Greynolds Classic

It’s going to be strange to be at the K. Jack Greynolds Classic at the end of this month, and not see a hustling Larry Bidlingmyer making sure everything is running smoothly and on schedule.

That’s because Bidlingmyer passed away Sunday night at the age of 60, leaving a long legacy of involvement in not only Barberton athletics, but in the Barberton community as well.

Bidlingmyer’s sports involvement began at Barberton, before going to Rootstown High School, where he was the head football coach for the Rovers. He then came back to the Barberton City Schools, serving as a middle school football coach, and an assistant football coach for Rudy Sharkey. He then went on to a long tenure as Barberton High School’s athletic director until his retirement in 2000.

Bidlingmyer has been described as a visionary, and had a big hand in the design of Barberton’s athletic facilities, including the state of the art gym and the sports complex where the Magics baseball, softball, cross country and tennis teams play.

Even after retirement, Bidlingmyer was an integral part of the Barberton High School sports scene. One of his biggest jobs was helping to bring Ohio High School Athletic Association district and regional tournaments to the school and managing them. His crowning achievement though, and perhaps, the one he will be remembered for the most, was being the driving force behind the K. Jack Greynolds Classic, which has become the premier basketball showcase in Summit and it’s surrounding counties.

Bidlingmyer spearheaded the event to honor the legendary coach who was his good friend, and worked tirelessly to make it a reality, while attending to every detail from start to finish with his wife Marty by his side. He also helped in organizing the memorial to Greynolds which is outside the Lake Anna YMCA. Nothing could keep him from the dedication of the memorial, where he spoke with a hospital bracelet still on his wrist.

In the community, “Bid” as he was called by his friends, served on many committees and commissions and was active in the Magic City Kiwanis Club, the Barberton Community Foundation, the Barberton Beautification Committee’s Mum Festival steering committee, and the Parks and Recreation Commission. He also served on the selection committee for the Barberton Sports Hall of Fame, and was active in the Summit County Sports Hall of Fame.

For those wishing to say their final farewell to the man who adopted the Barberton schools, athletes and community as his own, a public memorial celebration will be held Sunday, 2 p.m., in the gymnasium at the Lake Anna YMCA.

Family and friends of former Barberton Magics Coach K. Jack Greynolds gathered outside the Lake Anna YMCA's Greynolds Gymnasium during Mum Fest to mark the unveiling of a monument to the legendary man. The YMCA sits on the sites of what was Barberton High School Industrial Arts building which housed the first Greynolds Gym.
Click here for full story.

"The theme of Mum Fest is Make a Little Magic," former assistant coach and teacher Bob Velloney said. "Well, Jack brought a lot of magic to Barberton. He described Jack Greynolds as more than a coach, a man who was also a great teacher. "His students learned in his classroom," Velloney said. "They learned a lot more than just basketball. They learned about life and they were much the better for the experience." Jack's son Jackie talked of growing up, watching the players his father was coaching and wanting to be like them and play for his father. Jackie did that, and went on to become a boys basketball coach himself, now at GlenOak. Playing for his father wasn't easy for him or any player. "On the floor he pushed you and he made you suck it up and be a man, and if you didn't, you didn't last," Jackie said, adding that players have told him it made them a better person. "He was unique," he said of his father. "He was a lot of different things."
The monument to Jack Greynolds sits outside the new Greynolds Gymnasium, built as part of Lake Anna YMCA on the site of the previous gym, where the Barberton Magics, under Greynolds, won the school's only state basketball championship.

5th Annual
Tuesday, December 29 and Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Barberton High School

The events will honor the late Jack Greynolds who died in 2005. He coached high school basketball for 29 seasons, the last 17 with the Barberton Magics. He retired in 1987 after suffering a stroke.
Proceeds will be used for stroke awareness and active youth programs.

The Classic has provided a venue for many players to demonstrate their skills and most of all, over $84,000 has been donated to our community.

In the coming year, proceeds from the Classic will sponsor the new youth swim team, the Magic Dribblers Fundamentals Basketball Camp, the Partners with Youth Program, a youth fitness program and a youth basketball league, all at the Lake Anna YMCA. In addition, the Classic will help defray much of the cost for an Active Adult Stroke Awareness seminar and the Fitness Awareness Benefits Program for middle school students, through the Barberton Parks and Recreation Department.

This program is making a difference in out community! We would like to invite you to help us continue to recognize what Jack Greynolds did for our school and community during his coaching tenure and to honor his true legacy, the many life lessons he taught us.

Individual and corporate sponsorship packages are available for the K. Jack Greynolds Memorial Classic.

Ticket information for the 2009 K. Jack Greynolds Memorial Classic now available. This is the 5th year of the Classic, which promises to be an exciting high school event with the best teams from four counties participating participating. Proceeds will be used for stroke awareness and healthy life style youth programs." Click here for complete details.

For more information regarding the K. Jack Greynolds Memorial Classic, please contact Marty Bidlingmyer at mbidlingmyer@neo.rr.com or at (330) 753-3572.