The Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association is proud to announce that Richard Meyer of Buckeye Valley High School is the recipient of the 1983 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.

Richard Meyer graduated from Holland High School in Indiana in 1941. He enrolled at Capital University and completed two years before enlisting in the U.S. Army Air Corp. After three years of service, he returned to Capital and graduated in 1948.

That fall, he began his teaching and coaching career at Radnor High School in Radnor Ohio, coaching baseball and basketball. After fifteen years there, Radnor was consolidated into Buckeye Valley High School, and he assumed the same position until his retirement in 1984, coaching for 36 years.

During this time as basketball coach, he won 506 games and lost 229. Coach Meyer won 16 League Titles and 7 Sectional Titles and only one losing season.

His many awards included: National High School Sports Hall of Fame, Buckeye Valley Hall of Fame, Capital University Varsity “C”Merit Award in 1969, Paul Walker Award in 1983, Delaware County Citizen of the Year honors in 1970, Central Ohio Amateur Baseball Federation Person of the Year in 1984, the Ohio Wesleyan Athletic Hall of Fame and has had a baseball field named in his honor. After coaching high school, he spent 18 years as an assistant baseball coach at Ohio Wesleyan University, before his failing eyesight forced him to end his long, successful career.

His coaching philosophy was “take what’s available and make them winners.” A lifelong member of the Lutheran Church, he married Suzanne Penry in 1954, and they had one son, Mark. They never moved from the Radnor area. Richard passed away April 28, 2008 and is remembered fondly by many former players and coaches.