Frank Truitt facts for kids
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| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 4, 1925 Columbus, Ohio |
| Died | December 21, 2014 (aged 89) Columbus, Ohio |
| Alma mater | Otterbein '50 Ohio State '62 |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1958–1965 | Ohio State (assistant) |
| 1965–1966 | LSU |
| 1966–1978 | Kent State |
Frank Wilson Truitt, Jr. (born April 4, 1925 – died December 21, 2014) was a famous sports coach and a hero from World War II.
He achieved amazing things, like leading his high school team to a huge upset victory. He also helped coach the Ohio State Buckeyes basketball team to win the national championship in 1960.
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Frank Truitt: A World War II Hero
After finishing high school in 1943, Frank Truitt joined the United States Army. He was part of the 282nd Engineer Combat Battalion. This group helped General George S. Patton's Third Army.
Truitt became a Staff Sergeant. His battalion arrived in France in December 1944. They fought in the Battle of the Bulge in Luxembourg. The engineers built bridges and rafts. These were important for moving soldiers and tanks quickly.
College Days at Otterbein University
After serving in the Army for 32 months, Truitt started college. He enrolled at Otterbein University in 1946. While there, he helped start the Otterbein golf team. He also played three years of varsity basketball.
He married Katharine Ellen "Kay" Turner in 1948. They were both students at Otterbein. Truitt graduated in 1950. He earned degrees in History and Government.
Coaching High School Teams
From 1951 to 1954, Truitt taught history and coached basketball. He worked at Bloomingburg High School in Fayette County, Ohio. His team won the county league title twice. They also won the county tournament in 1953 and 1954.
Next, Truitt taught and coached at Mount Gilead High School. His 1954-55 team had a great record of 20 wins and 4 losses.
After a short time at Columbus West Junior High, Truitt became a teacher and head basketball coach. This was at Columbus North High School in Columbus, Ohio.
The Famous Upset Victory
In 1958, Truitt's North High Polar Bears team was undefeated. They had 24 wins and no losses. They made it to the state semifinals. There, they faced the Middletown Middies, who were also undefeated.
The Middies had won 76 games in a row. They had also won two state titles. Their star player was Jerry Lucas. He was considered the best high school player in the country.
The game was very close. North High was down by five points going into the last quarter. But they fought back and took the lead. With only ten seconds left, Middletown took a one-point lead.
Then, North's Eddie Clark drove past Jerry Lucas. He scored a layup with seconds left. North won 63-62! This was a huge upset. Many people still call it the biggest upset in Ohio high school basketball history.
The Polar Bears later lost in the state championship game. They lost in double overtime, 50-48. The rules at the time said the second overtime was sudden-death. This meant the first team to score won. After this game, the sudden-death rule was changed.
Coaching at Ohio State University
After his success at North High, Truitt joined Ohio State University. He became the freshman basketball coach in 1958. This allowed him to coach Jerry Lucas, who had decided to play for Ohio State. Other future stars like John Havlicek and Bob Knight also joined the team.
The Ohio State basketball team had amazing success. They reached the NCAA championship game three years in a row. In 1960, they won the national championship. They beat the California Golden Bears 77-55. This is still the only basketball national title for Ohio State.
Truitt was more than just a freshman coach. He was also an assistant coach for the main team. He was the lead scout and the main recruiter. His friendly way helped him recruit top players. He also helped new players get used to college life.
Fred Taylor, the head coach, said Truitt "really cared about the players." Players said Truitt was great at teaching basketball skills. Truitt also earned his master’s degree in physical education from Ohio State in 1962.
Truitt was known for his sharp mind for basketball. Bob Knight said Truitt was the best scout he had ever seen. During Truitt's time as an assistant coach, Ohio State won five straight Big Ten titles. He left Ohio State after the 1964-65 season.
Coaching at Louisiana State University
In 1965, Truitt became the head coach of the LSU Tigers men's basketball team. He coached them for one year. His team played against famous teams like John Wooden's UCLA Bruins and Adolph Rupp's Kentucky Wildcats.
Truitt was not happy at LSU for several reasons. He had been promised a new arena and that his retirement from Ohio State would carry over. He was also told he would have a tenured faculty position. None of these promises came true.
Another big reason was about recruiting players. Truitt wanted to recruit African American players. But LSU was not ready for this at the time. The athletic director told him, "You can’t recruit these guys. We aren’t ready for this."
The first African American player to play basketball at LSU was Collis Temple in 1971. This was five years after Truitt left.
Coaching at Kent State University
After leaving LSU in 1966, Truitt became the head coach of the Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball team. They played in the Mid-American Conference (MAC).
Three seasons later, in 1968-69, Truitt led the Golden Flashes to a winning season. This was their first winning season in 17 years.
On May 4, 1970, Truitt was on campus during the Kent State shootings. Ohio National Guard troops opened fire on a crowd, killing four students.
Truitt's second winning season at Kent State was in 1970–71. His team had a big win against the Purdue Boilermakers. After Truitt retired from college basketball in 1974, Kent State did not have another winning season until 1982-83.
After coaching basketball, Truitt became the head golf coach at Kent State for five years. He also coached soccer for four years. In 1976-77, he won the MAC Coach of the Year award for golf. His golf team finished 23rd in the NCAA tournament. This was the highest national finish for Kent State golf at that time.
Life After Coaching
Truitt left Kent State in 1978. He moved to Upper Arlington, Ohio. He taught and coached basketball at Bishop Watterson High School for six years. He retired from teaching in 1986.
Truitt and his wife, Kay, then worked together in real estate for over 20 years. They retired from that in 2009.
In 2001, Truitt coached golf one last time. He led the Buckeye Valley Middle School golf team.
Frank Truitt received many awards. He was inducted into the North High Polar Bear Hall of Fame in 1996. He also joined the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame in 2009. In 2010, he was inducted into the Otterbein University Athletics Hall of Fame.
In 2006, Bob Knight gave Truitt a special lifetime membership to the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame.
Personal Life and Family
Truitt loved golf and played for over 70 years. He won club championships at several golf courses. He was also a Caddy Master at Brookside Country Club before college.
Frank and Kay were married for 66 years. They had three daughters and nine grandchildren. Frank's mother, Charlotte Hook Truitt, lived to be 106 years old.
