“So, anything else you want to tell us, coach?” “Nope.” (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
Well, it hasn’t been a full five months…
I swear, the next time Ron Bagby tells me he won an award will be the first.
The former Coupeville High School coach still wanders the hallways and gyms at the school, fulfilling his teacherly duties, and I’ve run into him on numerous occasions as winter turned into spring.
Yet, in typical low-key Bags style, he never once mentioned he was inducted into another Hall of Fame back in January.
I mean, once you’re in the totally made-up Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame, as he is, probably everything else kind of pales in comparison. I get it.
But, thanks to a tip from Carmen McFadyen, who got the news from her son Jason, who starred for football and basketball teams coached by Bags back in the day, who got the info from former teammate Dan Neider, I’m on top of things.
Five months late…
So, back in Jan., Bags snuck out of town, headed down the road to his former home, the far-flung outpost of Forks, and was inducted into the Spartan Basketball Hall of Fame.
And I’m gonna stop you right there.
Forks High School has a freakin’ REAL Hall of Fame for basketball and we here in Coupeville DO NOT.
Come on, people.
We have Jeff Stone, and Bill Riley, and Jeff Rhubottom, and the ’69-’70 Team o’ Death and Destruction, and 10,000 Keefe brothers, and Jack “The Zinger” Elzinga.
Then there’s Hawthorne Wolfe, the floppy-haired reincarnation of Pistol Pete, coming for all their scoring records, and on and on it goes.
And that’s only half the story, with the girls game giving us Makana Stone, and Novi Barron, and Marlene Grasser, with Maddie Big Time droppin’ half-court bombs and Julia Myers droppin’ forearm shivers.
I want a frickin’ real Hall of Fame!
But anyways.
Back in reality, or Forks at least, Bags was always kind of a big deal in the town long before the sparkly vampires brought in all the tourists.
In his younger days, he won a state track title in 1978, blistering the oval in the 100, and this on the heels of being a First-Team All-State running back for a team he helped propel deep into the playoffs.
So they know his name, and his game, in Forks.
During a doubleheader against Tenino this winter, the laconic one was immortalized again, this time for his play on the hardwood.
And for any of his students who watch him amble by, and think to themselves, “I could beat Bags,” no, you can’t, and yes, you’re an idiot.
Time may have (slightly) tamped down his hops, but he’d still annihilate you on the court … then never tell me about it.
Back when he was wearing the Forks shorty shorts, Bags tossed in 52 points against Tenino, setting a Far West League single-game record which stands to this day.
Just to put the cherry on top, his final bucket, coming in a game before the three-point line, came off of a steal, and the ensuing layup capped a 79-77 win for the Spartans.
At which point he exited the court, looked around at all the fans, and said, “Let us never speak of this again.”
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