Dick Routt. February 20, 1944 to June 24, 2006. He was adamant about historic dates and details.  The following is a brief walk through the time between those two dates.

I came to know “The Great One” early in my broadcasting career. What I know beyond what I’ve personally witnessed following 23 years of Chillicothe athletics, I can directly attribute to The Great One.

Chip Arledge encouraged me to pick the brain of “Great”. (Chip’s execution of word economy was impeccable. One knew exactly to whom he referred.)  As I cut my teeth on Cavalier play-by-play duties, it was The Great One that steered me in the right direction with facts. Friends labeled him “The Great One” because of his innate ability to state facts, due mostly because of his research work.

Acknowledging the achievements of the basketball Cavaliers under the guide of Tom Cuppett in the 1970s, it was The Great One that kept alive the memory of the Mighty Mights of the 1960s, that Ed Alexanis had teams that won 116 games, Earl Young 223 and how painful a district tournament loss was to Portsmouth.

My relationship with The Great One increased as the Cavs football program neared its 100^th anniversary. He explained stories spanning beyond wins and losses. He relished in details of the first school’s first games, the Chillicothe faithful traveling by train to watch their boys in action, car headlights illuminating the grid iron, the first African American to handle the pigskin in the early 1900s.  Red Devils to Vikings, the Orangemen to the Cavaliers, he brought so much of Chilllicothe’s past to life.

He took on pet projects for the radio station. Digging through the Gazette archives to gain detail for our Bicentennial Minutes during the Northwest Territory celebration in 1996, which also were revived for the State Bicentennial in 2003. Then there were “Letters to Santa” from the 1800s and the early 1900s. In fact, a result of his research, one letter I read on the air was heard by a man in his 70s who called to thank me for reading one of the letters. It had been written by his son, 40 some years earlier, bringing back happy memories for the father. Some may not have known, The Great One delivered the Gazette from 1959-1962.

While not having experienced his tutelage at Mt. Logan, I can say I was one of his students outside the classroom. His passion for Chillicothe athletics likely paled in comparison to the impact he made on the young lives he helped shape on the city’s east end. Forgoing the opportunity to move to other locations in the system, his heart remained with those at Mt. Logan. Shouts of “Clear the halls!” still ring in the building, encouraging kids to get to their classes where their time would be better used.

I’ve met many a Cavalier fan who bleed Blue and White, but none ever to the depths as The Great One. I already miss our conversations, filled with anticipation of the coming football season. Monday mornings generally meant receiving a phone call preparing for the next Friday night conquest. If it were Dublin Scioto to Logan or Marietta, there was a story unique to the opponent, and The Great One knew it as if he’d lived it.

When faced with prostate cancer, he challenged it with the same fortitude as if he donned the team colors, not going down without a fight. God gave him more years than the doctors had, and he was grateful for every second of it. I thank the Lord for allowing Dick to be a part of my walk on this sod. I am looking forward to the day we can walk the streets of pure gold and chat again.

Today, June 24^th, 2006, there is a void in Cavalier history. The man who recorded most of it is sorely missed. In my heart and many others, he will always be remembered, not just Dick Routt, but as “The Great One”.

(Joyce Atwood, Assistant Superintendent, Chillicothe City Schools and Bob Crabtree Principal Smith Middle School contributed to this essay)