HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE
VINCE CHICKERELLA,
LINDEN MCKINLEY
1995 RECIPIENT
Very simple - LSD! Provide my players with a lot of love, to teach in such a manner that they feel secure in all situations, and to provide a disciplined atmosphere where all know the team goals are # 1.
One of
Ohio basketball's most colorful coaches, Vince's career spanned both high
school and college. He graduated from Yorkville High School in 1947, from
The Ohio State University with a B.S. in Education in 1952, and the
University of West Virginia with a Master of Arts in Education.
Vince coached at Linden McKinley (1956-68) for a dozen years, winning 202
and losing 57, with a state championship in 1967. He was three years at
Columbus St. Fancis DeSales (1984-87), winning 50 and losing 21, and taking
the state championship in 1987. From 1988 through 1991, he coached at
Hilliard, winning 47 games. In 1992 he coached the Columbus Horizons for
part of the season. On the high school level, he won a total of 299 games
for a winning percentage of .722. Vince's high school teams won ten
sectional championships, six district, two regional and two state
championships. They won five league championships, including four city
league titles and four second places with 11-1 records. He also served
OHSBCA as District Director and as an advisor to the OHSAA Board of Control.
His coaching career at Capital University spanned 10 years from 1969-78,
where he won 179 and lost 72 - a winning percent of .710. His Capital teams
won three Ohio Athletic Championships (1970, 1971 and 1973) with two NCAA
regional appearances. Vince was also an outstanding baseball coach, serving
as assistant baseball coach at The Ohio State University from 1963-66 and
helping win two Big Ten Championships. In 1973 he was head baseball coach at
Capital University.
Coach Chickerella was Ohio Basketball Coach of the Year in 1968; Central
District Coach of the Year in 1961, 1966 and 1968; won the Dapper Dan Award
in 1968; coached in the Ohio North-South All-Star Game in 1968 and 1988; and
coached in the District 10 All-Star game in 1985 and 1991. He was also
selected for the baseball coaches' Hall of Fame in 1976 for his 270 wins and
34 losses (.888), garnering five league championships, and three district
titles. He coached in the Ohio East-West All-Star game four times.
In 1967 he was selected as one of the Top Ten men in Columbus by the
Columbus Citizen Journal and the Italian-American Man of the Year in
Columbus in 1991. He entered the Capital University Athletic Hall of Fame in
1985. He received the 1990 Golden Achievement Award from Doctor's Hospital
and the Community Service Award of Columbus. For eight years, he was the
"voice of the Buckeyes" on radio and television, and currently owns and
operates Chickerella Realty. He has four children, five step-children with
wife Beryl, and fifteen grandchildren.
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