Central Michigan University Athletics
Ed Clauss Named Baseball Honorary Fan of the Year
2/4/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 3, 2006
MOUNT PLEASANT - The Central Michigan University baseball program has selected Ed Clauss as its Honorary Fan of the Year. Head coach Steve Jaksa introduced Clauss as the honoree during the program's Meet the Chippewas event on Saturday.
Clauss' relationship with CMU dates back nearly six decades to when he was a catcher for head coach Dan Rose from 1947-50. Today, he is a regular not only at Chippewa home games at Theunissen Stadium, but also helps with the timing crew at CMU home football and basketball games. He is currently a member of the CMU Athletic Hall of Fame Board of Directors and has never missed a Baseball Alumni Golf Outing.
"It's a great honor to be in this position," Clauss said.
As a former player and avid supporter of the program, Clauss believes there are several aspects of the CMU baseball program that set it apart and make it unique.
"I think it's the kind of kids we get and have come through the program," Clauss said. "The program has a solid history and we have had some great coaches."
Part of that history is the era in which Clauss played, a period following World War II that set a foundation of success for the program for the second half of the 20th century. Clauss and his teammates, however, could not have believed the precedent they were setting during their playing days.
"It was more like intramurals when I played," he said with a laugh. "Central was actually smaller than the high school I graduated from, Saginaw Arthur Hill. It was a small school in a small community, but we played some pretty big competition."
Clauss spent his entire professional career in the Mount Pleasant school district. He began his career as a math teacher and assistant coach at the high school before assuming the duties of assistant principal and athletic director at the junior high. Clauss returned to the high school to fill the assistant principal and AD roles, then spent his final 11 years in the system as the high school principal. He retired in 1985 and was later inducted into the Mount Pleasant High School Hall of Fame.
Clauss and his wife, Barb, reside in Mount Pleasant. They have three children, eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Clauss is the 36th individual to be named Fan of the Year. The Chippewa baseball program has honored at least one Fan of the Year every season since 1974.
