The Columbus Dispatch

Chillicoth­e native and NBA player Johnston honored

- Justin Reutter Chillicoth­e Gazette USA TODAY NETWORK

CHILLICOTH­E — Outside of the Chillicoth­e High School Gymnasium, a crowd gathered Monday night for the dedication of a statue honoring hometown sports legend Neil Johnston.

The Chillicoth­e High School graduate was part of the class of 1946, who played basketball and baseball at OSU, said Dan Ramey, who emceed the event.

“Johnston left OSU early after signing a minor league contract with the Philadelph­ia Phillies. When the dream of making the big leagues ended, he landed a tryout with the NBA'S Philadelph­ia Warriors in 1951,” Ramey said. “Johnston went on to lead the NBA in scoring for three consecutiv­e seasons, 1953, ‘54, and ‘55, all while perfecting the hook shot.”

The six-time NBA all-star won a 1956 NBA Championsh­ip and scored more than 10,000 points over the course of his career.

After his playing career ended due to a knee injury, Johnston coached in the NBA as well as other basketball leagues, and at the collegiate level.

He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a player in 1990, after his death from a heart attack in 1978.

“There are not many schools in Southern Ohio, or even the entire state of Ohio, that can say they have a Naismith Hall of Fame basketball player,” said Knute Bonner, Athletic Director at Chillicoth­e High School.

“... Just since having the statue up, I've received hundreds of questions of, who's that statue for and what did he do,” said Bonner. “And just being able to tell people that Neil Johnston was one of the greatest basketball players in the history of the game, the pioneer of the hook shot, an NBA All-star, Champion, and Hall of Fame member, brings a lot of recognitio­n to not only what Chillicoth­e was, but what it is, and also what it can be.”

Bruce Caplinger, who mastermind­ed and led the five-year campaign to make the Neil Johnston Memorial Gardens a reality, said he wanted to bring recognitio­n to Chillicoth­e's largely forgotten son.

“Neil Johnston was so obscure — very few people knew who he was,” said Caplinger. “I started this project five years ago to bring recognitio­n to honor him. There's a lot of things a statue can bring- it preserves your history, it educates people, it becomes a focal point for local and out-of-town visitors, and it also inspires the youth to try harder and do the best they can do.”

The statue and surroundin­g gardens carried a price tag of near $100,000, said Caplinger, much of which was donated in money or in time by local businesses and individual­s.

“(Seeing it here today) is extremely rewarding,” said the sports historian. “When someone like Bruce comes to me, I feel passionate about giving back and doing something important. I feel this particular sculpture is all of that, because of Neil’s pursuit of excellence-we can’t instill in our young people enough this attitude of pursuing excellence, and having pride in who we are, what we do, and where we live.”

Brian Hanlon

Sculptor

“It took four years to raise just the cash to pay for this statue. We wanted to do the dedication last spring and we had to cancel because of COVID- it's a relief now, we get to enjoy it and everyone gets to go about their ordinary life because my committee has donated so much of their life. I'm so appreciati­ve of my committee and what they did.”

The statue was sculpted by Artist Brian Hanlon, the official sculptor for the Naismith Hall of Fame and the Rose Bowl Stadium.

Hanlon said he used an image of him as a Philadelph­ia Warrior, while he played alongside Tom Gola and Paul Arizin, two star players who the artist also aims to sculpt.

“When someone like Bruce comes to me, I feel passionate about giving back and doing something important,” the New Jersey-based sculptor said. “I feel this particular sculpture is all of that, because of Neil's pursuit of excellence­we can't instill in our young people enough this attitude of pursuing excellence, and having pride in who we are, what we do, and where we live.”

Hanlon is currently also working on statues of legendary quarterbac­k Peyton Manning and Coach Mike Shanahan at Denver's Bronco Stadium.

Questions, comments or story tips? Contact Justin at Jreutterma@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @jayreutter­1.

 ?? CHILLICOTH­E GAZETTE JUSTIN REUTTER/ ?? The committee led by Bruce Caplinger poses with the new statue of Neil Johnston in front of Chillicoth­e High School's Gymnasium.
CHILLICOTH­E GAZETTE JUSTIN REUTTER/ The committee led by Bruce Caplinger poses with the new statue of Neil Johnston in front of Chillicoth­e High School's Gymnasium.

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