Flint Southwestern, 1978
2024 Greater Flint African American Sports Hall of Fame Inductee
Category: Football/Coaching
Gary Lee is a proud graduate of Flint Southwestern High School, and a legendary athlete and coach. While at Southwestern, he received seven varsity letters playing three years of basketball, two years of football and two years of baseball.
On the basketball court, he earned All-City and All-Valley honors and scored over 900 points in his high school career, averaging 19.6 points per game. In 1978, he also helped lead Southwestern’s baseball team to a state championship while finishing the season with six home runs and 22 RBI’s.
On the football field, he was All-City, All-Valley and All-State at the quarterback position. One of Gary’s best performances came in a game against Saginaw Arthur Hill where he threw three touchdowns and rushed for another touchdown.
In the fall of 1978, Gary attended the University of Michigan on a football scholarship. In his freshman season, he was a part of the Michigan football team that won the Big Ten Championship.
Gary was also the quarterback and coach of the Bud Light Men’s 9-man flag football team that won three USFFL National Championships in 1986, 1987 and 1988. He was named MVP of the 1988 USFFL National Championship game.
Gary is an advocate for the City of Flint, and after his playing career he became a successful and accomplished coach for over 35 years in the Flint area. As a football coach, he has won seven city football championships, six GAC championships and two district championships.
In 2022, as the head football coach for Flint Hamady he helped lead the Hawks to a 10-2 record and won the league and district championships. That same year, Gary was named Michigan Division 5 Football Coach of the Year.
Over the years Gary has been a coach and mentor to several Flint area athletes including Mark Ingram, Mateen Cleaves, Robaire Smith, and Chris Wilson, just to name a few.
Gary Lee, you are the true definition of being “Flint Strong!” You have made Flint proud, welcome to the Greater Flint African American Sports Hall of Fame!
