He’s been gone from Coudersport for 15 years, but what he accomplished with that school’s girls basketball program, in particular, hasn’t been forgotten … nor have his efforts as an athletic director.
And, on Saturday night in Sharon, Tom Harpst was reminded that his home territory remembered him as well. That’s when he was one of 11 inductees into the Mercer County Hall of Fame. It’s not some recently-established, whimsical honor, but rather is the oldest local Hall of Fame in the world. Harpst is now one of 557 inductees in its 70-year existence.
And the banquet, held at Sharon’s Radisson Park Inn was a well-attended major event.
Emcee was former Pirates broadcaster Lanny Frattare, back for his 35th year, and the speakers were former Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel, now president at nearby Youngstown (Ohio) State University, and Charlie Batch, who spent 15 years in the NFL as a quarterback for the Lions and Steelers and currently a technology entrepreneur.
Harpst, now 72, grew up in Mercer County and he and his wife Hazel moved back there, to Greenville, after retirement following the 2000-01 girls basketball season when he earned District 9 Coach of the Year honors. During his 12 seasons coaching the Coudy girls, the Falcons were persistent North Tier League champions and regular contenders for the D-9 title.
He had a modest 109-101 record as a boys coach, but it was with the Coudersport girls team that he made his reputation, going 294-50, a glittering .855 win percentage.
Over his scholastic basketball coaching career, Harpst won 404 games.
After retiring, he umpired softball for a decade in his home county and now coaches the sport at tiny Jamestown (Pa.) High School not far from the Ohio border.
His selection to the Mercer County Hall of Fame was based upon his high school coaching success and accomplishments as an athletic director.
Harpst recalled, with pride, “In my years as Coudersport AD, we achieved 24 District 9 titles, numerous league crowns (boys and girls basketball, football, track, golf, volleyball and wrestling), wrestling state champions, and several state qualifiers (team and individual).
“The dedication of the Coudersport coaches, the quality of student-athletes and the support/loyalty of the Coudersport community made those achievements a reality.”
The Sharon Herald, which covered the event, quoted Tressel, who coached the Buckeyes to an NCAA championship and Youngstown to four Div. I-AA championships, as as pointing out, “It’s great when people get back together and reminisce and think about what sports have meant to them, the friendships they’ve created, the opportunities, and what it took to be good.
“It’s a special moment, because it’s been such a big part of your life – the relationships you had, the teams you were a part of – and there you are, being singled out. That’s humbling.”
He added, “You don’t get inducted into a Hall of Fame unless you were on good teams … you don’t get inducted as an individual without great coaching and opportunities. So it makes you step back and count your blessings. That’s one of the great things about the Hall of Fame.”
Batch, in his remarks, referred back to his days as a QB at Eastern Michigan University. “It’s not about ability; it’s about attitude,” the Herald quoted him as saying. “Special people put in the work daily that ordinary people do only occasionally. You never know when an opportunity’s going to come along, so when it does you have to be ready to perform when your number is called.
“Don’t go where the path may lead you … leave a trail,” Batch suggested adding that a ceremony such as Saturday’s “never gets old, no matter where you go in life.”
Harpst, in an email to the Times Herald concluded, “Myself and my family are honored to have been a part of the Coudersport community. I believe a true testimony to the caliber of the people within the Coudersport family is the continued achievements of the programs. “Thanks for the memories and continue to bring pride and accomplishment to Coudersport.”
(Chuck Pollock, the Times Herald sports editor, can be reached at cpollock@oleantimesherald.com)
