Grosse Pointe News

Sean Cotton, Owner • Anne Gryzenia, Publisher • Jody McVeigh, Editor In Chief • Meg Leonard, Senior Editor

16980 Kercheval Pl. • Grosse Pointe, Michigan 48230 • 313.882.6900 • Monday-Friday 9am-4pm

William MogkFree Access


William Mogk

Grosse Pointe Shores resident William “Bill” Mogk passed away peacefully Saturday, April 17, 2021, at home, surrounded by family. Born Nov. 7, 1931, in Detroit, to Clifford and Evelyn Mogk, he was 89. 

A graduate of Southeastern High School, Bill earned a degree in education from the University of Michigan. During his 40-year career in the Grosse Pointe Public School System, he was a social studies teacher and counselor at Pierce and Brownell middle schools, and principal at Grosse Pointe South High School.

While his career was in education, Bill’s true passion was baseball. Selected captain of the Detroit city championship baseball team his senior year of high school, he was one of two outstanding high school players in Michigan chosen to join the U.S. All-Star team that played against the New York City All-Stars at Yankee Stadium and the Polo Grounds, which was home to the New York Giants. 

Bill attended the University of Michigan on a baseball scholarship. In his junior year, playing a position he had never played, he was the first Wolverine to play an entire season error-free. As a senior in 1953, he captained the Big Ten’s first College World Series championship team. For the next decade, Bill continued to play the game he loved as captain of the Detroit Pepsi-Cola team, a perennial champion of the Detroit Class A Federation League and national champions. He remained active with the Michigan baseball program throughout his life, served as president of the Letterwinners M Club and was inducted into Michigan’s Athletic Hall of Honor in 2002.

Bill paired his love of baseball with his dedication to educating and mentoring students and young players in Grosse Pointe. He placed strong emphasis on the importance of education for young athletes. A coach and volunteer to many Grosse Pointe baseball teams through the years, Bill shared technical advice, practical wisdom and life lessons he learned from the game. His family noted that Bill often said there was nothing in life that could not be explained with a good baseball analogy. 

Bill enjoyed spending summers with family at his lake home in northern Michigan.

He was greatly loved and will be dearly missed, his family said.

Bill is survived by his wife, Lynne; brother, John (Lylas); children, David (Gwendy), Susan, Kristine Simon (Ron) and Peter (Betsy); stepdaughters, Suzy Murphy (Sean) and Sally Link (David); and 12 grandchildren and step-grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Bill’s memory may be made to Hospice of Michigan at 1-800-669-9335; or hom.org.