Co-author shares life of pioneering Ohio State coach.
 
The man, and the story of his American journey, is surely a great example of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s work, author Steve Davis said Monday.
Bill Myles, a legendary assistant coach for the Ohio State Buckeyes, is a pioneer in many ways, said Davis, who co-authored Myles’ autobiography. Davis, of Pandora, is a water resource specialist with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. But as a 1973 Ohio State graduate, he came to know Myles, and helped him write the book, “Myles Traveled – Stories of My American Journey.”
“It is fitting that we do this today, to celebrate the history that made this possible,” Davis said of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Myles is the grandson of a slave, and grew up in segregated Kansas City, Missouri. On his wedding night, he took his bride across the border to Kansas, because there was no hotel for them in Kansas City. At the start of his coaching career, he took a football team that hadn’t won a game in 18 years to the city championship. And then it was off to college, where he would coach under greats at the University of Nebraska and The Ohio State University.
The book, and Myles’ telling of his life, is often described to Davis as a model of how to live. He learned those lessons early, Davis said, from legends such as Jackie Robinson. Greats from the Negro League, boxing, jazz stayed in homes in his family’s neighborhood because of the segregation, and he got to know them as they passed through town.
“Bill saw them up close and wanted to be like them,” Davis said.
Davis shared some of Myles’ stories about coaching for Tom Osborne at Nebraska and Woody Hayes at Ohio State, and many more are in the book. He is retired and lives in Worthington with his family.
In other Rotary business Monday:
Lima Rotary Club and Paul Swartz received an award from District Governor Do Nguyen for work on the Polio Plus campaign. Swartz reminded the club that this year’s goal is $12,000, to be raised through pledges, auctions, Rottery, and other means.
Carl Berger reminded the club about Rotary’s American Red Cross Blood Drive Feb. 13.
Tickets remain, but are selling fast, for the club’s first Reverse Raffle, to benefit unsecured funds for the Lima Rotary Foundation. Tickets are $100 and only 200 will be sold, with a chance at part of a purse that totals $6,000. The event starts at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 18 at the Civic Center. Additional dinner tickets are $25.