Walsh, Bob

Bob Walsh – (1988)

 

BOB WALSH

The point may be open to dispute, but Bob Walsh can be called the greatest high school basketball coach the Lorain area has ever witnessed.

He is without dispute among the most successful.

While some of Walsh’s skillful coaching peers have been able to match him win for win, none has racked up two state titles, a pinnacle of distinction shared by only a handful of Ohio coaches.

Perhaps even more impressive, Bob won the state titles at two different schools. He took the Oberlin Indians to the 1987 Class AA championship after leading Clearview’s Clippers to a small-school title in 1974.

Always a proponent of defense and teamwork, Bob shares at least one important trait with other outstanding coaches — he consistently gets the most from his players.

Bob racked up a 241-104 record in his tenure at Clearview despite the fact that his was the smallest school in the Lakeland, a conference of much bigger schools.

Bob moved on to Oberlin six years ago and turned around a program that was perennially tall on talent but somewhat short on victories. The Indians have won six straight conference championships during the Walsh era.

With a 22-year record of 370-122 — including 129-18 at Oberlin — Bob has reaped a deserving harvest of honors, including being named Ohio Coach of the Year in 1987 by the Associated Press and by United Press International.

A native of Pittsburgh, Bob has been a Lorain resident for nearly three decades.