Friends of Basketball

Leroy Brunner

Year Inducted: 1991

Category: Friends of Basketball

Schools / Organizations:
Joliet Central High School

Biography: If Joliet Central was playing basketball, there were three people in the stands: Leroy Brunner, Margaret Mietz and Ken Mietz The trio began following the Steelmen during their high school days back in the late 1940’s. They braved foul weather, restructured weekends and tailored vacation plans to be on hand for the Steelmen games. Counting sophomore games, girls’ games and the occasional Joliet West game, the trio watch nearly 75 games a year. Mietz’s fascination started in 1946 as a freshman watching the likes of Big Eight Conference scoring leader Frank Blum. Margaret Smith attended Wyanet High School and with a few friends would cruise the 90 miles to Joliet Township games. After graduation she took a job in Joliet. Ken Mietz and Margaret caught each other’s eye and they were married in December of 1968. Brunner keeps score at all the games while sitting with the Mietzes, with whom he rides to the games. They followed the Steelmen to Champaign and remembered Roger Powell of the Steelmen outplaying Thornridge’s Quinn Buckner. They cringed at the memory of the 1972 sectional loss to Lockport, when the Porters scored six points in the final 35 seconds to win. Ultimately, enduring tough losses and driving in blizzards was a labor of love for Brunner and the Mietzes.