EMU Football Greats Earn NFL Honors

YPSILANTI, Mich.--Two former Eastern Michigan University football greats have been singled out by their respective teams for Man of the Year honors in the National Football League in 2006.

Former EMU quarterback standout Charlie Batch (1994-97) has been named the Man of the Year for the Pittsburgh Steelers while former EMU standout offensive tackle Barry Stokes (1992-95) has been named the Man of the Year by the Detroit Lions.

Batch and Stokes will be two of the 32 NFL team Man of the Year winners who qualified for the league’s national 2006 Walter Payton Man of the Year award. The overall Man of the Year winner will be announced during NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s annual press conference prior to Super Bowl XLI in Miami, Feb. 4. The prestigious award was renamed in 1999 for the legendary Chicago Bears Pro Football Hall of Fame running back. The Walter Payton Man of the Year Award has been given annually since 1970.

Charlie Batch has always been a strong member of the community and now he’s getting recognized for it. Batch, a Pittsburgh native, was named the Steelers’ 2006 Walter Payton Man of the Year for his numerous foundation and commitments to the Pittsburgh community.

Batch established Project C.H.U.C.K., which stands for Continuously Helping Uplift Community Kids. Project C.H.U.C.K. is in the fifth year of hosting a youth basketball league in the Homestead, Pa. community for boys and girls ages 7-18. Through this tournament, children learn sportsmanship as well as valuable life lessons from a variety of speakers; such as Pitt Basketball Head Coach Jamie Dixon, Denver Nuggets point guard Earl Boykins, a former EMU All-American basketball player, and many of Batch’s Steelers teammates.

Batch instituted The Best of the Batch Foundation to benefit youths in disadvantaged communities in the Pittsburgh area. The foundation works with local schools to promote education and rewards elementary school students with field trips if they show improvement or maintain good grades. Batch is very hands on and accompanies the children on the field trips, which include visits to the zoo, circus and Pittsburgh Pirates baseball games. The Best of the Batch Foundation also conducted a Toys For Tots toy drive. Batch and several of his Steelers teammates welcomed people as they donated new, unwrapped toys that were distributed to needy children during the Holiday Season.

Batch has mostly funded his projects with his own money, and even spent $50,000 out of his own pocket to refurbish basketball courts in the Homestead and Pittsburgh area.

In addition to his own foundations, Batch is the Steelers United Way representative. He speaks to groups about the importance of volunteering for United Way agencies and encourages them to donate to a variety of United Way agencies.

Offensive lineman Barry Stokes has been selected as the Detroit Lions’ 2006 Robert Porcher Man of the Year, which recognizes off-the-field community service as well as playing excellence. Stokes is one of 32 finalists, one from each NFL team, who receives $1,000 for his foundation and is a finalist for the NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year honor.

In his ninth year in the NFL and first full season with the Lions, Stokes has proven to be an outstanding citizen in the Detroit community and across his home state of Michigan through his efforts away from the field.

The mission of the Barry Stokes Foundation is to offer hope for a better tomorrow for the youth of the community as they grow spiritually, athletically and academically. The Barry Stokes Foundation supports the following charities: Make-A-Wish Foundation, Barry Stokes Youth Football, Food Bank of Eastern Michigan, Locks of Love and Davison High School’s Scholarship Fund.

Named after Barry in 2004, the Barry Stokes Youth Football League provides over 900 Davison area youth the opportunity to learn life lessons about teamwork, perseverance and dedication. The league features 24 teams of kids from age 7-13, as well as cheerleaders for each team. The youth are taught fundamentals which will serve them well as they advance in the game. The opportunity to assist the football league brings Barry Stokes full circle, having begun his football career as a member of the Davison Steelers.

In June of 2004, The Barry Stokes Foundation with a donation of $10,000 from Home Depot and support from Central Michigan Construction and many others in the community, completed work on a new storage building and workshop for the league. The Foundation also supplies funds to provide scholarships for children who cannot afford to participate, as well as funding to keep equipment up to date and safe for the players.

In 2005 Barry decided to commit to growing his hair out in support of one of the children he supports through the Make-A-Wish Foundation. One of the criteria for donating your hair to Locks of Love is that it must be at least 12 inches long. He reached the 12-inch mark in November 2005.

Locks of Love is a not-for-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children under the age of 18 with medical hair loss. These custom-fitted hair prosthetics are provided free of charge or on a sliding scale to children whose families meet the Locks of Love Board of Directors guidelines.

Having grown up in Davison, Michigan, Stokes feels it is important to give back to those who helped him be successful. "I was blessed by a strong support group of teachers, coaches and families. That support, love and encouragement gave me the strength, perseverance and dedication that has pushed me to a successful NFL career," said Stokes. Barry has created a scholarship fund at Davison High School, which awards scholarships to student-athletes who show a spirit of dedication, determination and academic excellence. The goal is to create an endowment to fund these scholarships in future years.

(Thanks to the Detroit Lions and Pittsburgh Steelers for providing their press releases for this story)

Eastern Michigan Athletics

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