Sam Andy

WHEELING — The Ohio Valley coaching and basketball fraternities lost one of their giants Saturday night.

Surrounded by family and a few of his former players, long-time Wheeling Park head coach Sam Andy died after a battle with cancer at the age of 76.

Andy was the winner of 611 games in a 39-year coaching career that saw stops at now defunct Frazeysburg (Ohio) and Wheeling High as well as Wheeling Park where he spent the final 30 seasons of his coaching career.

While the three state championships, one state runnerup and 20 trips to the West Virginia State Tournament are what most will always remember about Andy, there was much more to him.

“Everyone knows the kind of coach Sam was,” current Wheeling Park head basketball coach Michael Jebbia, who played for and coached with Andy, said. “I will remember what kind of man he was, father figure to his players and the kind of husband he was to his wife, Sandy.”

Andy’s health really started to deteriorate in the last week or so.

“It was just within the last seven to 10 days when things got really bad,” Jebbia said. “He went into Wheeling Hospital on July 21 and they moved him to continuous care on July 24 and then he was moved to Liza’s Place last Friday.”

Andy received news that some tumors had been found his eyes in May, but thought strong doses of radiation and treatment would help.

“Things were going well with his treatment and he had thought he had gotten out ahead of (the cancer),” Shane Mallett — a former Patriot standout and long-time Andy friend — said. “It was (July 21) when it seemed like the cancer had really progressed and he went downhill from there.”

Mallett last spoke with Andy this past Thursday.

“He’d been in and out of it all week, but we talked and I got the feeling that he knew the end was coming,” Mallett said. “His first concern was for his wife, Sandy, to make sure she was taken care of after he passed away. I assured him she would be.”

Andy and his wife Sandy were married for more than 50 years. She had battled her own health scare in the late 90s. She suffered a stroke and was in a coma for  more than 50 days. Not a day passed, however, that Andy wasn’t by his wife’s side.

“Sam took great care of his wife since she had her stroke,” Mallett said. “He was her rock and protector. He was always there for her to help make sure she was in the best best health she could be. I know Sandy’s devastated.”

Andy matriculated east to his hometown after spending two years as a head coach in Muskingum County and then three years as an assistant at Tri-Valley. He accepted the Wheeling High position in 1969 and never left the Friendly City again.

Andy led an Ohio County school to three state championships. He won his first title while coaching at his alma mater, Wheeling, in 1976, which was the final year that school was opened before the Wheeling Park consolidation.

“Had he not won the state championship does he even get the Wheeling Park job?” Jebbia asked.

It was certainly a good decision by the Park administration. Andy was the head coach from 1976-77 season until his retirement in 2006. All told, he racked up 471 wins and two more state championships with the Patriots.

It took him just three years to get Wheeling Park its first state title, but it was another 15 years before the Patriots hoisted another state championship trophy. The 1995 Class AAA final against Beckley Woodrow Wilson is a game that still resonates with hoop fans around the Ohio Valley and throughout the state of West Virginia.

Park started that season 2-2, but Andy didn’t panic.

“After the second loss, Coach Andy told us, ‘I think we can win the rest of (the games),'” Jebbia, who was a freshman on that team, said. “I was thinking, ‘win the rest of them?’ But, we did. We ended up winning 22 games in a row.”

The final one was definitely the toughest to claim. Not only because of the pedigree of Woodrow Wilson, but also because the game went triple overtime and when the dust settled Park had only one member of its starting lineup on the court, while Woodrow Wilson hadn’t lost a player to fouls.

“Somehow we won the game,” Jebbia said. “There’s not a year that goes by that someone doesn’t still talk about that game.”

Mallett was a senior on that 1995 team and also one of the players who fouled out in regulation.

“People still call it one of the greatest games in West Virginia state tournament history,” Mallett said. “I am almost afraid to watch the game because I don’t want to risk the outcome changing. Park and Woodrow Wilson had some epic battles in the 90s. Before I played, when I played and even after I graduated, it was just a great rivalry between the two schools.”

Andy’s 611 career wins still ranks second in West Virginia state basketball history. He trails only Jerome Van Meter of Woodrow Wilson.

A member of the OVAC and Wheeling Park High School Halls of Fame, Andy led his 1997 team to the Class AAA state final, while his 1988, 1990, 1998 and 2000 squads got to the final four. All told, Andy’s squads experienced only three losing seasons, won 31 sectionals and six OVAC titles.

“I was in elementary school when I first met Coach Andy and the thing I always noticed was he made basketball important in Wheeling and at Wheeling Park,” Jebbia said.

Andy was able to achieve that kind of success despite playing against arguably the toughest schedule in the OVAC each winter.

“There was a time when we played a national-type schedule,” Jebbia said. “In 1996, we went to the City of Palms Classic and finished third, in 1997 we went and played Lexington Catholic and in 1998 we played Lakewood St. Edward and lost 75-71. In 1996, we played Zanesville when it was ranked third in the country. Sam was the guy who got our (basketball) relationship with Scott Aronhalt and Zanesville going.”

Jebbia plans to honor his former coach in some regard this season and down the road, but he hadn’t finalized any plans.

“I was thinking about a special tribute warm-up shirt, trying to start a scholarship or something,” Jebbia said. “We want to make sure his memory stays alive.”

The Patriots are opening their 2016-17 season at the Charleston Civic Center as part of the ‘Legends Classic’ event on Dec. 10. Andy was chosen as one of the honorees for the event and had fully intended on being there that night.

“He was so excited when he heard that he was going to be honored,” Jebbia said. “They’re going to honor one of his good friends, Tex Williams, too. They coached against each other in the 1980 state final.”

Mallett, who is a member of the Ohio County Board of Education, said he’s been in contact with Superintedent Dr. Kim Miller during the course of the last few days.

“We’ve not (officially) talked about honoring Coach Andy yet because of what’s needed to be done in terms of arrangements and such, but I believe she wants to do something and I look forward to discussing that.”

The arrangements were finalized Sunday afternoon. Altmeyer’s in downtown Wheeling (1400 Eoff Street) is handling the service. Friends will be received Saturday from noon until 8 p.m. and the service will begin at that time. Internment will be done at the convenience of the family.

It was also noted that in lieu of flowers, donations for Sandy Andy will be accepted, but information in regard to the donation process will be provided once the details are finalized.