2022 Michigan Athletics Hall of Honor
The University of Michigan Athletics Hall of Honor welcomed seven new members on Friday, Nov. 11, 2022. Members of the 2022 class: Abby Crumpton (women's soccer), Samantha Findlay (softball), Joan (Spillane) Postma '62, Jim Richardson (women's swimming and diving), Red Simmons (women's track and field), Ellen Tomek (rowing) and Debbie Williams-Hoak (women's track and field). This is the first Hall of Honor class comprised entirely of female student-athletes and coaches of women's teams at Michigan and is in honor and recognition of the 50th anniversary of Title IX legislation.
2022 Induction Class (from left): Abby Crumpton Minihan, Debbie Williams-Hoak, Jim Richardson, Larry Simmons (son of Red Simmons), Ellen Tomek, Samantha Findlay, and Sam Williams (grandson of Joan Spillane-Postma)
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ABBY CRUMPTON | WOMEN'S SOCCER (1999-2002)
- Abby Crumpton Minihan is the first women's soccer player to be inducted into Michigan's Hall of Honor.
- As a senior tri-captain in 2002, Abby was an NSCAA/Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy Award finalist honoring the nation's top player, a second team All-American, and the Big Ten Women's Soccer Athlete of the Year.
- That same year, U-M reached the NCAA quarterfinals for the first time. She also was a freshman on the 1999 team that won U-M's second Big Ten Tournament title.
- Crumpton was a three-time All-Great Lakes Region first-team and All-Big Ten first-team selection (1999, 2001-02) and was named second team to both as a sophomore in 2000. In 2001, she was named U-M's team MVP and earned U-M's Athletic Academic Achievement Award in 2000 and '03.
- The forward led U-M in points in 2001 (30) and 2002 (35), goals in 2001 (13 goals) and 2002 (11 goals), and assists (13) in 2002.
When asked about what the induction meant to her on the Conqu'ring Heroes podcast, she replied, "my time at Michigan was not only meaningful to me, but it made an impact."- Abby Crumpton Minihan
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SAMANTHA FINDLAY | SOFTBALL (2005-08)
- Samantha Findlay capped her freshman season with the most famous home run in Michigan softball history, hitting a three-run shot in the 10th inning to clinch Michigan's 4-1 win over UCLA and give the Wolverines their first national championship.
- Findlay batted .409 in the Women's College World Series and was named Most Outstanding Player.
- She hit .361 that year with a team-high 77 runs batted in and 43 walks, and she smacked 21 homers to share the school single-season record with Jessica Merchant.
- A first team All-American as a second baseman in 2008, Findlay set career marks (since eclipsed by Sierra Romero) for home runs (62), RBI (219) and slugging percentage (.677).
- She was named to the all-region team three times, the Big Ten All-Tournament team twice, and was the 2005 Big Ten Freshman of the Year as well as a 2008 unanimous All-Big Ten first-team selection.
I don't think I'll ever forget rounding third and being able to see the expression on everyone's face, on my team, and then beyond your team you have all the Michigan alumni and all the Michigan families who supported us all season in the background.- Samantha Findlay
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JOAN (SPILLANE) POSTMA | FIELD COLLEGE OF LITERATURE, SCIENCE & THE ARTS (1960-62)
- The summer prior to her freshman year at the University of Michigan, Joan (Spillane) Postma swam for the United States at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome.
- Joan earned a gold medal on the U.S. women's 4×100-meter freestyle relay, setting a World record after defeating the favored Australians.
- The University's first female Olympic gold medalist, she attended U-M on an academic scholarship from 1960-62.
- She completed a degree in elementary education from the University of Houston and went on to a 29-year teaching career with the Cy-Fair Independent School District, first as a math teacher and then as director of technology support services until her retirement in 2002.
- She remained involved with swimming for many years, also teaching swim lessons. Postma Elementary School in Cypress, Texas, is named in her honor.
People kept asking me as I got older if I was a little bit angry that those opportunities weren't there for me, and I would say I never even thought about it. The whole idea of Title IX and having opportunities like that for young women is just phenomenal.- Joan (Spillane) Postma
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JIM RICHARDSON | WOMEN'S SWIMMING & DIVING (1985-2012)
- The longest-tenured head coach in Michigan women's swimming and diving history, Jim Richardson led his teams to 14 Big Ten Championships and 14 top 10 national finishes in his 27 years (1985-2012).
- His teams won 12 straight Big Ten titles from 1987-98, adding two more titles in 2001 and 2004.
- The 1993 and 1995 NCAA Coach of the Year, Richardson coached Ann Colloton to Michigan's first individual NCAA swimming title in 1989 (200-yard breaststroke), followed by seven others combining for a total of eight NCAA swimming titles (seven individual events and one relay).
- A six-time Big Ten Coach of the Year, Richardson's teams accumulated a 175-77 overall record and 113-25 record in Big Ten competition.
- Four of his teams went undefeated, including an unbeaten streak from 1986-87 through 1988-89 (13-0, 7-0, 7-0), as well as 1993-94 (8-0).
Obviously, when recruiting you want fast people but you want people who are on the same page when it comes to values, work ethic, being team-oriented, being serious students and doing well in the classroom. The most important thing I think is finding people who fit the culture that you want to create within the greater culture of the university.- Jim Richardson
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RED SIMMONS | WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD (1978-81, POSTHUMOUS)
- Red Simmons is remembered as the University of Michigan's first women's track and field coach and the founder of "The Michigammes,"" the first Ann Arbor Women's Track Club, in 1960.
- Simmons was fueled by the idea to allow women the chance to compete. With the passage of Title IX legislation in 1972 and recruitment by newly formed varsity programs across the country, the need for the Michigammes slowly diminished.
- In his four years as coach, the Wolverines gradually improved, finishing fourth at the unofficial 1981 Big Ten Conference outdoor meet. He coached the program's first All-America selection (AIAW), Penny Neer, before retiring in 1981.
- Simmons became U-M's first Honorary "M" man in 1990 and was the inaugural inductee into the Michigan Women's Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1994. The Wolverines have hosted the "Red Simmons Invitational" every year since 1981 in his honor.
- Before becoming synonymous with women's track and field, Simmons served as a detective with the Detroit Police Force from 1933 until retiring in 1959.
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ELLEN TOMEK | ROWING (2003-06)
- A three-year letterwinner at Michigan, Ellen Tomek was a member of the Wolverine novice program as a freshman.
- She competed in the second varsity eight as a sophomore and junior before spending her senior campaign in the first varsity eight.
- Tomek earned All-Big Ten second-team honors in her final season at Michigan.
- She is one of Michigan's two three-time female Olympians (Tiffany Ofili-Porter), competing in Beijing in 2008 and Rio in 2016 in double sculls, and in Tokyo (2020) in the quad sculls.
- She was an 11-time member of the U.S. Rowing national team with seven international medals. Part of U-M's 2003 and 2004 Big Ten champion teams, Ellen was a second team All-American and Michigan Rowing Athlete of the Year in 2006 as a senior.
I had a team of people helping me throughout (my career) and so it makes it even more special because it wasn't just about me getting to the Olympics and competing all those times. I had so many people surrounding me, helping me and supporting me along the way.- Ellen Tomek
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DEBBIE WILLIAMS-HOAK | WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD (1979-1982)
- Debbie Williams-Hoak earned notoriety for committing to Michigan after a talk with Bo Schembechler at her high school athletic banquet and, thus, becoming the "only female athlete Bo Schembechler only recruited".
- Williams-Hoak became the first Big Ten champion in Michigan Women's Track and Field history and went on to win four Big Ten titles in the javelin.
- She was the first female track athlete to place at the National Track Championships when she finished ninth as a freshman (AIAW). She competed in four national championships and went on to earn All-America honors.
- Williams-Hoak set the school record in the javelin, throwing 167 feet, 6 inches -- a record that stood for over 25 years. Williams-Hoak was inducted into the Michigan Women's Track & Field Hall of Fame in 1999 and the Ohio Track & Field Hall of Fame in 2016.
- Williams-Hoak qualified for three U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials and finished seventh at the 1984 Olympic Trials. She also competed in seven U.S. Olympic Festivals -- six in Track and Field and one in softball while also representing the U.S. in track and field in competition in Russia and West Germany.
As far as we've come as female athletes, there's still a long way to go. We have to continue to strive for us to get on an equal playing field. There's going to be those moments of tears where you question what you have decided to do, but if it's a passion of yours and if it's something that you really love, you're going to persevere through those times, you're going to get right back up and you're going to start working harder.- Debbie Williams-Hoak
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2022 Hall of Honor Inductees were recognized at the Michigan vs. Nebraska football game on Saturday, Nov. 12