“We felt all over the state Springfield was one of the top jobs in basketball coaching,” Walters told the News-Sun in 1981.
When Springfield split into North and South in 1960, Walters became the first boys basketball coach at South. He spent three seasons in that position before becoming athletic director, a job he held for 20 years.
Walters finished his coaching career with a record of 161-91 at Springfield and South and 97-24 at Columbus East.
Walters, a Circleville native, was 58 when he retired as athletic director because of poor health in 1981. He died in 1989 at 66.
“I don’t think anybody didn’t like Bucky Walters,” said North High School Athletic Director Jim Rolfes then. “Bucky was just a great person to be around. He was the kind of person who would do anything for you.”
Walters, a 1947 graduate of Capital University in Bexley, was inducted into that school’s hall of fame in 1980. His best sport was baseball, and he played one season as a minor leaguer in the Philadelphia Phillies farm system.
Walters was inducted into the Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame in 1966 and into the Springfield High School Hall of Fame in 1998. South named one of its gyms after him in 1984.
Walters will be part of a Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame class that includes former NBA player Calvin Booth, former NBA coach Mike Fratello and others. The ceremony will take place at the Hilton Polaris in Columbus. Tickets can be bought at OhioBasketballHallofFame.com.
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