“There is not a person more deserving,” said Denfeld football coach Erik Lofald, who considers Ham a friend. “I texted him right away and said, ‘Let’s go!‘”
Ham grew up in Duluth and, with working parents, spent his days at the Boys & Girls Club. He was, in the parlance of the place, “an every day kid.” He was competitive and quiet but also a leader. By the time he was in high school, Ham had a “Pied Piper quality about him,” said Tim Stratioti, who was the executive director at the Boys & Girls Club for years.
Ham has held tight to his connection with the local branch, and other places where kids gather. He drops in when he is in town, a welcoming face for kids who all know who he is.
“It’s very clear that he understands how kids look up to him and what a role model he is, and he’s doing the best he can to be a great example to those kids,” said Todd Johnson, who now runs the Boys & Girls Club.
In 2022, Ham and his wife, Stephanie, started the Ham Family Scholarship Fund. It provides financial support to students of color in and around Duluth and Superior, Wis., so they can attend higher-level education. They are also behind Pamper Her Purple Night, which gives women who have or had cancer a day of spa treatments. C.J. Ham’s mother, Tina, died from pancreatic cancer in 2021.
Tony Klaas played with Ham in high school and now is an assistant coach for the Hunters. The Ham he knew then is the Ham he knows now.
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