In Memoriam: Johnny Oldham

 John Oldham (1923-2020)

WKU Hilltopper Basketball legend John Oldham – a fixture on The Hill as a player, coach and administrator – passed away Monday morning (Novemebr 23, 2020) in Bowling Green. He was 97.

Oldham's impact on WKU was so far-reaching that the court at E.A. Diddle Arena was named in his honor on Dec. 27, 2012.

"We are very saddened to learn of the passing of John Oldham," WKU Director of Athletics Todd Stewart said.  "Coach Oldham is one of the all-time iconic figures in Western Kentucky University Athletics history who impacted the Hilltoppers as a player, head coach, athletics director and developer of the Red Towel athletics logo.  His outstanding collegiate playing career was interrupted when he left school to serve in the United States Navy during World War II, but he returned to earn All-American honors while leading WKU to national prominence including a No. 5 national ranking in 1949.  He won 78% of the games he coached during his seven years as WKU's head coach while leading the Hilltoppers to the 1971 Final Four.  His impactful 15-year tenure as WKU's Director of Athletics from 1971-86 trails only Ed Diddle for longest service in overseeing WKU Athletics.  A soft spoken and enormously kind man, I truly enjoyed knowing him, visiting with him and learning so much about WKU from him.  It was a special evening on December 27, 2012, when we officially named the court in Diddle Arena 'John Oldham Court' with he and his family in attendance, ensuring him the recognition he never sought but certainly deserved.  It was an honor to have known him, and our thoughts are prayers are with his family."

Oldham left his mark on Hilltopper Basketball in each of his roles, earning All-America accolades as a player in 1949 and later coaching some of the greatest teams in WKU history.

Oldham, a native of Hartford, Ky., came to WKU in 1942 to play basketball for Coach E.A. Diddle after earning All-State honors at Hartford High School. After his freshman season at WKU, Oldham served in the U.S. Navy for three years during World War II.

In four years as a student-athlete (1942-43 before World War II and 1946-47, 1947-48 and 1948-49 after the war) he earned a place in WKU's 1,000-point club, racking up 1,006 career points, and helped the Hilltoppers to three appearances in the NIT, four conference championships and 102 wins. He was named an All-American by both the United Press International and the Associated Press as a senior in 1949, and he was also named to a spot on the first All-Ohio Valley Conference Team that season.

Oldham was selected to the WKU Basketball All-Century Team in 2018 as a player.

After two seasons for the NBA's Fort Wayne (now Detroit) Pistons, Oldham returned to The Hill to coach at old College High School before moving on to Tennessee Tech as the head coach. He returned to WKU in 1964 to take over the Hilltopper Basketball program from the retiring E.A. Diddle.

In seven seasons at his alma mater (1964-71), Oldham compiled an outstanding 142-40 record and led the Hilltoppers to five postseason trips, four conference championships, a Sweet 16 berth and a trip to the 1971 Final Four.

Oldham's .780 winning percentage as a head coach remains the best in WKU's illustrious men's basketball history by a wide margin, and his number 42 from his playing days hangs in the rafters of E.A. Diddle Arena in tribute. He coached two of WKU's three consensus All-Americans (Clem Haskins and Jim McDaniels).

In all, Oldham had a hand in 244 men's basketball victories, eight postseason appearances and nine conference championships in 11 years as a player and head coach. The overall record of those 11 teams was a remarkable 244-53 (82.2 percent).

Oldham was also a pioneer for social change in the sport, putting the Hilltoppers on the forefront of integration in the south in the 1960s.

One of the truly beloved individuals in university history, Oldham also served as athletics director from 1971-86 and, in 1971, conceptualized the Red Towel logo, which has evolved into one of the most easily recognized and historic athletic logos in the country. WKU's Big Red mascot was also created during his tenure.

His time as AD aligned with the creation of Title IX, the revival of women's athletics and the football program's move to Division I-AA, and his coaching hires included some WKU's best in Paul Sanderford (women's basketball), Joel Murrie (baseball) and Curtiss Long (track and field).

During his tenure as athletic director, Western won six OVC All-Sports Championships and one Sun Belt Conference All-Sports Championship.

Oldham has been inducted into the Lions Club Kentucky High School Hall of Fame (1969), Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame (1986), Ohio Valley Conference Hall of Fame (1989), Kentucky High School Hall of Fame (1990), Tennessee Tech Sports Hall of Fame (1990), WKU Athletic Hall of Fame (1991) and WKU Hall of Distinguished Alumni (2002).

- WKU Sports

In Memoriam: Walt "Buddy" Davis

Walt Davis (1931-2020)

The 1950s were very good to Nederland native Buddy Davis.

After building an All-Southwest Conference basketball career and winning an NCAA high jump title at Texas A&M University, Davis set his sights on Olympic gold in Helsinki.

On a cold, damp Finnish day — July 20, 1952 — 21-year-old Davis cleared a 6-foot, 8.32-inch (2.04-meter) bar, beating fellow American Ken Wiesner to win the gold medal. Four years later, Davis played a role on a Philadelphia Warriors team that won the franchise’s second NBA title and first in nine years.

Davis, who spent five seasons in the NBA and added a second championship with the St. Louis Hawks in 1958, died Tuesday (November17, 2020)in Port Arthur. He was 89.

Shaun Davis, one of Buddy’s two sons, said Buddy died peacefully at The Medical Center of Southeast Texas surrounded by family.

“He was just curious about everything,” Shaun said of his father. “He just read all the time, so he was a curious person. He was interested in so many things. He stayed so sharp and active, right until the time he passed. It was a real blessing he passed in a peaceful way.”

Born Walter Francis Davis on Jan. 5, 1931, in Beaumont, the man who grew to be 6 feet, 9 inches tall suffered a bout with polio, which temporarily paralyzed both his legs and arms.

“As far as polio is concerned, I was only 8 years old, so I was not aware of what was going on,” Davis told The News in a July 2016 series highlighting Olympians from Port Arthur and Mid-County. “I just knew my mother was upset and I was being treated like a king. The torture part was having to wear those braces on my leg [and] stay in the bed at all times.”

Davis overcame polio by learning to strengthen his legs. At Nederland High School, Davis became a basketball and high jump standout, scoring more than 60 percent of the basketball team’s points and winning district and region championships in the field event. He did not compete in the state track meet and elected instead to play baseball for the Bulldogs.

He accepted a basketball scholarship to Texas A&M, but under NCAA rules at the time had to sit out his freshman year (1948-49). The next three years, Davis made All-Southwest Conference twice, All-District Six twice and selected third-team All-America in 1951 by the Helms Athletic Foundation.

A Texas A&M teammate named Jim Dimmett, Davis said, taught him a form of jumping that Davis later developed into the “Western roll.” The jumper, Davis explained, takes his left foot and puts it under the right hip on takeoff, makes a “semi-dive” over the bar, curls over and rolls over on the hip, then hits the sand in a three-point stance.

He finished as NCAA runner-up in 1951 with a 6-foot, 6½-inch jump, and then won the national championship the next year jumping 6-9. His qualifying jump for the Olympics was 6-10½, higher than his winning attempt in Finland.

Davis said he cleared the 7-foot bar in the 1952 Southwest Conference championships, but added the attempt was lost “on mistake by SMU officials.” His 6-11 5/8 jump in 1953 set the last world record under 7 feet.

“Twice in an exhibition he jumped 7 feet, but they didn’t count it because it wasn’t an official meet,” Shaun Davis said. “He would open up a car dealership, and they would ask him to put on jumping exhibitions. They would fly him out to California and they would set up a high jump deal. He would do those jumps and attract a crowd.”

As an NBA player, Buddy Davis averaged 4.8 points and 4.3 rebounds in five seasons. His celebrity would carry into the 1960s, when he became a national spokesperson for Kent cigarettes, according to his son.

During the NBA offseason, Davis served as a Jefferson County Sheriff’s Deputy. After his career, he had a long career in banking, starting at Groves State Bank, then in Wharton and Texarkana.

Following retirement, Shaun said, Buddy was a civilian employee with the U.S. Coast Guard. He and his wife, the former Margaret Tynan, moved to Puerto Rico, and then came back to Texas as Buddy went to work for the Federal Emergency Management Agency for nearly two decades until he almost turned 80.

Buddy Davis was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 1964. He was honored during the Golden State Warriors’ ring ceremony at the start of the 2015-16 season as a past champion, and in January 2016 went into the Texas Track & Field Hall of Fame along with Carl Lewis, Sanya Richards-Ross and Jeremy Wariner.

Margaret Davis preceded Buddy in death in 2018 after 68 years of marriage. Together they raised nine children and had “dozens” of grandchildren and great-grandchildren, Shaun said.

 - IC Murrell, Port Arthur News -

In Memoriam: Chuck Mrazovich

 Chuck Mrazovich (1924-2020)

Hialeah, Florida - Charles 'Chuck' Mrazovich, 96, of Hialeah, Florida, passed away on November 8, 2020.

The funeral service will be held at 6 pm, November 13, 2020 at Fred Hunter's Funeral Home, Hollywood Florida. Reverand Bobby McCann will be officiating. Visitation will be held at 6pm. Burial will follow the funeral in Sebring, Florida for family only.

Chuck was born in Ambridge, Pennsylvania on February 26, 1924. He graduated from Ambridge High School and continued on to receive a Master's Degree in Fine Arts from Eastern Kentucky University.

Chuck was married to Mary Lorraine Neely in 1949; they were married 71 years.

Chuck, a combat war veteran served in the 44th Infantry Division for three years and received a Bronze Star and four Battle Stars for his service including the Battle of the Bulge. After the war he was an NBA player for the Indianapolis Olympians. He went on to become a teacher and basketball coach in Kentucky, and retired from Hialeah High School. He enjoyed playing the Brac in his Tamburitzan band, art, and antiquing. Of his many accomplishments, his joy was coaching his grandchildren and teaching them to play and sing Croatian music.

Chuck is survived by his wife, Mary Neely Mrazovich, son, Vincent Mrazovich (Bette), daughter Vickie Clark (Scott), grandchildren, Timmy King (Nikki), Steve King (Katy), Celine Watson (Dale), Zane Mrazovich, and 7 great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his brother, John Mrazovich.