PORT HURON — Having coached high school sports for more than half a century, Len Perkins left an enduring legacy in the Blue Water Area and beyond.
The revered mentor, who coached the Anchor Bay baseball team for 20 years and led Algonac softball to its first-ever MHSAA state semifinal in 2022, died on Dec. 18. He was 86.
“He had a profound impact on me,” said Port Huron football coach Dan Perkins, who is also Len’s son. “Boy, (this is) one of those things you don’t reflect on and realize until it hits you in the face here … with all of his successes, he rubbed off on me in a lot of ways — teaching wise, coaching wise … it’s a special bond he and I had through all that. He would tell me, often, how proud he was (of who I’d become).”
Len Perkins was born on Nov. 10, 1939, in Newport, N.H. The fourth of five children, he studied education at Indiana State University before earning his master’s degree in physical education at Central Michigan University.
Most notably, Len Perkins coached the baseball team at Anchor Bay from 1967-1986. The Tars went 328-186 under his watch. In 1979, he was named the Class B Coach of the Year by Michigan High School Baseball Coaches Association (MHSBCA), Eight years later, Len Perkins was inducted into the MHSBCA Hall of Fame as part of its inaugural class.
While at Anchor Bay, in addition to teaching, he also had stints as the softball coach (2005-2017), football coach (1968-1971) and athletic director (1985-1991). Additionally, Len Perkins served as coach of the Macomb County Community College baseball team for nine seasons from 1987-1995.
“As a player, he was a role model for me,” said Richmond High School baseball coach Scott Evans, who played for — and later coached with — Len at Macomb County Community College. “He gave me a chance to play for him in college and believed in me.
“He kind of set me on my path, ultimately, to be a pretty good Division I baseball player. He was great – taught me the game, how to respect the game and play the game with passion and energy … he was a fiery competitor.”
In 2019, Len Perkins returned to coaching high school softball, this time at Algonac. He led the program for the next three seasons. The Muskrats posted a 76-34 overall record during that stretch, which also saw the veteran coach win his 400th career game on May 21, 2021.
The highlight of his Algonac tenure, however, came in 2022, when the team finished 34-2 overall and reached the Division 3 state semifinals.
“He was just a good, good person, who cared about other people” Dan Perkins said. “He affected thousands and thousands of kids.”
There’s a lot that Dan Perkins will remember about his father. But wins and losses pale in comparison to the moments they shared together. And some of the most meaningful came on Friday nights during the high school football season.
For the past 21 years, before every game, Dan received a phone call from Len.
“That’s going to be difficult for me (moving forward),” Dan Perkins said. “I started coaching at Memphis (in 2004) as the defensive coordinator there. And, every Friday, at the most inappropriate time, the phone would ring. We’re talking 20-plus years, every Friday, he’d ring and ask me how things looked, what’s going to happen, how the other teams are … I’d have a little discussion with him.
“Then, every Friday night, when we got done, I’d call him back if he couldn’t make the game and we’d talk about what happened. That’s going to really hit me, I’m sure, as the next seasons rolls together there … that’s going to really be missed.”
Len Perkins is survived by his wife, Denise Wendt; five children, Michael, Thomas, Dan, Stephen and Kathleen; 12 grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and sister Jenny Brown.
A service took place on Monday, Dec. 22.
“His body gave up, but his mind and his heart did not,” Evans said. “That smile, and that skip in his step, he’s just forever in my heart.”
Contact Brenden Welper at bwelper@gannett.com. Follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @BrendenWelper.