Wyandot Sports Hall of Fame

Tom Greer was a 1959 graduate of Carey High School, where he starred in many athletic endeavors. He led the Blue Devils football team as an outstanding quarterback in the fall while becoming an All-Ohioan as a senior for his work on the mound during the spring.

Greer’s high school success led him to Ohio Northern University where he became a four-time letterman on both the gridiron and the baseball diamond. The Blue Devils standout played both quarterback and defensive back while donning the Polar Bears football uniform as well as starring as a hurler in baseball.

Upon receiving his degree from ONU, Greer started a stellar coaching career by taking over the reins of the Ada football program. During his four-year stint with the Bulldogs, the team amassed a 20-13-3 record. They finished the 1967 season as the Northwest Conference league champions and the state’s fifth-ranked team in both the AP and UPI.

Oak Harbor was next on Greer’s journey, where in four years at the helm he was 25-12-3. From there he headed to Cardinal Stritch for a six-year stay where he accumulated a 32-27-1 mark.

In 1975 the Cardinals finished the year as the Toledo City League, Blue Division, champions. They by-passed the City Championship to participate in the Class AA state playoffs, losing to eventual champion Cleveland Holy Name. Coincidentally, Greer’s alma-mater was the Class A state title that same season, with several of his nephews playing keys roles in the team’s success. The Associated Press awarded Tom the Class AA Ohio high school coach of the year in 1975 when there were only three divisions in football.

Greer went on to coach Tiffin Columbian, where he held a 36-22-2 record. His 1983 team went 9-1 and won the outright Northern Ohio League crown. That was the same record his Uniontown Lake team finished with in 1986. That mark earned Greer the distinction of being named the Senate League coach of the year. Two years later he was the Stark County coach of the year.

He concluded his Ohio coaching career by heading the program at Galloway Westland High School. In 1996 Greer and his wife, Anita, headed south to Florida, where he taught and coached wrestling at Dunnellon High School.

Greer was also elected into the Ohio Northern football Hall of Fame in 1989. Twelve years later, he was given the highest honor that can be bestowed upon a high school football coach when he was selected for election into the Ohio Football Coaches Hall of Fame.

Greer, a son of John and Betty (Myers) Greer, was born Jan. 16, 1941. He and Anita were married in October 1962. They went on to have nearly 40 years together before his death Jan. 23, 2002.