G.P. North coach Sumbera closing in on 1,000th win

Harrison Township — Grosse Pointe North baseball coach Frank Sumbera sat on a pail in the corner of the dugout, signaling in pitches to catcher Alex Huguenin during a game against L'Anse Creuse on Thursday afternoon.

For Sumbera, it was just another game, aside from the fact he was working on career victory No. 1,000.

Sumbera, however, will have to wait another day as his team lost, 8-7, thanks to P.J. Warner's two-run walk-off home run.

"He just got under it, what a clutch hit by him," said Sumbera, 67.

Now, Sumbera's drive for 1,000 heads to Saturday when North plays twice — at Novi followed by a game against Rochester, also at Novi.

"I don't know what to say, (winning No. 1,000) is going to be outstanding," Sumbera said of the victory that will make him the third baseball coach in state history to reach the milestone. "The great thing about baseball, beside the game itself, is there's no clock. You just play. Everybody's going to get their swings and everybody's going to get to do what they have to do on defense, and whoever does the best job wins the game."

Two titles in books

Winning has been something Sumbera's teams have been doing the last 42 years.

Two of Sumbera's teams have won state titles — 1980 in Class A and 2006 in Division 1. And, the Norsemen had other state championship-caliber teams, as well.

"First of all, Frank's the ultimate coach," said Grosse Point South coach Dan Griesbaum, who was an assistant under Sumbera at North for four years, including that 1980 team. "That's what he does and what he's about. ... I was with him my first four years in the district before I got the job at South in '84. I saw his work ethic, the time he put into it and how he felt about those kids."

But there's more to Sumbera than just baseball. He also has guided North to more than 200 football victories.

Still, the farm boy from Chesaning who played basketball at Central Michigan in the late 1960s, has been a force on the baseball field. And his players have proved to be just like him — fighters.

"The 1980 team was an outstanding baseball team and the smallest squad I ever had, just 13 kids," Sumbera said. "Those kids played a lot of positions.

"We had five kids get drafted from that '80 team — Bill Babcock was drafted (third round) by the White Sox; John Clem got drafted by the Mariners; Bobby Brown by the Tigers; Tommy Shook, a right-handed pitcher who played at Michigan State for four years, by the Kansas City Royals; and John Hackett, a left-hander, was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals."

His 2006 team was pretty impressive in its own right, finishing 38-1.

"(We) had a couple of kids who played college ball, but nobody got drafted," Sumbera said. "That was just a great hitting, executing baseball team."

And then there was the title that got away — 1981.

"We had a 44-game winning streak snapped by Bishop Gallagher in the district final, and they went on to win the state title," Sumbera said. "No doubt that team could have won it. We were 28-0 during the regular season and nobody touched us."

'Lucky to play for him'

There's no doubt Sumbera is moving a little slower these days, taking his position as the third base coach after a huddle with his players and coaches between innings.

But no matter the circumstances — a typical middle-of-the-week game or ones like Saturday's that have some extra meaning — it's still all about baseball for Sumbera.

"Coach Sumbera is a great coach who has done so much for the school," senior center fielder Dan Robinson said. "He's taught me about hard work, discipline, just keeping a level head so you never get too up or down about anything.

"He's a great coach and I'm lucky to play for him."

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