Former Tiger Basketball Standouts Inducted Into Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame & Museum

Springfield, Ohio — Wittenberg University's illustrious athletics history continues to gain statewide notoriety as Don Henderson, class of 1954, and Frank Shannon, class of 1940, become the fourth and fifth former Tiger standouts to gain entry into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame & Museum.

What makes Henderson's induction so special is that he is part of the seven-person executive board of the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame & Museum, which does not yet have a physical location. He is a founding member of the board, and he has given a great deal of time and effort into making the hall of fame and museum a reality.

Henderson and Shannon are among 17 players, coaches and officials from around the state who will be inducted during a dinner and ceremony at 7 p.m. Saturday, May 22, at the Columbus Convention Center. In addition, outstanding teams from Delphos St. John's High School, Otterbein College and Shawnee State University will be honored at the 2010 event.

"I am very humbled to be going in with the class of 2010," Henderson said. "Our goal is to put a face on the history of Ohio basketball — from High School to the colleges to the pros plus contributors — by preserving that history. It is a journey!"

Henderson's greatest claim to fame was an illustrious 36-year career as a mathematics teacher and coach in the Springfield City School District. He coached Springfield North's boys basketball team from 1960-1989, leading the Panthers to two undefeated regular seasons, six Western Ohio League championships and four district titles. Also North's head baseball coach for 22 years, Henderson coached five all-state basketball players, including a pair of Ohio players of the year, and he led the Panthers to a 65-5 record in one phenomenal stretch.

Henderson was an all-state high school basketball player himself at Cadiz High School, before he spent four years in the Air Force and then enrolled at Wittenberg in 1950. He earned eight letters in baseball, basketball and football, and he was later elected into Wittenberg's Athletics Hall of Honor in 1996. He also was elected to the Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame in 1991.

Shannon, a 1935 graduate of Springfield High School, set Wittenberg's men's basketball scoring record while wearing the Red & White, a highlight of a fine three-year collegiate career in which he helped the Tigers to their first Ohio Athletic Conference championship in 1939. He posted a two-year record of 14-4 as a baseball pitcher while appearing in every game the team played over a two-year period.

Shannon, who passed away in 2005, deferred a professional baseball contract with the Cleveland Indians because of World War II. After the war, he became a player and coach with the Youngstown Bears, a forerunner of the NBA.

Shannon enjoyed a long and successful high school and college basketball coaching career. He got his start at Olive Branch High School, leading his teams to an 83-18 record in four seasons before the school was consolidated into Tecumseh High School in 1951. He then led Tecumseh to a four-year record of 84-14 with three district championships before coaching at Urbana High School.

In 1958, Shannon moved to the collegiate ranks to take the head coaching job at Ohio Wesleyan University. The Battling Bishops had not had a winning record in six years when Shannon arrived, but his teams won 214 games before he retired in 1979. The 21-3 record in 1961-62 remains OWU's record for men's basketball winning percentage in a season. Shannon was inducted into Wittenberg's Athletics Hall of Honor in 1988.

Tickets for the induction dinner and ceremony are available for $75, and can be purchased at http://www.ohiobasketballhalloffame.com or by calling (614) 783-1598. Corporate and private tables and sponsorship opportunities are also available.

Written by: Ryan Maurer

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