His name is attached to more than 600 wins in 39 years as a head coach, three West Virginia state basketball championships, and one annual basketball event.
He is none other than the late, great boys basketball coach Sam Andy.
Andy, his accomplishments and his legacy return to the local sports forefront this week as the Sam Andy Basketball Classic returns to WesBanco Arena on Friday, Dec. 8. The schedule consists of: 4 p.m., boys basketball, St. Clairsville vs. Brooke; 6 p.m., girls basketball, John Marshall vs. Wheeling Park; and 8 p.m., boys basketball, John Marshall vs. Wheeling Park. It will be the season opener for the Wheeling Park boys team.
Notes on the event: all tickets are $10 and can be purchased online at the arena website; OVAC and SSAC passes will be honored; Senior Citizens discounts will be granted; and Wheeling Park students may enter free of charge. Sponsors of the event are: Fitzsimmons Law, Bordas & Bordas, The Health Plan, and Straub Automotive. For the second time, the games will be broadcast on Fox 9.
It seems appropriate that current Wheeling Park High School boys basketball coach Michael Jebbia serves as the event director. Jebbia played for Andy from 1994-98, coached with Andy from 2002-06, then replaced Andy at the Patriots helm beginning with the 2006-07 season. He said the one-day event is meant to remember and celebrate Coach Andy while getting high school hoops action into the arena. Before the yearly event started in 2018, Jebbia met with then-director Denny Magruder about reviving some high school basketball at the venue while honoring a legend who coached many games there.
“We wanted to do something to remember him. He was tasked with, and I wasn’t around at the time, you’ll know some of this, we consolidated it wasn’t the easiest thing to do especially sports-wise when Wheeling had a good team, Warwood had a good team and Triadelphia had a good team. They came together and he was able to make that work that first year. They went undefeated and they went to the state tournament. He’s the person that got basketball rolling and made basketball important here when consolidation was not easy,” Jebbia said.
“As time has grown I think you’ve seen what he got started here, made basketball feel important, cared about it and kept it going.
“He loved playing games down there (at WesBanco Arena). We could have done it here (at Wheeling Park) but I just wanted to make it a little different,” Jebbia said. “With the rebirth of WesBanco Arena and the area down there, I went to Denny Magruder (in 2018) and said, ‘Let’s try to do this with the video board.’ We’re not trying to make it a five-day, four-day, three-day event; one night, remember him, put his name on it.
“He coached about 100 games in there. I went back and looked, John Simonson kept a lot of stats, and he coached about 100 games there. There were so many games happening there in the late 70s and 80s when they were really trying to get events in that building.”
Andy died on July 30, 2016. Following is an excerpt from his obituary:
Sam was a member of the 1958 graduating class at Wheeling High School and subsequently received his B.A. degree in education from West Liberty State College in 1963. Sam was a lifelong educator whose teaching career began at Frazeysburg High School (Ohio) (1964 – 1966); and Tri-Valley High School (Ohio) (1966 – 1969); then continuing at Wheeling High School (West Virginia) (1969 – 1976); and Wheeling Park High School (West Virginia) (1976-2004). Sam retired from his career as an educator in 2004. Coach Andy’s legendary career as a basketball coach also began at Frazeysburg High School (Ohio) in 1964 at which time he served as head coach of the boys’ basketball team until 1966. In 1966, Coach Andy became the assistant coach of the boys’ basketball team for the consolidation school known as Tri-Valley High School (Ohio) until 1969. Coach then continued his career as head coach of the boys’ basketball team at Wheeling High School (West Virginia) from 1969 to 1976. In 1976, the last year before the consolidation of schools in Ohio County, Coach Andy won the 1976 AAA State Championship. Later that same year, Coach Andy was selected from a group of candidates for the position of head coach at the newly formed Wheeling Park High School (West Virginia) where he remained from 1976 until his retirement in 2006. Under the coaching regime of Coach Andy, the Wheeling Park Patriots went on to win State Titles in 1980 and 1995. The 1995 State Championship win versus Beckley Woodrow Wilson is considered the best game ever played in State Tournament history. The Wheeling Park Patriots won the 1995 State Championship 99-96 in triple overtime. Coach Andy’s Patriots also finished as State Runner-Up in 1997 with State Semi-Final appearances in 1980, 1988, 1990, 1995, 1997, 1998, and 2000. Coach Andy completed his coaching career with a record of 591-290 in Ohio County (West Virginia) and a record of 611-310 overall. With 611 victories spanning a 39-year coaching career, Coach Andy was the second-winningest big-school boys’ basketball coach in state history. He took teams to the West Virginia State Tournament 21 times in 37 years, with 17 at Wheeling Park in his 30-year tenure. Coach’s teams finished the regular season ranked #1 in the state three (3) times (1977, 1995, and 1998); three (3) OVAC Championships (1977, 1998, and 2000); and was the 1995 OVAC Coach of the Year. Coach Andy also won numerous other coaching honors during his illustrious career and had the honor of coaching numerous young men who went on to receive Player of the Year, All-State, All-OVAC, and All-Valley Honors.
Quite a resume, quite a career, quite a life. Basketball was a huge part, but not the only part.
“He cared about his players, it didn’t matter if you were the star or the 12th man,” Jebbia said. “And then he gave us an opportunity to play. We played in Lexington, Kentucky, and Fort Myers, Florida, which would be a dream now for some high school teams to do. He gave us an avenue to play against good teams. But I think the biggest thing is he cared about us as people and then players.”
Larger-than-life, loyal, magnetic. Whether walking down the halls at Wheeling Park High School, or pacing and parading courtside, or conducting interviews, eyes were always on him to see what he was going to do or say. Quite often, no matter the venue, he didn’t disappoint. He could make players or non-players feel good with acknowledgment in the hallways; he could drive fans or opponents crazy with his sideline orchestrations; and he could poke opposing coaches with little verbal jabs. Many who didn’t know him or understand his humor could be sent astray, but Andy did many things out of fun, humor and respect.
Jebbia said, “He provoked a lot of coaches with his comments. I think it was all just in fun. He would say, ‘We want to play Beckley in the finals,’ and it’s like January 10. What are you saying that for? Giving them ammo for?”
“Another thing I remember, when we won the state championship in 1995, I was a role player, I came off the bench as the first or second sub. We lost our first game at East Liverpool, and then we lost our third game against Beckley down in a holiday classic. We’re in the locker room, and I’m 14-15 years old, and he’s looking at us. He’s like, ‘I think we will win the rest of our games. I think we’ll win every game from here on out and beat them in the finals.’ I’m thinking, as a 14-15 year old, what is he talking about? And by golly we did it. We went on a 22-game winning streak and beat them in triple overtime.”
No article or discussion about Andy would be complete and fully accurate without mention of his wife Sandy, who was a consistently visible piece of the coach’s program. She was as vital and important to him as oxygen and water. Their family included Sam, Sandy, basketball and hundreds of basketball players and their families. Coach Andy cared about, defended and protected them all fiercely, especially his wife. When she suffered a stroke in 1995, he was constantly and consistently by her side. He was still able to attend basketball, but he set an example for his team and players of what really mattered most. That has stuck with Jebbia since. Still living, Sandy will not be in attendance at the Friday event, according to Jebbia.
“The thing that always comes back to me. . . him being there with Sandy. She was really a huge part of the program and she had her stroke summer-fall of 95, and I know he didn’t want to give up coaching. That would have crushed him ultimately,” Jebbia said.
“He was there by her side, he had to miss stuff, but I don’t think he ever missed a game. He was there for us still and there by her side, didn’t abandon her and take time away from her. It was tough during basketball, but we were there to help him and support him. That’s the thing that sticks out the most, and it was such a tragic thing.
“Although he won’t be there physically either, Coach Sam Andy will roam courtside in spirit as games are contested at WesBanco Arena in his honor. Jebbia said, “We miss him, and I think this is one (great) night.”
(Photos provided by Pete Chacalos)
