PALESTINE – It seems that whatever Tom Everhart gets himself involved with something he expands upon that.
A 1962 graduate of Tri-Village High School, he went back there and worked there for 25 years; 16 years as a janitor and 17 years as a teacher’s aide, retiring in 2005.
Throughout the years, he also worked for Mercury Records at the Richmond Record Press, for American Aggregates in Phillipsburg, for Sheller-Globe in Union City and worked with his father at Sellman’s Hardware in Greenville.
While he carried out his musical career as a disc jockey and hobbyist, he also enjoyed playing basketball starting at the junior high level in school.
Thus, he became passionate not only in music but in basketball as well.
In the past, he has written 10 books on music in some form or another and now his 11th book reports the memories he has of his basketball career.
His latest book is titled Basketball Chronicles: Independent Basketball Association (IBA) with a very limited edition of the 60th anniversary of the sport in this area.
In the preface of the book, Everhart lets readers know how the independent league came about and has information on the subject, thanks to the news clippings he kept over the years.
Yes, the sport was reported in various newspapers and Everhart kept them all.
The IBA had its beginnings in October 1964, with four teams from Palestine, Hollansburg, Liberty Township and Greenville.
“The first league and play-off champions were undefeated Palestine with the winning team making the front cover of this newly-published book,” he said.
It was in 1973 that the league changed its name to the IBA due to the fact there were players now from Darke, Miami, Preble, Montgomery and Mercer counties in Ohio and Randolph, Wayne and Jay counties in Indiana.
“Over the years there have been 26 teams and 294 players,” he said.
In the book, he tells of local locations which provided venues for the respective games.
“In 29 years, there were some great and exciting basketball games,” said Everhart, who was a top player in most of the games that were played, according to those news clippings.
In the book, he names the 60th-year IBA selection team.
The book is an attractive work of art in orange and black. Everhart, who owns Night Moves Entertainment, sought the help of some local printing shops in making this new book a reality. A big help to him came from Dan Stockton of Stockton Studio in New Madison.
Shown on the front cover are Jim Hile, Jim Winterrowd, Jerry Thomas, Dave Seevers, Bob Ford, Rod Hill, Jim Fourman and Everhart Not shown are Jim Fourman, Gary Niswonger, Lloyd Lamott, Bert Mikesell and Larry Bates.
Inducted into the IBA’s Hall of Fame this year were Dave Neff, scorekeeper, and Carl Miller, custodian.
Names in the Hall of Fame for players were Everhart in 1989; Rob Hill, Bob Ford and Tony Printz, all in 2010; Rick Bickel, Tom Prosyk, Jim Hile and Jerry Thomas, all in 2011; Steve Brewer and Russ Willis in 2012; Todd Stephens, Dennis Funk and Sam Bradburn, all in 2013; Dave Royer, Jamie Clapp and Duane Robbins, all in 2014; Lowell Hawkins, Wayne McNutt, Rolland Brinley and Kirk Falknor, all in 2015; Lee Everhart, Brad Mallot and Kenny Werner, all in 2016; as well as Jim Winterrowd, Tom Everhart (president), Jack Harless (referee) and Rick Conyers (scorekeeper), all in 2024.
In the book are also the 19 names of those making up the 50th-anniversary team.
Names mentioned on the 60th-anniversary team are featured on the back page of the book.
Everhart said it was the merchants of Palestine who helped in the startup of the original team.
It sounds like the book didn’t take that long to become a reality.
“I just came across those news clippings just recently,” Everhart noted. “We got lots of publicity locally through the Union City Gazette and the daily newspaper in Greenville.”
Some members on the teams did not even play basketball in high school yet played for IBA.
Many of the players are now deceased, including three on his team…Bob Ford, Jim Hill and Jerry Thomas.
Everhart, who reported the program started as a league in Arcanum, said a year after he quit the league in 1992 and it folded the following year as there was nobody to take care of it.
“I was getting older than the players,” he said, beaming. “One guy once told me, ‘You’re a pure shooter, not a gunner.'”
One of Everhart’s favorite players was Tony Printz of Ansonia, now deceased.
“Tony was a team player. I rate him up there with Russ Willis,” Everhart said.
Over the years, the teams played all over, even in Newport, Ky.
Everhart, who served in the military in 1966 and 1957, still has some of the trophies he has won over the years, including a six-foot-one he received from the Peanut Barrel Lounge.
His music career has extended more than 60 years as he started when he was 10, when his mother began buying records for him, a hobby that he kept by getting jobs to pay for his vinyls.
His first gig as a disc jockey was at the New Madison American Legion at the age of 13, taking with him a turntable, a microphone and amp.
In a previous interview, it was learned that Everhart himself played no instruments, but did play drums in junior high but never pursued it. And, he has even sung on occasion over the years.
He has met many of the top groups and performers in the business and rooms in his home are filled with his collectible items.
All the while, being busy at other things (including industrial and independent basketball leagues), he never put music on the back burner.
He still entertains at weddings and other gigs and appears nearly every Monday afternoon at the Greenville VFW, where he hosts the Darke County Memory Lane dances.
“I have no idea when I’ll quit,” he said.
Another top priority of his has been his wife, Becky, to whom he has been married since March 16, 1968, and who was one of his greatest supporters. She passed away this past Saturday after a three-year illness. He made time to visit her often and just recently was visiting her every day when she was a patient at Troy Health Care and Rehab facility in Troy.
