In the late 1960s and early '70s, one of the biggest basketball names in our state was Larry "Deacon" Harris.
Harris first appeared on the local basketball scene when he starred for Roosevelt Junior High in the City Conference. He then went on to Charleston High and teamed with Curt Price, Sonny Burls, Skip Mason, Levi Phillips and others to win a Class AAA state basketball title in 1968.
Harris, Price and Phillips went on to WVU and helped the Mountaineers to a 5-0 start in 1971-72 and a national ranking under Sonny Moran. Then tragedy struck.
Over the Christmas break, Harris and teammate Sam Oglesby were involved in a single-car accident near Fairmont. Harris was killed and Oglesby was paralyzed.
Over the years, I have heard many stories about the accomplishments of "The Deacon." However, recently I heard a new one.
A reader, Daryle Johnson from the Charleston High class of 1969, recently wrote, "Many people may not realize that Deacon was also on a state championship mile relay team at Charleston High. He took my place running the third leg and, had he not done so, I don't think we would have won. He ran a great leg, gave us a big lead, and enabled John Davis to bring it home. After the race, I will never forget the big smile on his face. He was the ultimate teammate."
Just another story to add to the legend of Larry "Deacon" Harris.
n One of the Kanawha Valley's best high school sports heroes from the 1970s was also one of Charleston's finest on the police force for many years.
In the fall of 1978, Mark Shannon quarterbacked DuPont to the Class AAA state championship game where they lost to a Buddy James-coached Parkersburg team at a packed Fairfield Stadium in Huntington. It was a DuPont team that also had such players as Denny Ballard, Chris "Mator" Myers, Eddie Saunders, Thad Snodgrass and Tommy Spurlock. Ballard went on to Pitt while Shannon, Myers and Spurlock went to Concord and helped the Mountain Lions to the national playoffs.
Following his time at Concord, Mark Shannon served for 28 years with great distinction in a variety of roles with the Charleston Police Department. His father, Robert, had also been a Charleston policeman, and a brother, Tim, was a deputy sheriff.
Mark Shannon is a man to be admired for many reasons. As a younger man, he was a great athlete and public servant. He is an incredible husband and an example of courage and unselfishness. He has been battling a rough form of cancer and has been taking chemotherapy for almost four years.
He travels to Duke often and fights the fight. He does it all without complaining. I wish I was more like him. He is a Man's Man and does not want anyone to feel sorry for him. In fact, from what I understand, he will probably not be happy that I am writing about him.
He is a picture of humility and unselfishness. He is a tough guy. Heroic guys like a former quarterback and SWAT team commander like Mark Shannon don't need sympathy, but even tough guys need prayer.
n Charleston attorney Rusty Webb recently shared a social media list that named the "Top College QBs born in every state." Many larger states have a long and distinguished list. Our small state does not.
We have produced some special athletes and Hall of Fame coaches, but not many big-time quarterbacks. The site chose the classy Freddie Wyant from Weston as our representative.
You may know his story. Wyant went from Weston to WVU and quarterbacked the Mountaineers in the early 1950s. He was on the 1954 Sugar Bowl team that lost to Georgia Tech.
I might offer a couple of other candidates who are sometimes overlooked.
Allen McCune played at Meadow Bridge and East Bank before going on to quarterback WVU in the early 1960s. He was the QB of the 1964 Liberty Bowl team and played briefly with the Miami Dolphins.
Also, there was Chad Johnston from Peterstown, who was a starting QB for Don Nehlen from 1994-96.
n For what it's worth, I also think Steve Morrison, who quarterbacked Huntington East from 1968-70, could have been a major-college QB talent, but he chose the wrong school.
He was 6-foot-3, 190 pounds and a classic pro-style drop-back thrower who was heavily recruited by Kentucky, WVU and many others. He was also wooed heavily by Ohio State's Woody Hayes, who brought his wife to Huntington to watch Morrison play basketball. After Woody and his wife took him out to dinner, Morrison committed to the run-oriented Buckeyes. His skills did not fit the Ohio State offense at the time, but he did play in the Rose Bowl.
Reach Frank Giardina at flg16@hotmail.com.