a tearful embrace.

“My love for Atwood and what it means to the community has continued for well over 60 years,” he says. “So many great memories for me there.”

Saxton, a longtime tireless advocate for soccer in the Flint area, first played the sport at Atwood at age ten through the Flint Community Schools soccer program in 1970. He later suited up for Flint Northern’s football team there.

Saxton was a soccer standout at Michigan State before coaching the Spartans’ women’s team from 1991-2021.

“Atwood is where I literally got my start playing soccer, so it will always be a special place for me,” he says. “There are plenty of good memories there for me, but that’s the case for plenty of people who grew up playing sports in Flint.”

Photo by Duncan Beagle

Beagle and Saxton continued attending events at Atwood and were later part of Atwood Stadium Authority, a group formed roughly 25 years ago to secure funding and oversee the venue’s long-term viability and, later, aided in its transfer of ownership from the City of Flint to Kettering University in 2013.

A few years later, Beagle, forever a champion for expanding athletic opportunities in the area, began noticing that early-season high school football showcases were popping up around the state at college stadiums, including the University of Michigan, Wayne State and Grand Valley State.

The events feature several games at a single site over the course of 1-3 days.

“I began thinking there must be a way to make something like that happen here, especially considering the amazing football history of Flint,” Beagle recalls. “I knew Atwood would be the perfect place for it, as well.”

Hence, the Vehicle City Sports Committee was formed in early 2017 with Beagle as its president. He soon authored the organization’s mission statement and is always ready to enthusiastically recite it.

“The Vehicle City Sports Committee is a nonprofit organization that promotes Flint and Genesee County as a premier venue for a diverse level of youth and amateur sporting events, enhancing the economy and quality of life in the area,” he states. “It provides support and development of youth and amateur sports and fosters amateur sports competitions.”

The committee began reaching out to area schools, seeking participants for the first Vehicle City Gridiron Classic which Atwood hosted on August 24, 2017.

Billed as “six rival schools, three riveting games, one historic location”, the inaugural event featured Goodrich taking on Burton Bendle, Flushing facing Linden and Grand Blanc tangling with Carman-Ainsworth.

“We’ve been able to put together some great matchups during the first seven years of the Classic and have had nearly 30 different schools featured, a nice mix of larger and smaller ones,” Beagle says. “We try to make it a special experience for the coaches and players with a formal press conference during the week prior. We also invite coaches from all levels of college football to check out the talent being displayed.”

The Gridiron Classic has since expanded to four games over two days and includes teams from around the state.

Last year, it was played at two sites for the first time. At Grand Blanc High School, Muskegon Catholic Central took on New Lothrop and Muskegon Mona Shores played the host Bobcats on August 29 before Flint faced Burton Bentley and LakeVille squared off against Bendle the next day at Atwood.

Beagle has been wheelchair-bound since losing the use of his legs in 1991 when inflicted with sudden onset transverse myelitis, a rare neurological disorder that occurs when the spinal cord becomes inflamed.

That does not stop him from mingling with the crowd during Gridiron Classic games.

“I have a motorized chair that gets me up in the stands to get a feel for what brings people out to the games, which is probably my favorite part of the day,” Beagle says. “The feedback has been very positive and it’s been nice seeing people who played football at Atwood now bringing their kids. Some can’t believe it’s the same stadium with all the upgrades over the last decade or so.”

VCSC President Duncan Beagle speaks at the press conference announcing the teams for the 2022 Vehicle City Gridiron Classic at Kettering University Atwood Stadium on July 20, 2022.

“I began thinking there must be a way to make (a football showcase) happen here, especially considering the amazing football history of Flint, and I knew Atwood would be the perfect place for it, as well.”
Duncan Beagle

Tim Herman, CEO of the Flint & Genesee Group, has been one of the Gridiron Classic’s most ardent supporters from the event’s inception.

“The Vehicle City Gridiron Classic is a great opportunity to showcase the football talent we have here in Genesee County, building on an athletic legacy a century in the making at Atwood,” Herman says.

“Thanks to the hard work of Judge Beagle and the Vehicle City Sports Committee, the event has become a mainstay for our community. It attracts thousands of visitors who get to experience what the area has to offer.”

The 2025 Gridiron Classic was still in the planning stages as of mid-January, but Beagle confirmed the committee has reached out to 2024 state champions Goodrich (Division 4) and Millington (Division 7). He added that Atwood will likely host all four games on August 28-29.

Saxton is part of the VCSC subcommittee and was instrumental in kickstarting the organization’s next major event – Vehicle City Soccer Classic – at Atwood on August 19, 2023. The first installment featured Lake Fenton, Flushing, Davison, Linden, Carman-Ainsworth and Milford.

A girls Vehicle City Soccer Classic debuted last May with three matches pitting Genesee County teams (Holly vs. Powers, Flushing vs. Grand Blanc and Lake Fenton vs. Linden).

Among those helping Saxton make these events a reality has been former Linden boys and girls coach Kevin Fiebernitz, who recently retired as one of Michigan’ all-time winningest coaches. He ranks fifth in state history with 468 boys wins and No. 6 in girls wins with 384.

Former Carman-Ainsworth and Western Michigan soccer standout Shannon (Easter) White has also played a significant role. She owns Flint-based architectural design firm, FUNchitecture.

“I was excited when Duncan contacted me about expanding what the Vehicle City Sports Committee is doing beyond football with a soccer classic at Atwood which is, of course, a great soccer facility, especially with the remodeling that has been done,” says Saxton, whose soccer resume also includes founding the Flint Central girls program and serving as Delta College men’s coach. “The Vehicle City Soccer Classic has been a great event to showcase our area’s talent and the community’s response has been tremendous. I love working the gate and seeing different generations of fans attending.”

Saxton is now running Flint Style Soccer, a free program teaching the sport to more than 300 children ages 7-13 in the city. He added that Davison, Linden, Powers and Grand Blanc have been booked for this year’s girls Vehicle City Soccer Classic and the boys game is slated for August 17 with teams to be announced this spring.

Duncan Beagle enjoys interacting with the Vehicle City athletes and the spectators at Atwood Stadium. “My love for Atwood and what it means to the community has continued for well over 60 years,” he states.

Other VCSC members include Vice President Tony Vance, a federal prosecutor with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern Michigan District. He starred in football and track at Flint Central, earning all-city and all-conference honors in football, and was a two-time city pole vault champion.

Treasurer Greg Waller is the managing principal of the Lewis & Knopf, CPAs, P.C. accounting firm and was a Flint Metro League wrestling champion for Holly High School. Alex Hamo, a partner at the Hamo Law Firm, was a football and basketball standout at Flint Southwestern. He later played football at the University of Cincinnati and basketball at Eastern Michigan.

Sean Croudy, who earned varsity letters in football, tennis and basketball at Flint Southwestern, has also been a main organizer of the Flint Olympian and CANUSA Games for nearly 20 years while Flint native Amari Steward is Executive Director of Explore Flint & Genesee.

The VCSC also includes real estate agent Derek Dohrman and Steve Johnson, who spent nearly 50 years refereeing area high school events before retiring in 2021. He also survived a battle with Stage 4 Diffuse Large Cell Lymphoma.

Photo by Mike Naddeo

The committee is busier than ever and is hoping to add a Vehicle City Boys & Girls Lacrosse Classic as soon as this spring, Beagle says.

Beagle earned his undergraduate degree from Albion College and is one of the top baseball players in the school’s history. He was named Co-MVP as a senior and later inducted into Albion’s Athletic Hall of Fame. He even pitched a one-hitter in leading the Britons to their first win over Michigan State in 53 years.

Beagle obtained his law degree from the University of Detroit in 1974 and served as administrator for the 67th District Court, Assistant Genesee County Prosecuting Attorney, Friend of the Court Referee and in private practice before being named to the Circuit Court bench. He was Genesee County Bar Association President from 1983-84.

Along the way, Beagle has given back to the community in ways too numerous to mention.

He has served as president of Police Athletic League, Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Greater Flint, IMA Foundation, Greater Flint Area Sports Hall of Fame and the Genesee County Officials & Coaches Association. Prior to his illness, Beagle was a high school referee for nearly 20 years.

In 1982, he was named Big Brother of the Year and was presented with the Flint Rotary Club’s Jack Hamady Humanitarian of the Year Award in 2004.

Beagle remains involved in Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Police Athletic League and the Greater Flint Area Sports Hall of Fame and plays roles in the Mott Community College Bruin Club, Greater Flint Baseball and Softball Association, Friends of Berston Field House and the Restorative Justice Project which aids troubled youth.

“My parents and grandparents were active in the community, so it’s been natural for me to do the same,” says Beagle, whose father and grandfather also practiced law in Genesee County for decades. “I like to say ‘you make a living by what you get and make a life by what you give’.”

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