Greg Bzura – a man synonymous with the City of Taylor, Little League, and the Junior League Baseball World Series – has passed away after a long illness.
He was 88 years old when he died on January 26, 2026.Bzura was a founder of the Junior League World Series for top teams of 13- and 14-year-olds from around the globe. He also served as volunteer director of the international baseball tournament for the first 40 years of its existence.
Bzura and other volunteers are credited with putting Taylor on the worldwide Little League map. As the event gained fame and hosted players who would go on to major league careers, then-Governor Jennifer Granholm called Taylor the “Little League capital of Michigan.”
Upon Bzura’s retirement as World Series director in 2022, Little League International President and CEO Stephen D. Keener attended the JLWS that summer. Keener oversaw the passing of the director’s role from Greg to his son Dan, a lifetime JLWS volunteer as well.
“On behalf of everyone at Little League International, and all of those who have had the pleasure to experience the Junior League Baseball World Series over the past 40 years, we would like to thank Greg for his unwavering commitment to this incredible event and congratulate him on a well-deserved retirement from his role as tournament director,” Keener said at the 2022 JLWS. “Greg was instrumental in bringing this World Series to the City of Taylor, and thanks to his leadership and support, we continue to be able to provide hundreds of teenage baseball players this unique opportunity each summer.”
Bzura never sought fame, but along the way was inducted into sports halls of fame in both Taylor and his original hometown of Wyandotte. The City of Taylor recognized his importance by naming Greg Bzura Parkway in his honor in Taylor’s Heritage Park, home of the JLWS.
Born in Wyandotte, Bzura graduated from Our Lady of Mount Carmel High School and furthered his education at the University of Wisconsin School of Banking. He worked 35 years as a banker, retiring in 1992 as a vice president at Security Bank and Trust. He also served two terms as a Taylor City Councilman, was an appointed city commissioner and was active in the Lions Club.
An athlete in his youth, Bzura got involved with Taylor Little League after he and wife Judy had three sons — Phil, Kenn, and Dan — all of whom wanted to play sports. He eventually met Sam Pizzo, who urged Bzura to join the board at the Taylor South Little League, which had been founded by Pizzo in 1961 at what would become Taylor’s Heritage Park.
Bzura and Pizzo began a friendship that spanned six decades and would include their wives and children.
Pizzo, who retired after a 33-year-career at General Motors, recalls the significance of Bzura’s involvement at the Taylor Little League complex.
That included helping start the Sunday bingo fundraisers that contributed to the early days of the league, helping obtain the 4.6 acres of park space needed to play baseball and softball, providing the written materials used to convince Little League that Taylor was the place for tournaments, and to tell Taylor visitors what awaited them when they visited the city.
Together, the two men attended the baseball congress together, celebrated at league bonfires, enjoyed Super Bowl parties and had many meals together – the thing Pizzo said he will miss most.
Pizzo said the first Little League team Bzura coached was called the Phillies, named for his son Phil. The long-time friends were even teammates on some fun men’s softball teams together.
“We couldn’t win any games, but everybody wanted to play on our team,” Pizzo recalled.
Together, Bzura and Pizzo appealed to Little League International to make Taylor the home of the first home of the then-13-Year-Old World Series – the “big brother” of the Little League World Series for 12-year-olds.
The first series, with just four American teams, was held at Taylor South in 1981. Over the next four decades, the event would grow to include 13- and 14-year-olds and expand to a dozen teams from all over the world, and be played at an impressive complex known as the Sam Pizzo Fields at Heritage Park.
Forty-five years after it began, the Junior League World Series continues to be played in Taylor.
Bzura always credited the hundreds of volunteers that came together every August to help make unforgettable experiences for the players, coaches, umpires and spectators. Eventually, the champion of District 5 was added to the tournament as the host team with representatives of the Taylor North Little League now playing in the series while their families volunteer at various roles.
“I’ve always said no one is bigger than the program,” Bzura said upon his retirement as director. “It’s about all of us – all the guys who joined forces to make it happen and the thousands of volunteers who have kept it going. Now, young people need to take it and move it forward. I have a lifetime of good memories and good friends. I thank everyone that has volunteered over the years.”
People who knew Bzura will remember him as a man of profound faith and enduring love for his family and a beacon of love, laughter and generosity. A devout Catholic, his commitment to faith was woven through every aspect of his life.
Bzura was known as a man who led by example, as an elected and appointed city official, as a Little League officer, and in his daily life. He was known for his storytelling, his sense of humor, his selflessness and his generosity.
“Greg was a great man,” said Taylor Mayor Tim Woolley. “I’m glad I really got to know him and call him a friend.”
“Pops was always my hero, the guy I wanted to grow up and be like,” said Dan Bzura. “By example, I learned the importance of loving my family, being active in the community and standing up for what I believed in. I was truly blessed to have him as my father and he will be dearly missed.”
Family meant everything to Greg. He and Judy were married for 43 years before she passed away in 2002. They are survived by their sons Phil, Ken, and Dan (Cori); grandchildren Matthew Bzura, Lindsey Brithinee (Jake) and Samantha Magyar (Chris); great grandchildren Wyatt and Griffin Magyar; and a sister, Stephanie Stonebruner.
He is preceded in death by six siblings: Irene Nareski, Mary Butifant, Joe Bzura, Ed Bzura, Tony Bzura and Rose Tysowski.
Funeral visitation is scheduled for 5 – 8 p.m on Thursday, January 29, and 1 – 8 p.m. Friday, January 30, at the Taylor Chapel of Voran Funeral Home, 23750 Goddard Road.
A rosary is scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday. Bzura will lie in state at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, January 31, with a funeral Mass of the Resurrection at 10 a.m., both at St. Constance Catholic Church, 21333 Kinyon in Taylor. Interment will take place at Our Lady of Hope Cemetery.
Donations may be made to the Junior League World Series, sent in care of Dan Bzura, to 10090 Woodlawn Street in Taylor.
