To say that Oren Howard Heckathorne was inducted into the Beaver County Sports Hall
of Fame as a coach is a massive understatement: he was inducted
as lots of coaches. OH was born on a farm in Butler County
in 1891 and came to Beaver Falls High School in 1917, beginning a
distinguished career that spanned 17 years and every sport the
school offered. Over his tenure his Tiger football teams
compiled a 97-37-10 record. He was assistant football coach at the
start of his career but took over as head coach in the middle of his
first year and the Tigers won the county grid title. OH’s
football squads won four more county titles and a WPIAL Championship
in 1928. His boys’ basketball teams won 261 games and lost only 68, capturing
seven section titles during the 17 year stretch. OH
also coached girls’ basketball. His Tiger track teams won seven Beaver County meets and two WPIAL meets
and the
Tiger thinclads won at the Drake Relays in 1926 and came in second
in 1927. In 1918 his baseball team won the county title, but the sport was then dropped by
the school and not revived until the 1930s. Just to keep busy,
OH also served on many scholastic athletic committees,
including the WPIAL and Junior WPIAL Decisions Committees. OH died
in 1957.
To say that Oren Howard Heckathorne was inducted into the Beaver County Sports Hall
of Fame as a coach is a massive understatement: he was inducted
as lots of coaches. OH was born on a farm in Butler County
in 1891 and came to Beaver Falls High School in 1917, beginning a
distinguished career that spanned 17 years and every sport the
school offered. Over his tenure his Tiger football teams
compiled a 97-37-10 record. He was assistant football coach at the
start of his career but took over as head coach in the middle of his
first year and the Tigers won the county grid title. OH’s
football squads won four more county titles and a WPIAL Championship
in 1928. His boys’ basketball teams won 261 games and lost only 68, capturing
seven section titles during the 17 year stretch. OH
also coached girls’ basketball. His Tiger track teams won seven Beaver County meets and two WPIAL meets
and the
Tiger thinclads won at the Drake Relays in 1926 and came in second
in 1927. In 1918 his baseball team won the county title, but the sport was then dropped by
the school and not revived until the 1930s. Just to keep busy,
OH also served on many scholastic athletic committees,
including the WPIAL and Junior WPIAL Decisions Committees. OH died
in 1957.