HAROLD’S IS THE PLACE WHERE IT ALL BEGAN FOR NAPLES BUCKEYES

Naples-area Buckeye backers can boast of something else: They’re the largest Buckeye alumni group in the country — besides, of course, the one in Ohio’s Franklin County, where Columbus is located. While Stevie Tomato’s Sports Page and Bokamper’s also host Ohio State watch parties, Harold’s Place has been the old, gold standard for longtime Buckeye fans in Naples.

In fact, Harold’s is believed to be a pioneer in the watch party industry, as fans started gathering there to watch the Buckeyes in the early to mid 1980s — a decade or so before watch parties became popular.

“It’s a great relationship, and has been for 30-some years,” Harold’s Place owner Joe Dinunzio said of the alumni club. “It started with my partner, the late Tom Larcomb, in ’83 or ’84. We raised the first scholarship, and we’ve been going strong ever since.”

With more than 400 members, the Naples Buckeyes alumni club is making sure that the Naples-to-Columbus pipeline stays strong. An endowment scholarship fund, which now stands at more than $1 million, gives five Naples-area students scholarships to Ohio State for the difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition.

“No other school has an endowment fund to this degree,” said Drake, the Naples Buckeyes scholarship committee chairperson. “We try to help as many kids as we can. And they’re all in the top four or five percent of their class.”

Former Buckeye greats Archie Griffin, Eddie George, Kirk Herbstreit and Chris Spielman are just some of the guests who have spoken at Harold’s alumni meetings. Meyer has spoken as well.

Back in the day, it was customary to pass a hat around the room to drum up club contributions. Now there’s a 50-50 raffle at each game watch, with half the money going toward scholarships, and the other half to the winner of a halftime drawing. This year, though, for the first half of the season, half of the money went to Hurricane Irma relief efforts, including the Pace Center for Girls in Immokalee, the Immokalee Child Care Center, Grace Place and Collier Harvest. Those donations exceeded $5,000.

Other fundraising efforts include the annual Naples Buckeyes Golf Tournament (the 2018 event tees off April 30 at the Country Club of Naples), a casino night and a fashion show. Further, the alumni group has a presence in two big Naples holiday events: the Christmas boat parade and St. Patrick’s Day parade.

“We used to pass the hat before the raffles but through the years we’ve built up considerably,” Dinunzio said. “So we haven’t passed the hat in a long time.”

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Dick Ritchie, a 1959 OSU grad, is the club’s vice president. He came on board in 2006, at a time when the club needed an infusion of leadership and fresh ideas. Ritchie is a former TV producer and director in Columbus, and worked in marketing, real estate and finance. He was a city manager and is a retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve.

One Michigan game in particular stands out in Ritchie’s memory.

“Back in the 90s, we took a bus trip there, it was very cold,” Ritchie recalled. “We got into the stadium, and everyone stood on their seats. Being 5-foot-8, I didn’t see any of that game.”

Bob Holmes, one of the original club members at Harold’s Place, will never forget the Snow Bowl in Columbus in 1950, won by Michigan, 9-3, despite getting no first downs and punting 24 times. Buckeyes coach Wes Fesler resigned after that game. His replacement? Woody Hayes.

“They played in 27 inches of snow,” Holmes said. “Vic Janowicz won the Heisman that year for Ohio State. He was always one of my favorites.”

Holmes crafted a stained-glass work of art that serves as the unofficial logo of Harold’s Place. Although the bar was named after the original owner, Bill Deagan, who was nicknamed Harold, there was also a parrot named Harold that frequented the establishment. Many believe the place was named after the parrot.

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Russ Rogers was Ohio State’s track coach from 1987 to 2007, at which point he retired and moved to Naples. Rogers worked closely with the football coaches, as many of his athletes also played football. In the early 90s, the Buckeyes track team dominated the Big Ten and finished among the nation’s top three consistently with guys like Robert Smith, Chris Sanders, Aaron Payne and Butler Binote.

“During the winter, we had a station set up at football practice,” Rogers said. “A lot of players don’t know how to run with pads on. It takes time to learn how to shift your weight and not let the pads interfere.”

Rogers did some of his best work with Alonzo Spellman.

“He came to me and said he wanted to play in the NFL. He ran a 5.8 40,” Rogers recalled. “I got him down to 4.9 and he played 10 years with the Bears.”

Seeing Spellman, Smith (Vikings) and Sanders (Titans) excel in the pros was gratifying, but Rogers is even more satisfied about how his “kids” are handling life’s hurdles.

“When Irma came, I must have gotten 100 calls from the team. They’re just like my kids now,” Rogers said.

“They’ve all become successful, they’re making good money. It’s a steppingstone, to be a good citizen and have a good family, and they’ve all done that quite well.”

With so much Scarlet & Gray adorning the town right now, it’s easy to see how Buckeye backers view Naples as their Columbus of the South.

http://www.colliersportsinsider.com/news/239-alum-harolds-place-began-naples-buckeyes/

posted with permission from Greg Hardy of Colliersportsinsider.com