Greg Carter (born July 29, 1954) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

coach and former collegiate and professional baseball player. He is currently the head coach of the Oak Park High School Knights in

Oak Park, Michigan Oak Park is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the population of Oak Park was 29,560. As a northern suburb of Metro Detroit, Oak Park shares its southern border with the city of Detroit. History This ...

Metro Detroit The Detroit metropolitan area, often referred to as Metro Detroit, is a major metropolitan area in the U.S. State of Michigan, consisting of the city of Detroit and its Southeast Michigan, surrounding area. There are varied definitions of the a ...

. He previously coached the Inkster High School Vikings in

Inkster, Michigan Inkster is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2010 census, the city population was 25,369. History The area was originally inhabited by Native Americans. It was settled by non-indigenous people in 1825. A post offi ...

and the Saint Martin de Porres High School Eagles in Detroit, Michigan. He has been a coach on 12 Michigan state championship football teams, eight as an assistant coach and four as a head coach. Carter previously played baseball at Kentucky State University, where he was selected as a college baseball All-American, and in the Detroit Tigers minor league organization. In 2009, he was inducted in Kentucky State University Hall of Fame.

High school and college

Carter was born in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

. He was an All-American

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

player and quarterback at Mackenzie High School in Detroit. In his junior year of high school, he was part of both the Detroit Public School League championship baseball team and the Mackenzie football team that won the divisional title, both led by coach Ron "Thomp" Thompson. After high school, Carter attended Kentucky State University. Carter played baseball as a catcher at Kentucky State and was selected as a college baseball All-American. He helped lead Kentucky State to its first NAIA baseball championship in 1976.

Minor League Baseball

After playing

at Kentucky State, Carter played Minor League Baseball for one season, in 1976, in the Detroit Tigers farm system, having stints with the

Montgomery Rebels The Montgomery Rebels was the name of several American minor league baseball franchises representing Montgomery, Alabama, playing in various leagues between and . ''Rebels'' was the predominant nickname of the Montgomery teams, but it was not the ...

Lakeland Tigers Lakeland is primarily a toponym. It may refer to: Places Australia * Lakeland, Queensland Canada * Lakeland (electoral district), a federal electoral district in Alberta * Lakeland County, a former municipal district in Alberta * District of ...

Bristol Tigers Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in S ...

Coaching career

St. Martin de Porres High School

In 1978, Carter starting coaching at Saint Martin de Porres High School as the assistant under his former football and baseball coach, Coach Ron "Thomp" Thompson. From 1978 to 1994, Carter won eight state championship titles as the assistant coach. In 1994, Carter became head coach, after the death of Thompson. As head coach, Carter kept the program going and led St. Martin de Porres to four more state championship titles and a runner up title. During Carter's tenure at St. Martin de Porres, he coached many talented players, including Notre Dame wide receiver David Grimes. Despite the success of the athletic program, the Archdiocese of Detroit closed the school in 2005.

Inkster High School

In 2005, Carter relocated to Inkster High School as the school's head football coach and athletic director. Before Carter came to Inkster, the school's football team had never been to the playoffs. In his first year as head coach, Carter led his team to the playoffs. In 2006, his team won the district and regional championships and was the runner-up in the state championship game at Ford Field. From 2005 to 2010, Carter went to the state finals three times. Carter coached many talented athletes at Inkster, including several who went on to play in for NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision teams: Devin Gardner (quarterback for the Michigan Wolverines), Cameron Gordon (Michigan Wolverines football player), Joshua Howard ( Ball State football player), Renty Rollins ( Jackson State football player), Armond Stanten (

Central Michigan Central Michigan, also called Mid Michigan, is a region in the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As its name implies, it is the middle area of the Lower Peninsula. Lower Michigan is said to resemble a mitten, and Mid Michigan cor ...

football player), and Deon Butler (Central Michigan football player).

Oak Park High School

In February 2011, Carter was hired as the head football coach at Oak Park High School. In his first year as the head coach, Carter took a team that won only two games in 2010 and led them to a 5-4 record.

Coaching achievements

Carter has many achievements as an assistant and head coach. He has been a coach on 12 state championship teams, eight as an assistant coach and four as a head coach. His teams have advanced to the state finals 16 times.

Awards

Carter has won numerous awards. He was inducted in the Catholic High School League Hall of Fame for coaches in 2003. He was named Ed Lauder Person of the Year through the Catholic High School League in 2005. Also, in 2009 he was inducted in Kentucky State University Hall of Fame for baseball.

Personal life

Carter is married to Deborah Carter. They have two children Amber and Adam Carter.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, Greg 1954 births Living people Baseball catchers Bristol Tigers players High school football coaches in Michigan Lakeland Tigers players Montgomery Rebels players Kentucky State Thorobreds baseball players Sportspeople from Detroit Baseball players from Detroit