Rodammer Stacks 44 Years, 451 Games Tracking Frankenmuth's Football Numbers
By
Steve Vedder
Special for MHSAA.com
September 20, 2024
While Al Rodammer's abbreviated scouting career may have lasted all of one night, it didn't take him long to figure out how he'd spend Friday evenings for the next 44 years.
Rodammer remembers being asked by former Eagles football coach Ralph Munger to drive to Bullock Creek to scout an upcoming playoff opponent. But Rodammer and fellow scout Jeff Reinbold wound up getting lost en route and missed most of the first quarter.
The mix-up didn't sit well with Munger, who "reassigned" Rodammer to a different task: keeping stats for the program.
Instead of fretting about the switch, Rodammer, a former baseball and basketball player at Frankenmuth, embraced the move. Four and a half decades later, Rodammer has kept track of virtually every football stat you can imagine for 451 Eagles games. Starting in 1981, Rodammer has dragged, at first, his trusty pencil and paper, and now laptop to hundreds of cramped press boxes, unsteady roof tops, chilly sidelines or whatever dinky corner space may have been available.
Many people may believe that totaling rushing yards or deciphering passing percentages is a thankless task. The 70-year-old Rodammer, who had the Frankenmuth press box named after him in 2022, prefers to think of his work as a labor of love.
Acting as a bridge between past and present Eagles teams and staying in touch with a community which loves its Friday Night Lights is his way of honoring a highly-successful football program.
"It's a commitment, but it's also a labor of love," he said. "When they named the press box after me, I thought, "Gosh, I don't know if I deserve this.' I don't do it for the recognition. But when the alumni come back, and to see what the work means to them, that's what I get out of it."
Rodammer's connection with the program far exceeds keeping track of how many passes are attempted or how many yards the Eagles' defense surrenders. He's written two books about the program, including an 82-page history of the Frankenmuth-Millington rivalry. While his initial connection may have been as a failed scout, he's recognized as the program's official historian and leading goodwill ambassador as he's constantly stopped on the street and asked what the Eagles’ chances are for the upcoming season.
One of Rodammer's passions is organizing reunions of past teams, a couple of which included his two sons who played football at Frankenmuth.
When you consider all of Rodammer's contributions to the program, Frankenmuth coach Phil Martin said keeping stats is just a small part of his overall contribution to the program. The data turned in to coaches helps them plot offensive and defensive strategies. But Rodammer's work in writing game stories for community media, digging into archives for long-sought but pertinent information and communicating with past teams is his true value.
"But more than statistics, he's cared for the program for 40-plus years," Martin said. "He's helped tradition and the community in understanding what we have in 69 years of Frankenmuth football."
Rodammer, whose statistics career has covered a half-dozen athletic directors and five head coaches, takes particular pride in not just assembling the typical Friday night numbers, but in putting the long history of Eagles football into perspective. His boundless research of Frankenmuth football has taken him from local libraries to Detroit-area facilities which may contain older stories on the team. He uses that information to ensure the accuracy of his records.
"We've been successful in a lot of athletics like soccer or basketball, but Frankenmuth is a football town," said Rodammer, who added tabulating junior varsity statistics to his resume in 2002. "There's something about football that brings out the community. There are always a lot of older people in the stands who get into it.
"Athletics has a definite impact on the community, no doubt about it."
Rodammer has missed only four games over his 44 seasons, 28 of which he has been joined by spotter Frank Bender. Two were for weddings, there was one funeral and once the fastpitch softball team he played for was in Minot, N.D., for a tournament. Rodammer is a member of the American Softball Association Hall of Fame.
He admits to being a "numbers guy," who developed programs for the Vassar Building Center before retiring 13 years ago, and he also kept statistics for his softball team for 20 years. Rodammer has his own definition of what numbers mean to him.
"I was only an average student, but there is something about stats," he said. "Yeah, I'm probably a little geekish about numbers."
Making the job easier – if not more fun – has been the wild success of the Frankenmuth program. The Eagles have won 62 consecutive conference games, including 12 league titles. Frankenmuth has been to two MHSAA Finals at Ford Field over the last four seasons. The Eagles have had 14 consecutive winning seasons, been to the playoffs 13 straight years and 29 times since 1987. The team is off to a 3-0 start this season and last week became the 14th program in state history to reach 500 victories.
Such success has left Rodammer with more than a few memories. For instance, he lists the team's 1987 playoff upset of Cheboygan as his personal favorite moment. Cheboygan was unbeaten, but the unraked Eagles prevailed 28-21. He also mentions a 28-20 win over powerhouse Ithaca in 2016 that interrupted a stunning string of Yellowjackets successes during an 118-5 run that included four MHSAA Finals titles and two more runner-up finishes between 2009-17. Another memory is Frankenmuth playing in its first championship game at a near-empty Ford Field due to COVID restrictions in January 2021.
Rodammer is hard-pressed to answer what he'd do with his Friday nights if he wasn't toiling away in a press box at a Frankenmuth football game. Maybe he'd work closer with his church, travel to see other local teams play or check off a couple stops toward his ultimate goal – to visit every Big 10 school for a game.
For the moment, at least, skipping a Friday night perched on a rickety chair tucked into the corner of a cramped press box isn't in the plan.
"I have a passion, but I don't do it for recognition," he said of connecting with the Eagles program "I want to keep a commitment from past teams to the present. That's what motivates me.
"I love summers, but every year I can't wait for the fall."
PHOTOS (Top) Al Rodammer, left and Eagles coach Phil Martin take a photo on the night the facility was named for its longtime stat person during the 2022 season. (Middle) The Al "Chick" Rodammer Press Box stands tall before the start of a Frankenmuth game this season. (Below) Rodammer does his work in the corner of the press box. (Top two photos by Chip DeGrace; below photo courtesy of Al Rodammer.)
Brown Enjoys Legendary Debut to Start 2nd Season Directing Erie Mason's Attack
By
Doug Donnelly
Special for MHSAA.com
August 30, 2022
ERIE – Vaughn Brown never worried about replacing a legend. He just wanted to be the Erie Mason starting quarterback.
After a solid rookie season last year, Brown has started out his junior year with a bang. In the Eagles’ season opener Friday, Brown threw eight touchdown passes during the first half, tying a state record, and his right arm has Erie Mason fans thinking a third-straight playoff season is possible.
“It was one of those nights,” Brown said. “Everything was going well. It kept working. It didn’t matter what we did, they couldn’t stop it.”
The Eagles beat Saranac, 50-14. Brown threw a 61-yard touchdown pass on the second play of the game and had three TDs in the first quarter. He tossed five more in the second quarter to become just the second player in state history to have eight touchdown passes in a half.
“Watching film, we knew what their corners and safeties would do,” Brown said. “On the second play of the game, Korbin Herrera went deep and just ran right past a guy. I dropped back, and I knew right then it was going to be a good day. I threw it, and he ran under it and scored. It was a great play.”
Getting into the Erie Mason passing record book is no easy feat. That’s because the quarterback who Brown replaced last year was Noah Beaudrie, now playing at Mount Union College.
Beaudrie was a four-year quarterback at Erie Mason and put up some stunning numbers. As a senior in 2020, Beaudrie accumulated more than 1,000 yards rushing and passing. Over his four seasons, he completed 371-of-647 passes for 5,747 yards and 56 touchdowns. He ran for another 4,503 yards and 59 touchdowns.
He earned all-state honors and had multiple college offers before landing at Mount Union, one of the most storied small-college football programs in the nation.
As a sophomore, Brown had the unenviable task of taking over for Beaudrie. He said he never felt like he had to replace Beaudrie, just help his team win.
“I knew Noah,” Brown said. “He was super good to me and helped me along the way. I just came into the season just wanting to help last year’s seniors win games. I didn’t care about stats. I never really have cared about that. The stats never crossed my mind.”
Brown grew up just across the state line in Toledo, Ohio, and moved to Erie Mason before he was in the seventh grade. He was part of the Eagles program when Beaudrie was setting record after record.
“He was a good mentor. He helped me along the way. Noah was a great athlete and an amazing player in general,” Brown said.
“Me and him play a different type of game. He’s more athletic than me. He liked to run. I’d rather stay in the pocket and throw the ball 100 times a game than run.”
Erie Mason head coach Steven Bower said Brown has grown into the quarterback position and as a team leader. During the summer Brown never missed a chance to work out, lift weights or get in time with his receivers.
“He’s the poster child for our program. He does everything,” Bowers said.
“I hate missing stuff. I enjoy being there and being around the guys,” Brown said.
During the offseason, Bowers had some of his players go through leadership training. Bowers called it “captain’s classes.” Brown was one of the players to go through the training.
“The kids have done a good job of listening to him and following him,' Bowers said. “He sets the standard for everyone.”
Brown was a four-sport athlete last year, playing basketball in the winter and pulling double duty in the spring by playing baseball and running track.
“Vaughn is a tremendous athlete and leader,” Erie Mason basketball coach Kevin Skaggs said. “In a summer game he had to defend a 6-foot-5 post player in one scrimmage. He outworked, outran, and out rebounded him. He’s a tough, tough kid.”
Brown (6-0, 170) plays down his basketball abilities.
“I’m one of those guys who just goes out there, plays defense and rebounds and helps the team win,” Brown said. “I might ride the bench, but I’ll push people in practice and do the best I can.”
Brown said he gets his work ethic from his parents, Allen and Paige Brown, both Ohio natives. His dad was an all-state defensive lineman in high school.
“My parents have always instilled in me hard work. They’ve always told me I had to earn everything,” Vaughn Brown said.
“My mom and dad have driven me to so much stuff over the years. I can’t count how many times they gave me rides to sports. My mom would get off work early, and my dad took me places. I’m very grateful for that.”
Brown said he had never heard of Erie Mason before his parents bought a home in the community. Now he lives right across the street from the school.
Brown finished Friday’s game with 13 completions on 19 attempts for 358 yards. He completed passes to six receivers.
“We have five or six guys who are great receivers,” he said. “Friday gave us a lot of confidence. All our guys just played so well. The line blocked great, and the guys made some great catches. I’m excited about what’s to come.”
Doug Donnelly has served as a sports and news reporter and city editor over 25 years, writing for the Daily Chief-Union in Upper Sandusky, Ohio from 1992-1995, the Monroe Evening News from 1995-2012 and the Adrian Daily Telegram since 2013. He's also written a book on high school basketball in Monroe County and compiles record books for various schools in southeast Michigan. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Erie Mason quarterback Vaughn Brown pulls away from a Saranac tackler during Friday’s season opener. (Middle) Brown rolls right during the win at Olivet College. (Photos by Amy Brighton South.)