Three Area Sports Figures Honored

Two coaches and a longtime sports official and volunteer were honored Wednesday with the Inland Northwest Sportswriters and Broadcasters 25-year distinguished service awards.

Spokane football, baseball, basketball and track official Jack Shagool, three-time state championship coach and retired Columbia School District superintendent Roy Graffis and Spokane Stars girls basketball coach Ron Adams were honored at Wednesday’s Youth Sports Awards luncheon.

Shagool has been a high school and college sports official for 51 years - 30 in Spokane. He was a Big Eight umpire, college football and basketball referee in his native Kansas for 20 years before moving his family to Spokane in 1966.

Shagool’s activities include coaching youth baseball, tennis and football; officiating football for 31 years, and basketball for 25 years; and serving as a volunteer for volleyball, cross country, track and Bloomsday.

Adams was an all-state basketball player and league scoring leader for Central Valley High School. He was also a starter at College of Southern Idaho and the University of Idaho.

While working at Kaiser Aluminum, he has pursued a coaching career, first as co-coach of the CV girls basketball team, then as coach and organizer of the Spokane Stars. The Stars have developed into a national AAU power, finishing second once and third once in the U-18 national tournament. He helped bring the 1996 U-18 and U-16 national AAU tournaments to Spokane.

Graffis became the first coach in state history to win a boys and a girls state basketball championship. In 1973, Graffis coached the Oakesdale boys to the State B title. In 1986, while serving as superintendent and girls basketball coach, he directed the Columbia Lions of Hunters to the State B title.

He added a third title in 1988 when he coached Columbia to the state football title.

While at Oakesdale, Graffis was active in the development of the youth basketball programs in Whitman County.

, DataTimes