Bowling Green State University will celebrate 100 years of athletics with A

Gary Haas Sr.

Centennial Celebration Event on April 23.

The event starts with a reception at Harold Anderson Arena from 4-4:45 p.m., then a current and former Falcon athletes and coaches panel discussion at 6 p.m. One of the panellists is Gary Haas Sr., a former BGSU and Eastwood baseball player.

Haas was a student-athlete at BGSU between 1971 and 1974. As a standout four-year shortstop for the Brown and Orange, Haas was a member of a pair of teams that set the precedent for BGSU baseball.

Pro scout and former college coach, Bob Wren said, “In my 24 years of coaching in the Mid-American Conference, Gary Haas is one of the finest infielders I’ve ever seen.”  

In 1972, Haas was a member of a team that finished 24-12-2 and captured the Mid-American Conference title. Later that year, BGSU hosted the NCAA District Four Tournament. Two years later, his team finished 30-14 and set a school record for victories in a season in the last year that a Falcon baseball team played less than 45 games in a season. 

In 1971 as a freshman, Haas was named team MVP and played alongside eventual major-league pitcher Doug Bair. As a junior in 1973, he was honored as a First Team All-MAC selection when he hit .364 overall and an astounding .397 in conference play.

For his career, Haas hit .392 in MAC games and .318 overall. As a senior, he was named team MVP for the second time in his career and the team’s most outstanding defensive player in addition to being named to the Second Team All-American Academic team.

“I’ve never coached a player who knows so instinctively what to do in every situation. Gary is an All-American on and off the field,” said Haas’ BGSU coach Don Purvis.

Throughout college, Haas worked with the Rudolph-Libbe construction firm and has made a 39-year career with the company currently serving as the Vice President of Contracts. He continues to support and keep in contact with current BGSU baseball head coach Danny Schmitz and the rest of the Falcon baseball team.

A 1974 graduate with a degree in business administration, Haas was inducted into the BGSU Hall of Fame in 1994. He and his wife Debbie have three children, Gary (38), Lisa (32) and Brandy (31), a stepdaughter Michelle (38) and eight grandchildren.

Legend has it from the BGSU athletic department that Haas was on scholarship all four years that he was with the Falcon baseball team. Leading into his senior year while supporting his wife and child, Haas displayed ultimate unselfishness when he gave BGSU his scholarship back to the program so that Purvis could recruit and sign one player he wanted on the team very much, citing that he was making enough money working with Rudolph-Libbe to pay for school himself while supporting his family.

Schimmoeller gets 100
Oak Harbor baseball coach Rob Schimmoeller and his Rockets had a very impressive week. The team started the week with a 4-3 victory over Perkins, the defending Sandusky Bay Conference champions, on Monday. This was just the second regular season loss the Ray Neal-coached Pirates have had in the past two years. 

The Rockets then traveled to Port Clinton on Tuesday to battle their Ottawa County rival in an SBC contest. The Rockets pulled this game out as well, winning 10-7 in extra innings. Next, the Polar Bears of Margaretta visited Oak Harbor on Wednesday, and the Rockets won in convincing fashion, 14-2. 

The Rockets again put 14 runs on the board on Thursday when they hosted Monroeville (14-10 Rocket victory). This win marked the seventh win in a row for Oak Harbor and Coach Schimmoeller's 100th career baseball coaching victory. 

Heller Resigns
The Oak Harbor board of education last week accepted the resignation of girls basketball coach Dick Heller. In nine seasons, Heller’s teams were a combined 121-73.

After Heller brought the magic he made coaching at Lakota (two SLL titles and one regional appearance); where he ran the girls’ basketball program 23 years, Oak Harbor finally benefited getting out of the sectionals for the first time in school history. Then they failed to get out of the districts.

His third and fourth seasons saw Oak Harbor complete 20-0 regular seasons. After four years, he had a 58-7 career accumulative record at the school. His team was ranked No. 2 in the Associated Press Division II poll late in his fourth season. The Rockets received three first place votes by the state’s sportswriters and trailed only Kenton Ridge in voting 260-211. Kenton Ridge was also undefeated (19-0) and received 19 first place votes.

Lake coach Denny Meyer served as an assistant under Heller at Oak Harbor, before taking over in Millbury. Meyer duplicated Heller’s feat this year, completing his second straight 20-0 regular season at Lake.

"There is so much I learned from coach Heller," Meyer said. "A lot of it was his intensity. When I went to Oak Harbor with him I was told he was intense, and that's what I liked. That's why I wanted my daughter to play for him ... I learned to be a good listener with my assistant coaches because he was great with me with listening to any input I had."

Sports Announcements
Northwood High School is looking for a new varsity boys head basketball coach. Please send your information to Northwood High School, 700 Lemoyne Rd., Northwood Ohio 43619, attn: Bill Hamilton or e-mail to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .The deadline is April 30.

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