Three to be inducted into Bucyrus Hall of Fame

BUCYRUS — Three individuals will be inducted into the Bucyrus City Schools Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony will be in the Bucyrus Secondary School Little Theater at 5 p.m. before the Bucyrus vs Wynford boys basketball game.

The inductees are:

Jeff Fisher – 1989 BHS Graduate

Jeff Fisher became an immediate impact player for the Redmen baseball team as a freshman.  Jeff traveled the countryside in the summer playing baseball were he truly honed his skills as an outstanding baseball player.   The Redmen baseball team was the recipient of these skills as Jeff was our rock that we built our program around. A student of the game that eventually led him into being the teacher of the game.   Jeff eventually became head baseball coach, but he taught many students about respecting the game and how it needs to be played.

Jeff was a three-sport standout during his time as a Bucyrus Redmen.  10 Varsity letters: 4 Baseball, 3 Football, 3 Basketball. During Jeff’s senior year, he was elected to the 1st Team All-Northern Ohio League in all three sports.  This is a testament to Jeff’s pride in Bucyrus and his athletic prowess. Jeff was a teacher and coach in the district from 2000 – 2013. While coaching he had (5) All-Ohio / BHS Wall of Fame Players: Dylan Gibson, Kyle Dennison, Taylor Ellis, Christian Ross, and Sklar Tate.    At the conclusion of Jeff’s 2011 season, his team was the OHSBCA (Ohio High School Baseball Coaches Association) Division III Poll Champions and Jeff was also the Division III coach of the year.

Jeff attended the Division I, University of Akron and earned a degree in Education and played baseball on scholarship.  While at the University of Akron in 1991, Jeff was a 3 year captain at Akron and was rewarded for his performance by being voted The University of Akron’s MVP and Mid-Continent Player of the year.  At the conclusion of that same year he received the “Male Athlete of the Year” award for the University. In 2006, Jeff was inducted into the “Varsity A Hall of Fame.”

Roger Sturgeon – Retired Bucyrus Teacher and Coach

Roger Sturgeon was born October 18, 1938 in Coweta Oklahoma.  His father worked in the oil fields and this caused his family to move every 5 to 6 years.   In 1942 Roger and his family moved to Broken Arrow, Oklahoma and this was the first time Roger had seen a football game.

In 1952 the family moved to Wellston, Ohio.     Roger played football, basketball and ran track for the “Golden Rockets.”   After graduating high school, he enrolled at Heidelberg College. Roger received his teaching degree and played football for the “The Student Princes.”

In 1961 Roger was hired by Bucyrus City Schools to teach 7th grade science and coach varsity football.  During his time as assistant coach Roger was part of 3 Northern Ohio Conference championships. In 1991 Roger recieved recognition from the Ohio High School Football Coaches Association for his dedication to high school football.  After retiring from teaching for 30 years, Roger coached football for an additional 4 years.

Phil Joseph – Retired Teacher and currently Ass’t Basketball Coach.

Phil Joseph is a 1965 graduate of Bishop Rosecrans High School in Zanesville, Ohio where he played football, Basketball, and baseball.  After high school, he attended the University of Rio Grande where he played basketball and earned his bachelor’s degree in education, and later a Master Degree from Union College in Kentucky.

Phil’s first teaching and coaching position was at Maysville High School in South Zanesville in 1969.

In 1980 Coach Joseph and his family moved to Bucyrus, where he served as head coach for 5 years.

Phil taught school for 43 years the last 32 years at Bucyrus.  While at Bucyrus Phil coached many athletic teams. Jr. High and Freshmen football teams, Jr. high trac, and high school softball along with basketball as Head Coach for 5 years, Freshmen Coach, JV Coach and Varsity Assistant.  Phil’s 2015 Freshmen team won the N10 Championship that year.

Coach Joseph has coached basketball for 51 years and 39 of those for Bucyrus.  He has been awarded the Bob Arnzen Award for devoting over 20 years of service to the same school and loyalty and commitment to the Ohio High School Basketball, the Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame for over 100 varsity wins.   In 2017 he was a Mac Morrison award winner by the Northwest Ohio Athletic Directors.

Phil has been married to his wife Patricia for 46 years.  They have two children, Philip and Melissa, both Bucyrus Graduates.  Both Phil and Patricia have 4 Grandchildren.