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Ashtabula County high school athletics has boasted several families with Hall of Fame legacies. Among them are the Hitchcocks from Pymatuning Valley, the Hensons from Grand Valley and the DeJesuses’ from Geneva.
This year, the elevation of one of its members to Hall of Fame status, cements the Humphrey name in that list.
Scott Humphrey, a 1970 Conneaut graduate, scored 1,049 career points and was inducted into the Ashtabula County Basketball Foundation Hall of Fame in 2009. Scott’s father, Stanley, coached basketball and baseball at Rowe High School in Conneaut before it merged with the other high school in town.
“If there was a baseball Hall of Fame, he would be in it,” Tim, another of his sons, said of his father. “He coached two teams from a very small school to the high school state finals.”
Tim will be inducted into the ACBF Hall of Fame during its induction ceremony Sunday at the New Leaf Event Center in Conneaut.
A 1973 graduate of Conneaut, Tim Humphrey was a key player on the Spartans team that finished second in the Northeastern Conference to Ashtabula his senior year.
“We went on to play Barberton in the district,” Humphrey said. “They were ranked No. 1 in the state [large school AAA, there were only three divisions at the time]. We only lost by 20 points.”
That year was a memorable one for the Spartans.
Ashtabula had come into Conneaut undefeated during the regular season until the Spartans avenged that loss.
Pymatuning Valley was also unbeaten when the Spartans invaded the Lakers’ court and knocked them from the ranks of the undefeated.
Then, they put Ashtabula out of the tournament with only its second loss of the season (both of them to Conneaut),
Considering his family, with a father who coached both basketball and baseball and a brother who starred in the game, it’s no surprise that Humphrey started the game very young, playing in the backyard or by throwing balls into the laundry basket in the winter.
He played baseball all through grade school and junior high, then made the varsity team as a sophomore. After that, Humphrey stopped that game to concentrate on basketball.
“I joined the track team my senior year after basketball season just for fun,” he said.
With that limited experience, he still managed to place fourth in the county in the long jump and ran in a sprint relay.
Concerning basketball, Humphrey was already playing organized ball in grade school.
“The coach was the principal and I think he just got stuck with job because no one else was available,” he said. “I’m sure I learned most of the fundamentals from my father and brother.”
Humphrey played shooting guard at 6’ at Conneaut.
As a junior, his teammates consisted of fellow guard Tim Richards, and forwards Rob Ferl, who are both members of the Hall of Fame, and Tim Church.
In Humphrey’s senior year, guards Jon Stolson and Denny Sabo joined him, along with forward Tim Wheeler and center Ron Grubke.
At the time, the Spartans were coached by future Hall of Famer Paul Freeman.
“He was excellent,” Humphrey said. “What I remember most about coach Freeman was his intensity and serious attitude, which translated to a team with discipline [relative to 17-and-18 year-old males], good fundamentals and strong teamwork.
“We worked hard and I realized goofing around wasn’t as much fun and rewarding as playing hard and winning.”
As a senior, Humphrey averaged about 17.5 points per game and was first-team all county and All-Northeastern Conference.
At the time, some teams didn’t keep track of rebounds, assists or steals. Newspaper accounts referred to Humphrey’s “all-around” game.
“These, and defense, were just as, if not more, important to our success than scoring,” Humphrey said.
“I don’t remember being recruited by anyone, but when I expressed an interest in Case Western Reserve University, they were very interested in me joining the basketball team and I did go there,” he said.
Humphrey played on the CWRU JV team as a freshman and the varsity squad as a sophomore.
“I retired ‘professionally’ after that year.” he quips.
Humphrey graduated in 1977 with a bachelor of science in civil engineering.
“I worked for BP Chemicals in Lima, Ohio out of college as a project engineer in the agricultural chemicals business,” he said.
After about 10 years, he moved to Columbus, and started working in commercial construction as a project manager.
Humphrey held that position for about 35 years for several different construction companies.
“I’m on my second marriage [Vicky] and we had our 18th anniversary in June of 2024,” he said. The couple met through friends at the Columbus Ski Club.
Humphrey has no children from that marriage, but has a son and daughter from his first one.
Adam, 40, is married to Katherine.
They have a son, Ethan, who is 2 1/2. Tim’s daughter, Amy 38, is a doctor of psychology.
“The only sport I play these days is golf,” Humphrey said. “Vicky and I like to travel and I also like to fish.”
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This year, the elevation of one of its members to Hall of Fame status, cements the Humphrey name in that list.
Scott Humphrey, a 1970 Conneaut graduate, scored 1,049 career points and was inducted into the Ashtabula County Basketball Foundation Hall of Fame in 2009. Scott’s father, Stanley, coached basketball and baseball at Rowe High School in Conneaut before it merged with the other high school in town.
“If there was a baseball Hall of Fame, he would be in it,” Tim, another of his sons, said of his father. “He coached two teams from a very small school to the high school state finals.”
Tim will be inducted into the ACBF Hall of Fame during its induction ceremony Sunday at the New Leaf Event Center in Conneaut.
A 1973 graduate of Conneaut, Tim Humphrey was a key player on the Spartans team that finished second in the Northeastern Conference to Ashtabula his senior year.
“We went on to play Barberton in the district,” Humphrey said. “They were ranked No. 1 in the state [large school AAA, there were only three divisions at the time]. We only lost by 20 points.”
That year was a memorable one for the Spartans.
Ashtabula had come into Conneaut undefeated during the regular season until the Spartans avenged that loss.
Pymatuning Valley was also unbeaten when the Spartans invaded the Lakers’ court and knocked them from the ranks of the undefeated.
Then, they put Ashtabula out of the tournament with only its second loss of the season (both of them to Conneaut),
Considering his family, with a father who coached both basketball and baseball and a brother who starred in the game, it’s no surprise that Humphrey started the game very young, playing in the backyard or by throwing balls into the laundry basket in the winter.
He played baseball all through grade school and junior high, then made the varsity team as a sophomore. After that, Humphrey stopped that game to concentrate on basketball.
“I joined the track team my senior year after basketball season just for fun,” he said.
With that limited experience, he still managed to place fourth in the county in the long jump and ran in a sprint relay.
Concerning basketball, Humphrey was already playing organized ball in grade school.
“The coach was the principal and I think he just got stuck with job because no one else was available,” he said. “I’m sure I learned most of the fundamentals from my father and brother.”
Humphrey played shooting guard at 6’ at Conneaut.
As a junior, his teammates consisted of fellow guard Tim Richards, and forwards Rob Ferl, who are both members of the Hall of Fame, and Tim Church.
In Humphrey’s senior year, guards Jon Stolson and Denny Sabo joined him, along with forward Tim Wheeler and center Ron Grubke.
At the time, the Spartans were coached by future Hall of Famer Paul Freeman.
“He was excellent,” Humphrey said. “What I remember most about coach Freeman was his intensity and serious attitude, which translated to a team with discipline [relative to 17-and-18 year-old males], good fundamentals and strong teamwork.
“We worked hard and I realized goofing around wasn’t as much fun and rewarding as playing hard and winning.”
As a senior, Humphrey averaged about 17.5 points per game and was first-team all county and All-Northeastern Conference.
At the time, some teams didn’t keep track of rebounds, assists or steals. Newspaper accounts referred to Humphrey’s “all-around” game.
“These, and defense, were just as, if not more, important to our success than scoring,” Humphrey said.
“I don’t remember being recruited by anyone, but when I expressed an interest in Case Western Reserve University, they were very interested in me joining the basketball team and I did go there,” he said.
Humphrey played on the CWRU JV team as a freshman and the varsity squad as a sophomore.
“I retired ‘professionally’ after that year.” he quips.
Humphrey graduated in 1977 with a bachelor of science in civil engineering.
“I worked for BP Chemicals in Lima, Ohio out of college as a project engineer in the agricultural chemicals business,” he said.
After about 10 years, he moved to Columbus, and started working in commercial construction as a project manager.
Humphrey held that position for about 35 years for several different construction companies.
“I’m on my second marriage [Vicky] and we had our 18th anniversary in June of 2024,” he said. The couple met through friends at the Columbus Ski Club.
Humphrey has no children from that marriage, but has a son and daughter from his first one.
Adam, 40, is married to Katherine.
They have a son, Ethan, who is 2 1/2. Tim’s daughter, Amy 38, is a doctor of psychology.
“The only sport I play these days is golf,” Humphrey said. “Vicky and I like to travel and I also like to fish.”
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