By Don Traxler
Note: Don introduced the 1978 Ada HS girls basketball team on May 18 at the Hardin County Sports Hall of Fame induction program. His introduction follows:
It is my honor to introduce to you Ada’s first girls’ basketball coach Sharon Pitts and her 1978 Ada girls basketball Class A state champions and Hardin County's first state championship team. This was the third girls’ state basketball team and there were three divisions!
Born in Mary Rutan Hospital in Bellefontaine, Sharon spent most of her elementary and high school years at Roundhead School and was a 1958 graduate. While a high school student, there was no such thing as girls’ basketball so she went to the Kenton Armory and played on the Roundhead Grange girls’ team. She was enough of a prolific scorer that Helen Ludwig invited the Grange team to play her Ohio Northern University women’s club basketball team.
All Sharon did was score 50 points against them. The ONU men’s basketball coach at the time thought he should probably try to recruit her for his team. The setup for girls basketball was three offensive players and three defensive players and they were not allowed to cross the center line. According to my older sister who played on the intramural teams at BGSU in the early 50s’ you could only take two dribbles before you passed the ball.
Sharon went to The Ohio State University to obtain her two-year elementary education certificate. During the second year she played basketball with the Buckeyes’ women’s basketball club team and was on the traveling team for a couple games.
She taught 4th grade at Duxberry Road Elementary School in Columbus for one year and then three years at Roundhead Elementary School.
Sharon completed her bachelor’s degree at Ohio Northern University in 1968 and began teaching junior high school reading and math at Ada. After Title IX was adopted, she became the first girls’ basketball coach at Ada High School.
Her first teams weren’t very successful. When the seniors of the championship team began their first year as freshmen, Sharon knew they were going to be good. The junior varsity had a 10-0 record and the varsity was 11-3. When these girls were juniors, they had a 19-0 until they lost to Delphos St. Johns in the Regional Semifinal game. The Blue Jays were State Class A Champions that year.
The very next morning the returning varsity girls were on the Pitts’ backyard court practicing together. They set their goal then of going to the state tournament the following year. They lost at Delphos St. Johns during a regularly scheduled holiday game and then lost at Bath by two points in the season finale. I recall that I was told that Coach Pitts was so upset with the way the girls had played in that game that she sent them each a letter stating what they were going to have to do individually and as a team in order to reach their goal.
The team breezed through the sectional tournament. They defeated Minster in the district championship game at Bath. Near the end of the game, Mrs. Marge Dion’s sixth grade girls led a cheer from their seats in the stands, give me a “B” give me a “U” etcetera. By the time they finished the Bulldog fans realized they were leading a cheer. So quiet little me just repeated the cheer and needless to say, the fans were loud and clear in their support of the team. The team members sitting on the bench across the gym, stood and cheered for their fans.
Next came the regional tournament at BGSU. Fred Reichert of Reichert’s Clothing brought me an old gold sweatshirt with a big purple “A” to lead the cheers. The Lady Bulldogs defeated Old Fort in the semifinal game. Ottoville was the championship foe. Prior to the game, Coach Pitts came and asked if she could take our sixteen-month old son Ty to the locker room to give all the girls “five” because she knew he would do it and the girls were so nervous about the game.
The Lady Bulldogs prevailed and it was on to the state tournament in beloved St. John’s Arena. Ada had the worst record of the four teams 20-2.
Ada varsity boys' basketball coach Gene Fries accompanied Coach Pitts to Columbus for the Sunday meeting before the state tournament. Sharon was the only female in the group. He remarked that “you may not know her now but you’ll never forget her!”
Fourth grade teacher Peggy Davis Cole and I made sure every downtown Ada store had something about our Bulldogs’ Team on at least one of their windows with white shoe polish. The women teachers of the Ada Schools led a pep rally to send the girls off to Columbus.
The Lady Bulldogs handed second-ranked and undefeated Arcanum their season-ending loss 43-37 in the semifinal game. Dick Chambers, editor of The Ada Herald and I were designated as the “Welcome Home” Co-Chairs and we made sure slips of paper were handed out after the game detailing the information for the “welcome home plans” for the team on Saturday.
The game at 11 a.m. was the first of three championship games. Ada had presold over 1,000 tickets. Middletown, playing in the AAA championship presold 36 tickets. When Myra and I walked onto the floor, Coach Pitts didn’t even say “hello” but grabbed Ty out of my arms and took him to the locker room to give the girls “five.”
I regret that Ty, his wife, Heather, and sons, Andrew, 6, and Owen, 4, were unable to come tonight due to previous family commitments. Ty was junior varsity basketball coach at Elmwood for eight years and will begin his 6th year as varsity coach this fall.
Mrs. Dion took one end of St. John’s and I took the other to lead cheers. The Lady Bulldogs played another outstanding team game and sent the third-ranked team and undefeated Old Washington-Buckeye Trail back to southeastern Ohio with their first loss 51-39.
Ada’s Jim Turner and Cliff Harrington were the announcers for WBGU-TV (Bowling Green State University) who telecast both the games from St. John’s Arena.
The victory parade began in the parking area all around the Plaza Restaurant in Mt. Victory. The truckers who had to wait on the more than one-mile parade through Kenton were blaring their air horns. Was it in celebration or disgust for the long wait?
The parade went down Main Street and east to Johnson Street to East Lima Avenue and back down Main Street to the gymnasium for the massive celebration.
I should tell you that at both games in Columbus, I did not make any suggestions to the officials about their calls. However, I did suggest to Coach Pitts that she call time-outs in both games when the opponents were cutting our leads. She can tell you why she didn’t.
Before I present Coach Pitts who will introduce her state champions, it’s only appropriate that we greet her by helping her to celebrate her four-years-younger-than-me birthday!
(The Sports Hall of Fame Committee had a large cupcake with a lighted candle on it when we sang to Sharon as she came to the stage along with the ’78 team).
