Denise Porath - Class of 2025

(Escanaba)

Denise Porath, one of the first female athletes to take advantage of Title IX, was an outstanding athlete who turned to coaching. She began playing softball at age 13 before the days when girls were allowed in Little League. She played fastpitch softball for 35 years and played on two state championship teams. She also played on Escanaba's first girls’ basketball team and was a vaunted sprinter on the school's first girls' track team in 1974. She played field hockey at Northern Michigan University and had a single-season record of 31 goals. She tried out for the Olympic Team in 1979, but the U.S. boycotted the Olympics in 1980. She was inducted into the NMU Sports Hall of Fame in 2006. Porath also coached basketball and golf at Powers North Central and has won five Highland Golf Club women's titles along with seven runner-up titles.