Goad was referring to Floyd “Dude” Norman, an old DPS acquaintance.
“I told Dude about it, and later picked him up and took him in to see it and get his photograph with it,” he said.
Norman, a member of the Ohio High School Athletic Association’s Hall of Fame, is 87 now, and lives in Harrison Twp. with his wife, Elsie. A native of Dayton and 1940 graduate of Roosevelt, Norman entered the U.S. Navy after graduation, serving in World War II.
“I was a gunner on a TBM Avenger bomber, and when we were attacked by two Japanese Zero planes, I was the only crewman of that fleet to shoot one down,” he recalls.
After the war, Norman and his wife — also a member of his graduating class — started dating. They will celebrate their 62nd anniversary on Nov. 1. He graduated from the University of Dayton and began teaching at his alma mater in September 1950.
“I taught history and geography, then went to Miami University to get my master’s degree in counseling, and became counselor at the school,” he said.
In addition to his assignments, he was Roosevelt’s head track coach from 1951-1965, and remembers the 1961 championship season well.
“We had some fine young people, we worked real hard and got our dream — the state championship,” he recalls. “The year before, Roosevelt won the state championship in basketball, so the school took two state championships in a row.”
In 1962, his two-mile relay team set the national record.
Later, Norman became Roosevelt’s assistant principal, then acting principal under Superintendent Wayne Carle.
“I was in that position for a year, then went downtown in counseling for two years, and was principal at Orville Wright two years, then to Fairview as principal from 1973-76.”
He retired in 1976 after suffering a heart attack, but that hasn’t kept him away from all sports.
“I still play golf and enjoy it as much as I did 20 years ago.”
In fact, he got his eighth hole-in-one last year.
When he got the call from Goad about the discovery of the ’61 trophy, Norman says, “It was really quite a surprise. We had received lots of trophies, but that was the ultimate. I had no idea what had happened to it, and I was thrilled when it was found.”
Contact this columnist at (937) 276-4441 or vburroughs@woh.rr.com.
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