Effie James examines a scrapbook of newspaper clippings from the Tygers’ run to the 1985 basketball state title game. Three years ago Effie James began a painstaking project to chronicle the Mansfield Senior High Tygers’ incredible run to the 1985 Ohio Class AAA basketball championship game. What he found was an equally incredible story of a community that came together in a spirit of pride and unity.
James’ documentary – “TY for Tygers … a Story of Life, Community & Basketball” – will be shown at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 2, in the Senior High auditorium. The free public presentation will follow the Tygers’ 2 p.m. basketball game against Sandusky in Pete Henry Gym.
Mansfield Senior High lost the title game to Cincinnati Purcell Marion 65-57 in Ohio State University’s St. John Arena, but James said the title run is part of a much larger story.
The documentary, which began to take shape in James’ mind as far back as 2010, is the result of countless hours of interviewing players and coaches from Mansfield Senior High and Malabar High School, as well as community residents and others – “a lot of familiar faces.” Many of the state runner-up team and coach Joe Prats reside in the area. It includes hard-to-find archival video from the 1984-85 season.
“I don’t want people to think this is just a Senior High documentary. It speaks to what our community was like in the mid-1980s,” James said. “The team is the focal point, but I think it tells a really good story about Mansfield. When I heard some of the testimonials during interviews, I came to believe the community’s level of support virtually willed this team to success.”
James knows something of success. A 1994 Senior High graduate, he was a standout in football and basketball, earning a football scholarship to Bowling Green State University. Injury cut his college career short but years later he earned a business administration degree and, from 2008 to 2012, achieved a 69-21 record as the Tygers’ head basketball coach.
“I was 9 when our team went to the championship game,” James said. “These guys were my heroes. They were 5-5 after their first 10 games, but went on to reach the championship game and finish 20-7. The impression they made on me had a lasting effect. I had been interested only in playing soccer. They made me want to play basketball.
“As a kid, I realized those guys had to keep up their grades to be able to play. That also had a lasting effect on me.”
Members of
the Senior High team who were introduced at St. John Arena included David
Minard, Marcus Marsh, Gary Walker, Eric Toddie, Ahmed Kent, Tony Bond, Robbie
Andrews, Tim Harless, Ron Parr, Ricky Williams, Tyron Buck and Dapreis Owens.
James’ research involved reading “tons and tons” of newspaper clippings. He used his “own little 8 mm camera” for the documentary but acknowledged the “tremendous help” of digital and technology experts. An editor helped him craft the final product.
“There was a lot of talk about the closeness of the community and how we supported each other,” said James, now a home instruction tutor for Mansfield City Schools and a treatment counselor at Mansfield UMADAOP.
“Team members told me that when they began their tournament run they will never forget how the community came together – all races, all ages, sitting together cheering the Tygers on. It was a community proud and united.
“The 1984-85 team is the most accomplished Mansfield Senior High basketball team ever. It’s a story that deserves to be told and the crux of that story will be told by the people who were there.”