Hall of Fame
Janas, a native of Highland Park, Mich., and graduate of Hamtramck St. Ladislaus HS, lettered four seasons as a baseball player in 1972, 1973, 1974 and 1975. He started all four seasons in rightfield for the Tartars.
Besides his outstanding baseball accomplishments for the Tartars, Janas was also a standout in the classroom. He is the first Tartar athlete in any sport to earn GTE/College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America honors. He earned First Team All-America recognition in 1974, and Second Team in 1975.
His biggest Tartar season came in 1974, his junior year. Janas led the squad with a .397 batting average, and he also led with a .504 slugging percentage. He set or tied five WSU single-season records that season, including games played with 40, at-bats with 131, hits with 52, total bases with 66, and triples with four. As a team the Tartars set a record for club wins with 20. Janas also led the squad with 22 RBI and 26 runs scored. Upon conclusion of the season he was voted the team's MVP.
Besides earning GTE/CoSIDA All-America status in 1974, Janas also earned NCAA College Division Honorable Mention All-American recognition the same season. Additionally Janas was named to the NCAA College Division All-District 4 team.
In his senior year, 1975, Janas broke his own team record for games played in one season with 41. He finished third in batting that season.
During his Tartar career Janas was known as an outstanding fielder. Over four seasons Janas handled 257 total fielding opportunities, and made only five errors. His career fielding percentage was .981. He made only one error in each of the 1972 and 1973 seasons, and in 1975 was perfect on 75 fielding opportunities. Janas received the Tartars' Golden Glove Award after his senior year.
After his Wayne State playing career was finished Janas continued to play organized baseball on the Class A level until 1980. He played with Concealed Security in the Federal League as an outfielder and coach. During his tenure with Concealed Janus participated in several national tournaments in Battle Creek.
As a prep baseball player Janas was a member of St. Ladislaus's 1971 Michigan Class C state championship team. He played in the outfield, mostly in center, and batted .395. In the Class C state title game, a 3-0 win over Dearborn Sacred Heart, Janas went 3-3, knocked in two runs and scored one. Janas earned All-Metro honors after that season. He also played basketball for St. Lad's. His senior team advanced to the state quarter-finals and finished 18-3.
Janas was recruited to WSU by then-baseball coach Bob Samaras. Before coming to Wayne in the Fall 1971 Janas had a tryout with the Pittsburg Pirates.
Janas received a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education from WSU in 1975, and a Master of Arts in Physical Education and Secondary Education from Wayne in 1981. In 1975 Janas was named to "Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges."
After substitute teaching in the Warren Consolidated District and teaching one year at St. Jude's in Detroit, Janas joined the L'Anse Creuse District in 1978. Janas is currently teaching math and physical education at L'Anse Creuse Middle School North.
Janas and his wife, Roberta, reside in New Baltimore, Mich. They are parents of four children, Julie, Becky, Sarah and Jimmy.
