Jonathan Myers
Jon Myers is a 1971 graduate of Hillsdale High School at Jeromesville, Ohio. He is one of six children; 3 sons and 3 daughters born to Don and Mary Lou Myers of Ashland County. Jon lost his best fan when his father passed away in 2011. His Mother, Mary Lou, is near 80 years old, loves sports and resides in her condo in Ashland. Jon divides his time between the condo and his home in Hayesville.
Younger brother, Marty, a prominent area businessman was the first Hillsdale athlete to win a State Championship Trophy in Track and Field under Coach Bob Valentine. He brought home the BIG ONE for his 1976 high jump!
Older brother, Don, a Cedarville College grad, was a starter with Jon on the (18-0) 1970 team under Coach Bill Nelson. Don was a Hillsdale Varsity Coach of Baseball and Football in the 1980’s.
Some of Jon’s Hillsdale history in sports was the winning of 11 letters in 3 sports – starter on the first undefeated (18-0) basketball team in the school records. He led the 1971 team to the Regional Tournament for the first time in history. He set the school record (no 3 points yet!) for points in a season in 1971 – a record that still stands after 41 years. Those are the days that school fans remember and remark “Remember when?” He was named All-Ohio in 1971.
One memorable event in Jon’s baseball history was celebrating his 18th birthday by hitting the first grand slam home run in Hillsdale Tournament history. They won the district game over Lorain Catholic of Ohio.
The highlight in the first WCAL football game was Jon scoring the first touchdown in September 1970.
Jon moved on to Cedarville College near Springfield, Ohio from 1971-1976. He led the Yellow Jackets basketball team in points in 1973 & 1974. He had 6 games of 30 or more points in his career – with a career high of 35 against Manchester, Indiana.
Jon dedicated much of his time and effort to his radio career. He started at WQKT in Wooster, Ohio. He broadcast boys basketball tournaments from 1978-2012. He is one of only a very few broadcasters that did state football, basketball, baseball and softball title games. He was the one that broadcast LeBron James first and last tournament game on WQKT 2000-2003. He also broadcast his program on WNCO Ashland where he had many faithful listeners.
Jon’s full-time job was his 20 year old Sports Show with Hall of Fame Coach Roy Bates. Their “One-on-One” program won numerous broadcasting awards.
Roy still has the highest winning percentage of any Ohio basketball or baseball coach with his 300 wins at one school (Chester and Northwestern) and is the last area coach to win a state title in basketball in 1965.
The most rewarding area of Jon’s job was always being the Master of Ceremonies for the popular Roy Bates Foundation Banquets. For 12 years the many famous speakers such as Dean Chance, Bobby Knight, Isaiah Thomas, Brooks Robinson etc. helped to bring in more than $275,000 in Scholarships for competing students. Hundreds attended the banquets and many youths were rewarded and able tot fulfill their dreams of becoming our men and women of tomorrow.
Nominator: Rebecca Gardner
