Charles “Chuck” Savage may not have played sports at Auburn High School, but he cared athletics and the Auburn community, giving a lifetime of support to both. Due to his dedication to supporting Auburn sports, Savage will be given an honorary induction into the Auburn High School Athletic Hall of Fame tonight at the Springside Inn.

“Chuck was an outstanding Auburn sports supporter,” said Dick Williams, the Hall of Fame committee head and longtime friend of Savage. “He was always around the sports and doing whatever was needed to get them supported by the community. After his family, Auburn High sports were his second love.”

That love began during his own high school days at East High, where he graduated in 1950. Savage was a huge sports fan and even more so, a proud Auburn citizen.

“Chuck just liked to help out,” Savage's wife of over 47 years, Peg Savage said. “He loved sports and loved to see kids having a good time. He always thought that children should have the best opportunities we can give them.”

In his long list of successful endeavors in his support of the Maroons, Savage conceived and ran a program to replace the sod on the field at what is now Holland Stadium; he obtained used utility poles when the Board of Education canceled all night football games due to the need for new poles and the lack of funds with which to purchase them; and in 1973, Savage founded and was the first president of the Auburn Boosters Club, which not only still functions today but is the heartbeat of fundraising and support for Auburn High athletics and other programs.

“He loved this community and was crazy about kids,” Peg Savage said. “He was more than willing to do anything to help out and always was good at finding a group of people to help him in his projects.”

Savage's list of community projects only seemed to grow over the years, adding to his 22 years of service as a Cayuga County legislator, while also serving as the president of the Red Cross, president of Kiwanis, president of the board of directors for the Auburn Doubledays, by whom he was also named Sportsman of the Year, president of the Big Brothers and president of the Auburn Recreation Committee.

As a former member of the nominating committee for the Auburn High School Athletic Hall of Fame, Williams said Savage's knowledge of sports is something that cannot be replaced on the committee.

“He knew so much about Auburn athletes of the 1940s, '50s and '60s,” Williams said. “A lot of people don't have that kind of knowledge and he is truly missed. Chuck was instrumental in handling a lot of the chores that had to be done and he always did it with a smile. Once he started something he stuck with it and got it done.”

Seemingly unselfish, Savage's wife Peg said that nothing Savage did was ego driven. Instead, he wanted to make others happy and to make sure that everyone got the best opportunity in the community.

“He never had a private agenda in anything he did,” Peg Savage said. “He was always doing it because he thought it would make things better for people. He was one of the good guys, a happy man who wanted to make everyone else happy.”

Baseball was always one of Savage's favorite sports and as soon as the Auburn Yankees, Auburn's first New York-Penn League baseball team, were established, Savage was right there helping out in the clubhouse.

“He never wanted to be the star,” Peg Savage said. “He just wanted to help build up the environment so that others could be the star.”

Passing away at age 77, Peg Savage said her husband was “lucky to have never grown old.” Peg will be accompanied by their 12 grandchildren to accept the Honorary Induction Award in Savage's honor, at the Hall of Fame dinner.