The Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association is proud to announce that Herb Russell of Grove City High School is the recipient of the 1977 Paul Walker Award. The Paul Walker Award is presented annually by the OHSBCA to an active coaching member of the association who has made significant contributions to high school basketball. The award is named in honor of the late Paul Walker, the long time coach of Middletown High School. At the time of his retirement, he had the most wins as a boys basketball coach in Ohio High School Basketball history.

Herb graduated from Raymond High School in 1935, from The Ohio State University in 1950 with a B.S. and again in 1962 with his Masters degree. In 23 years of high school coaching his teams won 345 and lost 119 for a 74.4 winning percentage.

He coached two years at Stoutsville, three years at Washington Court House, and 18 years at Grove City. His teams won 13 league titles, three at Washington CH and ten at Grove City. They won five sectional tournament and one district championship in 1964. He was on the Board of Directors of the OHSBCA for five years. Herb’s teams had four season with 20 or more victories and 13 season of winning 15 or more.

Honors include Coach of the Year in Central District (1964 & 1970); S.C.O.L. (1956); Mid-Eight (1962, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1974); Paul Walker Award in 1977; Washington CH Hall of Fame in 1989. In 1977 he coached in the Columbus Dispatch North-South Game. In the 1961-62 and 1969-70 seasons his teams went undefeated during the regular season.

Herb’s career included stints as JV coach at OSU under Fred Taylor and JV coach under Marty Karow in baseball (4 years). He was baseball coach at Stoutsville for two years and Washington CH for three years with a 76% winning record. At Grove City he served as golf coach for 12 years and also did some basketball officiating for ten years. Herb and his wife Edna live in Columbus, Ohio.