Harold Slack was a respected teacher, coach and administrator

This may come as a complete surprise to many, but some of the young men attending Zanesville High School during the 1960s weren't always saints. Whenever a male student got into some kind of trouble, there was a good chance he would be sent to the office of Harold Slack, the Dean of Boys.

Slack resigned as head basketball coach after the 1960 to 1961 season to take the dean's position. He continued in that capacity until his retirement in 1970. His career spanned 37 years of teaching, coaching and administrative duties.

He was born in Newton Township on Nov. 29, 1909. A Times Recorder article dated 7-22-1958, stated: “Slack graduated from Zanesville Lash High School in 1930 and received his bachelor's degree from Muskingum College in 1934.”

The article continued: “He played football, basketball, and track in high school and was a varsity track man for four years at Muskingum. He also participated in freshman football and basketball at the New Concord school.”

According to his obituary in the Times Recorder, he “... started his teaching career in a one-room schoolhouse in 1934 and progressed to Avondale School, where he was principal for nine years. He then transferred to Roosevelt Junior High, where he coached and became (football) varsity line coach at Zanesville High School. He also coached baseball and was reserve basketball coach at Zanesville High School for 12 seasons...”

In 1958, the same year Zanesville native Fred Taylor was named Ohio State's new basketball coach, the ZHS head basketball coach, Wayne Ashbaugh, who once led the team to a state championship and during the past season had fielded a one-loss squad, announced his resignation in order to take the head coaching job at Mt. Union.

The Zanesville position was quickly filled with an in-house selection: “The Zanesville Board of Education named Harold Slack as head basketball coach in a meeting last night. Slack, a veteran reserve basketball coach at the high school, was appointed just five days after former Coach Wayne Ashbaugh announced his resignation.” (TR: 7-22-1958.)

The new coach told the Times Recorder that the job presented “quite a challenge.” Through graduation, he was losing all five starters and another senior − Chuck Bryant, Merv McCoy, Steve McGlade, Jeff Prindle, Gary Steele and Dick Taylor. The Signal added: “Last year Zanesville went unbeaten until the final game of the season and that loss was to Cleveland East Tech in the semi-finals of the state tournament. The final record was 24-1, the best in Zanesville High history for consecutive wins.” (11-23-1958.) However, Coach Slack did have five juniors returning to give his squad experience and leadership.

In a Zanesville Signal article, Slack added: “I am very happy about it and hope to fulfill the trust placed in me by the board and school officials and I am anxious to get down to brass tacks.”

Zanesville High School Athletic Director George Vlerebome commented to the TR: “I'm certainly happy to see Harold get the job.”

Outgoing Coach Ashbaugh stated: “I'm happy for that,” after he was informed that Slack would be his replacement at ZHS.

The 1958 to 1959 squad would go on to have a won-loss record of 11-7. In the next two seasons, Slack's teams finished with identical 9-8 records.

Slack died on Sept. 25, 1995. The following day the Times Recorder said, “Harold Slack may have died Monday, but the memory of (the) former Zanesville High School coach will live in the memories of his friends, players, and rivals. Slack, 85, of 2849 East Military Road, died at 4:06 a. m. after a five-year battle with lymphoma.”

Zanesville High School principal James Burrier recalled: “Harold played football at Zanesville and then Muskingum. He came to teach at Zanesville during World War II and never left.”

Ron Apperson, the former Zanesville football coach, and athletic director added: “He was a strict disciplinarian but he was always fair. He was admired and respected and will be a great loss to the community.”

Jimmy Allen, who had been a basketball coach and athletic director at Newark, remembered: “He was just a fine teacher of fundamentals. He had a lot of respect from the players and coaches all around the Central Ohio League.”

He was survived by his second wife, Mary Zurbrugg Slack, whom he married on July 31, 1968, as well as two sons and one daughter. Burial was in Memorial Park Cemetery.

His obituary stated: “Mr. Slack was honored by the Zanesville High School Quarterback Club with a lifetime membership. He was a longtime member of Immanuel United Church of Christ and worked several years as a volunteer at Christ's Table. He also was an avid gardener and fruit grower.”

Allen also noted: “Harold had the best apples in the world and we would always look forward to him bringing them to COL (Central Ohio League) meetings.”

Harold Slack was an exemplary teacher, coach and administrator and served as a positive role model for the young folks at ZHS. But like most teachers of that era, he could be tough on those who didn't follow the rules, so I'm certainly thankful I never ended up in his office.

Lewis LeMaster is a retired teacher of the Zanesville area.

This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: Harold Slack was a respected teacher, coach and administrator