If there was a Hall of Fame for halls of fame, Lynn Chandnois would have been a charter member.

A former Flint Central All-Stater who went on to become an All-American at Michigan State and a Pro Bowl halfback in the National Football League, Chandnois died Tuesday at age 86.

Chandnois was a charter member of the Greater Flint Area Sports Hall of Fame in 1980 and also belonged to the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame, Michigan State University Athletics Hall of Fame, Upper Peninsula Hall of Fame and Michigan Gridiron Greats Hall of Fame.

“He was, without question, the finest all-around athlete I ever saw play,” said the late Doug Mintline, former sports editor of The Flint Journal, in a 1988 story.

A native of Michigan's Upper Peninsula who moved to Flint as a youngster, Chandnois was an All-State football and basketball player at Central who also had outstanding baseball and track skills. But he didn't pursue those sports, instead choosing to focus on football when he wasn't playing basketball.

It was the right decision.

After graduating from high school, Chandnois served in the Naval Air Corps during World War II before enrolling at Michigan State, where he established himself as one of the best football players ever to suit up for the Spartans.

A starter in the backfield on both offense and defense who often played 60 minutes a game, Chandnois was MSU's Most Valuable Player in 1948 before earning first-team All-America honors the following season.

He still holds MSU school records for career interceptions (20) and interception return yards (410) while ranking second in rushing yards per carry (6.55), sixth in both rushing touchdowns (29) and total touchdowns (31), 12th in all-purpose yards (3,535) and 14th in rushing yards (2,103).

How good was Chandnois?

Well, just consider what Jack Breslin — whose name is on the building where MSU plays its home basketball games — said upon presenting Chandnois for induction into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame.

“He is one of Michigan State's all-time great All-American players,” Breslin said back in in 1988. “Perhaps its greatest.”

MSU football coach Mark Dantonio referred to the former Spartan great as “60-minute Chandnois” after learning of his death and athletic director Mark Hollis called him “not only one of the all-time greats in Michigan State history but … among the best all-around athletes in this state's history.”

After ending his career at MSU, Chandnois was the Pittsburgh Steelers' first-round draft pick (eighth overall) in 1950. He spent seven seasons with the Steelers and was a two-time Pro Bowl selection.

The 6-foot-2, 195-pound halfback was the NFL Player of the Year in 1952, led the league in all-purpose yards in 1953 with 1,538 and his average of 29.6 yards per kickoff return still ranks second in NFL history behind Gale Sayers.

“I don't know of anyone else who has been better” in Flint-area history, said Bill Troesken, a member of the Greater Flint Area Sports Hall of Fame's board of directors. “If you're the NFL Player of the Year, it doesn't matter if it's 2002 or 1952. That's amazing.

“As terrific and outstanding as he was as an athlete, he was a standup guy. He was always supportive of athletes in this area and had tremendous involvement over the years with the Greater Flint Area Sports Hall of Fame. You could always count on him helping out.

“He was a terrific guy.”

Although he had slowed down in recent years as age caught up with him, Chandnois still liked to meet for coffee once a week with a group of old friends. They'd gather at Meijer on Pierson Road and talk “sports, a lot of sports stuff,” said Flushing's Len Jasinski, a member of the Tuesday Coffee Club.

“There was a lot of kidding about old times. A lot of the old-time stuff.”

Jasinski, who last saw his longtime friend when they met for a coffee a couple of weeks ago, had known Chandnois for 60 years since they played recreation basketball together during the 1950s, when their James Lumber team won a state championship.

“We were pretty close,” said Jasinski, who will always remember “how strong and physical he was. He was a very, very competitive athlete. He might have been as good at basketball as he was at football.”

Jasinski said Chandnois has been cremated and a memorial service is being planned although details have yet to be finalized.

Born in Lawrence, Feb. 20, 1934, the son of Marguerite "Peggy" (Ringland) and the late Patrick Burke, Sr. Burke was captain of his Lawrence High School team and was the recipient of the Edward Gregg Medal as a top student-athlete in 1952. He is a member of the Lawrence High School Hall of Fame. Burke spent a post-graduate year at Staunton Military Academy in Virginia and then attended Cornell University, where he played freshman football and won the university's heavyweight boxing championship.

Burke, a tackle, transferred to Michigan State, where he lettered for three years, 1955, 1956 and 1957. In 1956, Burke was the starting on the Michigan State team that defeated UCLA, 17-14 in the Rose Bowl. Burke was selected as a first team All-Big Ten Tackle in 1957 and as team captain was presented the Washington Gridiron Club's Top Team in the Nation award.

In 2007, Michigan State University names the 1957 team the most outstanding Michigan State football team in 50 years. That team outscored opponents, 264-75.

In addition to being captain of the football team, Burke was president of his senior class at Michigan State. He also was president of the Excalibur, a senior class men's honorary society, the SAE fraternity and the Neumann Club. Burke was co-captain, along with future hall of famer, Alex Karras, of the East team in the annual East-West Shrine Game in San Francisco in 1957, and was drafted by the New York Giants that same year. He played for one season for the Giants, before being placed on injured reserve due to recurring knee injuries dating back to college.

Burke attended law school at Wayne State University and owned and operated several restaurants in Detroit, Washington, D.C., and Boston over the years. He was the original owner of Clarke's in Boston. For many years, Burke lived in Las Vegas and operated an innovative betting service called Vegas One News, which became the forerunner for many betting services that continue today. Burke returned to Massachusetts in 2000 and lived in Lawrence, until moving to the Academy Manor in Andover in 2007.

In addition to his mother, Marguerite, Burke is survived by his son, Michael, of New Hampshire; two daughters, Sabrina Burke-Featherstonehaugh and husband Stephen, of New York, and their children, Emily and Alexandra, Stephanie Burke-May and her spouse, Cindy, of Tennessee; his brother, Michael and wife Martha of Washington, D.C.; his sister, Jane B. Legendre and husband, Vincent, of Osterville; his uncles, Joseph Ringland, of Lawrence and James Callahan, of North Carolina; his nephew, Tripp Legendre and wife, Laura of New Hampshire; a niece, Leigh Keefe and husband, Patrick and their children, Meagan, Brenna, Patrick and Conan of Andover, plus many Burke and Ringland family cousins.

The family wishes to express their appreciation to Pat's kind and caring friends at the Academy Manor in Andover and the caring staff at Lawrence General Hospital.

*ARRANGEMENTS: There will be no calling hours, however, relatives and friends are invited to attend a funeral Mass on Saturday in Saint Patrick’s Church in South Lawrence at 11 a.m. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of the Kenneth H. Pollard Funeral Home, 233 Lawrence St., Methuen. **To send an online condolence or share a memory, please visit www.pollardfuneralhome.com.*