Chet Aubuchon: the father of MSU basketball greatness!

By Eric Fish            Michigan State University’s illustrious basketball program has produced several All-American athletes.          Â

By Eric Fish

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           Michigan State University’s illustrious basketball program has produced several All-American athletes.

           But before the celebrated careers of Magic Johnson, Greg Kelser, and Mateen Cleaves, there was Chet Aubuchon – the first Michigan State athlete to be honored with the ultimate title of All-American.

           Aubuchon came to MSU from Gary, IN as a five-foot-nine, 140-pound shooting guard in 1938. Interestingly enough, he was given his scholarship when him and his buddies challenged and beat the then-varsity team in a pickup game.

           Donning No. 3 and a never-say-die attitude, Aubuchon became a fan favorite among Michigan State fans for his shooting, passing, and dazzling ball-handling skills back in a day where there was no three-point line and free throws were still shot underhand.

           After sitting out his junior season of 1940-41 because of a near-death illness, Aubuchon came roaring back his senior season to serve as team captain and earn the nickname “Houdini of the Hardwood.”

           Doctors said that the infection that had caused Aubuchon to miss his entire junior year would never allow him to play basketball again. Chet thought otherwise and willed himself back to full health in time for his senior season.

           Aubuchon struggled with his basketball career following his college years and only played one season in the NBA with the 1947 Detroit Falcons, but his name can be found in the Michigan State University Hall of Fame and Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame for his accomplishments at the amateur level.

           But Aubuchon’s greatest accomplishment may have come in 1947 when he met a mid-Michigan woman named Janet while coaching high school basketball in Owosso.

           Ironically enough, Janet had never seen Chet play basketball at the professional level or the collegiate level and wouldn’t have known his history in hoops if not for the friendliness of others around the area.

           “The maintenance man came out and said ‘Do you know who that is?’ I said ‘No, I don’t,’” she said. “Then he went on to tell me that he was such a great basketball player and that was the first time I’d heard about it.”

           Janet described Chet as a very humble man who never was one to gloat about his past accolades.

           “He never tooted his horn at all,” she said. “A lot of people never knew him to that extent.”

           Janet and Chet married a few years after they met and Chet continued to coach basketball at the high school level. In 1949 after receiving a masters degree, Chet was able to coach and teach at high schools.

 ��         “He loved basketball and he loved kids and he loved education,” Janet Aubuchon said. “Those things were his main thing. The kids loved him and he brought everybody home.

           “He always kidded and joked with them and I would have to be the one to tell them not to pay attention.”

           Chet’s coaching career took him from Owosso to Holly and then to St. Clair Community College. Aside from teaching the kids, Chet also acted as a counselor to many of them, encouraging them to continue with education en route to their desired careers.

           Janet credits her late husband for shaping many of their lives and putting them on the right path.

           After spending much of their lives in the Michigan climate, Chet and Janet packed their bags and moved south to Florida in hopes of spending their later years in a more temperature-friendly atmosphere.

           Tragically, soon after they began life in Florida, Chet was stricken with Alzheimer’s disease.

           He battled the illness under his wife’s care for 10 years before he passed away last year on April 15, 2005. He was 88.

           Chet and Janet never had any children of their own, but at the same time they acted like parents to the hundreds of kids whose lives they impacted.

           “It’s been a lot of good memories,” Janet Aubuchon said. “I wish everybody I knew could have known him.”

           Janet kept numerous letters, pictures and other memorabilia over their marriage and was kind enough to lend some of the material to Hondo’s House and Hondo’s Highlights for further investigation into her late husband’s life. Every letter seemed to echo words of praise for Aubuchon and every picture showed him as a true teammate and leader.

           Although humble about his accomplishments at Michigan State, Aubuchon was a catalyst for the success that the university’s basketball program enjoys today.

           He may be gone, but he is not forgotten among the Spartan nation and among those whose lives he impacted throughout his life.

           If you happen to wander in the Breslin Center these days and glance up toward the rafters, you’ll see many illustrious jerseys celebrating the careers of talented basketball players from Michigan State’s past. If you look hard enough, you’ll see some room for another jersey banner.

           It may not be long before we see Chet Aubuchon’s No. 3 joining the club. In all fairness, he was the one that started Michigan State’s All-American club.