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Bob came to Centralia High
School as head basketball coach for the
1962-63 season. Prior
to his arrival in Centralia the Ashley
native was head coach at Norris City for
three years and at Metropolis three years
accumulating records of 52-23 and 68-17
respectively.
His first two years at CHS
saw undefeated South Seven Conference titles
as well as two trips to the state
quarterfinals. The 1963 team lost a one
point heartbreaker in the State championship
game and finished with a 32-2
record. His
CHS teams won 29 straight South Seven
Conference games which is part of the record
40 straight conference wins by the Orphans
from 1961 through 1965.
At CHS. Bob coached five All-State
basketball players and one who played pro
ball with the Lakers, Dickie Garrett.
His Orphans teams ran up a record of 198-92,
a 70% win total.
One of his most enjoyable coaching
experiences was that he coached all but one
of the players that played in the first high
school basketball game played in the
University of Illinois Assembly Hall.
In that game Centralia downed
Metropolis before a still record crowd at
the new Assembly Hall in the 1963 state
quarter finals.
Bob
also coached golf and cross-country and had
athletes qualify for state finals in these
sports as well. He served as athletic
director his last ten years at CHS before
retiring in 1983, and served
as Executive Director on the YMCA for
several years. He
has the distinction of being one
of the first 50 coaches of all time inducted
into the Illinois Basketball Coaches
Association Hall of fame in 1974.
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