Laurence Bodell

Baseball - Basketball - Football - Track

Played Varsity Football while in the 7th grade

Earned 27 Varsity Letters while a student athlete at Sparta High School and Junior High School

College Football - Lettered at Western Michigan University

Laurence and Lilah Ebes celebrated New Years in 1938 by marrying and honeymooning in Florida. They have two daughters. 

After his formal education, Laurence was athletically involved with the Consumer Power Baseball team, the Alpine Grange Baseball team, and the Northwest Merchants Baseball team. He participated with friends and faculty of Sparta Area Schools on a Sparta Independent Basketball team called the Cardinals.

Laurence was the owner of Peach Ridge Music Company which supplied jukeboxes to entertainment venues. After selling his music company, he became very involved with his favorite hobby, woodworking. He was very talented and has left behind many handcrafted tributes to his abilities.

Because of the person Laurence was and in his memory, Sparta High School has established the Athletic Hall of Fame to recognize athletes, coaches, or persons who have excelled in athletics at Sparta (or beyond) and displayed characteristics of an excellent role model. The Sparta Hall of Fame hopes to build a tradition at Sparta High School by recognizing those individuals who have displayed pride, a competitive spirit, involvement, commitment, and leadership.