Baseball held a different place in the Flint-area sports landscape when Walt Head was coaching teams to
championships in the 1960s and 1970s.
“It was the glory days, but he helped make it the glory days,” said Tom Dutkowski, the long-time varsity baseball coach
at Powers Catholic. “He created opportunities.”
Baseball isn’t as big as it used to be, as evidenced by the fact a Genesee County team hasn’t won a state high school
championship since Powers in 1980. Other sports are winning the competition for athletes.
“It was huge,” Head said. “Gradually, things went down in Flint baseball-wise. Obviously, it’s not even close to where
it was in the late ’60s and the ’70s. We had all those kids, a ton of really, really good kids.”
It’s one thing to have a deep talent pool, but it’s another to mold those players into champions.
Head did that with regularity, winning the 1974 Connie Mack national championship with Carpets by Jim Smith and
winning six state Connie Mack championships. That 1974 team and the 1967 Chevrolet UAW Local 659 team that
reached the Connie Mack national tournament are in the Greater Flint Area Sports Hall of Fame. Now their coach is
being enshrined.
“I’m elated, obviously,” Head said. “It’s always a thrill. You live in Flint for a long time and you know all about that stuff.
When it happens, it’s a wonderful thing.”
