Basketball, track experience set up Quaker Valley hall of fame inductee for success in life

By: Ray Fisher
Sunday, September 15, 2024 | 11:01 AM

Bobby Farrington, a 1982 Quaker Valley graduate, was known for his basketball and track skills as a high school athlete.

However, the QV Sports Hall of Fame inductee provided a list of prominent people in his life, and they all were academic influencers.

• Martha Ridgeway: “She always challenged me to do better and quitting was never an option, even as a third grader. That sounds very cliché-ish but it’s very true.”

• Byron Harriger: “I was a sixth grader and was the fastest kid in the school. Mr. Vaccaro was clearly the fastest teacher, so the challenge was made and the stage was set on a Friday afternoon in front of the entire school. Would I be crowned the fastest person in the school?

“Mr. Harriger could care less how fast I was, how fast Mr. Vacarro was, or the size of the student body gathered outside to watch this greatly anticipated event. Mr. Harriger made it very clear if my classwork wasn’t completed, there would be no race, at least not for me. I was confident that regardless of whether I completed my classwork or not, Mr. Harriger would surely be influenced by the crowd of students passing by the classroom. I was wrong, and he was not. There was no race. That was my first lesson: academics before athletics.”

• Stratton Nash: “He was a mentor and by far the biggest influence, bar none. He taught me how to compete, work hard no matter what I was doing. What Stratton and others taught me transcended beyond athletics — making great athletes into great people.”

The 60-year-old Farrington is one of four former athletes, one current coach and two teams that will be inducted into the QV HOF on the weekend of Oct. 25.

It was a red-letter moment when he found out he was selected for this year’s hall of fame class.

“I was very proud, honored and thankful for those in my life that saw things in me that I didn’t see in myself,” Farrington said. “I had mixed emotions; I was proud, excited, in disbelief. I had been nominated in the past a number of times, so to finally be selected was very satisfying.”

Farrington played varsity basketball for three seasons at QV and was a two-year starter in his junior and senior years. He was a 6-foot, 190-pound guard as a senior.

He was a three-year letterman in both basketball and track and qualified for states three times. He held the school record in the 300 intermediate hurdles from 1982 until recently and was selected to play in the Hoyle basketball tournament for high school hoopsters.

His basketball coaches were Alan Carson and Richard Woznicki; his track coach was Ken Johns.

Among Farrington’s favorite memories while at QV were a comeback win in basketball against Cornell and competing in the mile relay at the PIAA track and field finals.

“We were down 18 points in the fourth quarter against Cornell and, yes, we came back and won,” he said. “In the mile relay, I ran the third leg and we were behind by nearly a lap. We came back and, nope, we didn’t win it, but it was a great race.”

Following his distinguished high school career, Farrington continued playing basketball at Slippery Rock followed by a two-year stint at Butler County Community College.

“I wasn’t the most disciplined collegiate student-athlete; I struggled at Slippery Rock,” he said. “At BC3, I fit in well, matured and my academic success fueled my athletic success. I graduated after being a two-year starter and with a 3.4 GPA.”

Farrington earned a degree in computer science at Waylen Baptist and a graduate degree in education at Mississippi State.

A few years later, Farrington said he was in the right place at the right time and landed an opportunity to play basketball in Italy for a couple of seasons.

He was recruited by Steve Braxton to play on an Italian C-level team in Verona, Italy.

“The highlight in Italy was the opportunity to meet Darrel Dawkins, aka ‘Chocolate Thunder,’” Farrington said.

The QV product coached for a brief time at North Allegheny as a girls varsity assistant with the late Diane Shenot. He has continued a connection with basketball as a game-day official.

“This is my 32nd year reffing basketball,” Farrington said. “I do high school and college mostly, but I will do any level. I’ve had the opportunity to officiate semi-pro, D1 and all the way down to mighty mite (4-5 year olds).”

Farrington has traveled around the country

He started out as a substitute teacher in Hawaii, then worked in Watertown, N.Y., and began teaching science 11 years ago in the Starkville School District in Starkville, Miss.

He had 23 years of active duty in the U.S. Army, Special Forces, as an airborne paratrooper, and over the past eight years has been a JROTC/JCC instructor.

He served multiple deployments to the Middle East plus an array of other locations around the world. His military decorations include the Combat Infantry Badge, Meritorious Service Medal and a Bronze Star.

“I speak fluent Italian, a little German and a touch of Arabic,” Farrington said. “I retired as a Sergeant First Class.”

Farrington lives in Starkville, Miss., and owns a farm that includes an assortment of animals — cows, pigs, chickens, donkeys, horses and lambs.

He and his wife Towanda have five children and 12 grandchildren.

His wife and several other family members plan to attend this year’s hall of fame ceremonies.

Tags: Quaker Valley