By
- Justin Engel | jengel@mlive.com
Long before his cursive signature was cast on the floor and his name was affixed to its walls, Marshall Thomas’ presence already lived in the old Saginaw High School gym
That presence was in the echoes of sneakers on hardwood, in the championship banners he helped raise, in the life lessons he taught to generations of Saginaw youths, and in the stories still being told there by the people he coached, taught, mentored and loved
Thomas died of cancer at 78 in November. Ten months later, his legacy was on full display during an emotional ceremony renaming the gym at Saginaw Middle School — formerly Saginaw High School — as Marshall Thomas Gymnasium
About 100 people attended the gathering on Thursday, Aug. 27. There, family members, former players and colleagues honored a man whose name in Saginaw was synonymous with basketball excellence, mentorship and community service that stretched beyond the court
The ceremony included Saginaw Public Schools officials unveiling a sign overlooking the basketball court that read “Marshall Thomas Gymnasium.” At both ends of the basketball court were large signatures of his name above the words “educator, mentor, champion.”
For his daughter, Alexis Thomas, the gym was never just a gym. It was part of her childhood
“This gym was his life,” she told the crowd Thursday. “I spent a lot of my life here, and I have so many fond memories of running around this gym.”
She remembered being dropped off at the school as far back as 1979, finding joy in being near her father, whether in a classroom or in the gym where many knew him as “Coach T.”
Alexis Thomas knew him as “dad.” Still, she said she never felt like she had to surrender part of him to the community
“I never felt like I had to share my father,” she said. “He had a gift of being able to show up for everybody.”
Former classmates presented Thomas, a 1993 Saginaw High graduate, with two jerseys honoring her father. One featured the number 66, to symbolize her father’s graduation year there; the other jersey was emblazoned with the number 93, to symbolize her graduation year
Thomas told the crowd she learned about one year ago that there was interest in naming the gym after her father. She kept the news quiet until district officials began moving toward a Board of Education vote
When Saginaw Public Schools Superintendent Ramont Roberts called to say a board meeting was being prepared, Thomas said she urged him to move quickly
“You need to speed it up, because I’m not sure how much time he’s going to have,” she recalled telling Roberts
Thomas was able not only to learn about the renaming, she said, but to watch as the school board voted to approve it
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Roberts told the crowd that Marshall Thomas’ legacy could be measured partly in numbers: 434 combined wins as boys and girls basketball coach, nine Saginaw Valley Conference titles, 12 Michigan High School Athletic Association district titles, five regional titles, a Class A runner-up finish in the 1988-89 season and a state championship in 1995-96
Thomas also was named Class A coach of the year four times and regional coach of the year seven times, the superintendent said
But Roberts said the best measure of Thomas’ legacy was found elsewhere, in the lives he helped guide
“So many of us know that coaches, mentors, teachers and educators are remembered most for the statistics you cannot count,” Roberts said. “Those stats live in the cherished memories of the people in this gym, the people in this city and the people all over this country.”
The superintendent described Thomas as “the ultimate people person,” a “connector” and “the glue that brought people together, no matter the people or the situation.”
One of those people touched by Thomas’ leadership was Julian Taylor, a former Saginaw High basketball player from 1989 to 1991 who now coaches the Saginaw United High School boys basketball team
“Coach Marshall Thomas was more than a coach to us,” Taylor told the crowd Thursday. “He was a maker of men.”
Taylor said Thomas pushed his players, made them tougher and kept leading them after the final buzzer sounded
“Coach T was more than basketball,” Taylor said. “He was a father figure. He was a teacher. He was a minister. He pushed us all the way through. He wanted the best for us.”
For Taylor, the absence of Thomas remains a fresh wound
“Anytime I needed any advice or help, he was there for me,” Taylor said. “He would move mountains for me. It was rough this year, looking up in those stands and not seeing him there. Coach meant more to us than anything
Thomas retired as a coach in 2004 with a boys basketball record of 381-133 and a girls basketball record of 53-13. During his 22 years as the boys basketball coach, Saginaw High won district championships, reached the semifinals five times and claimed the Class A state championship in 1996
“His success was about more than wins,” Taylor said. “His success was in making young men believe in themselves.”
Before he became one of Saginaw’s most accomplished coaches, Thomas graduated from Saginaw High in 1966 and went on to compete in football, basketball and track at Western New Mexico University
He returned home as an educator, working as a physical education teacher, swim instructor and math teacher before becoming a coach, counselor, athletic director, tutor, deacon and volunteer
He retired from teaching in 2009 to save a job for a younger teacher, but continued serving students as an assistant teacher and tutor. He also was inducted into the Saginaw County Sports Hall of Fame and the Western New Mexico University Hall of Fame, and was named Saginawian of the Year in 2009
At the ceremony on Thursday, though, the public résumé was overshadowed by something else: a community’s gratitude
“Thank you all for coming out to celebrate our father, my dad, Coach T,” Alexis Thomas told attendees. “And thank you again to Saginaw Public Schools for allowing this space, which is so special to the Thomas family, to be where we will be able to share his legacy forever, for Coach Marshall Thomas.”
