Statue of Fred Taylor to be unveiled in Zanesville

ZANESVILLE, Ohio – One of Zanesville’s most famous natives and Ohio’s biggest sports names is finally getting his recognition in his hometown.

A life-sized statue of Fred Taylor, who took Ohio State to their only basketball national championship in 1960, is going to be installed at Zanesville Middle School later this month. Zanesville’s Alan Cottrill is who was asked to create the monument.

“I’ve loved Zanesville and Muskingum County history my whole life,” said Cottrill. “So it was a big deal to be able to sculpt Fred Taylor, who is now one of my heroes.”

Taylor was born in Zanesville in 1924 and grew up in the Y-City. He went to Zanesville (then called Lash) High School but was cut three years in a row by the basketball coach. Taylor then served in the military in World War II before going to play baseball and basketball at Ohio State.

After briefly playing Major League Baseball, Taylor got the job as his alma mater’s head basketball coach in 1958. By the 1959-’60 season he had taken the Buckeyes to their only national championship in school history. Taylor would guide OSU for 18 years and would take the Buckeyes to 7 Big Ten titles. Among the players he coached included hall of famers Jerry Lucas, John Havlicek, and Bobby Knight.

“Bobby Knight was a reserve for Fred Taylor on the 1960 championship team. He wrote the introduction to Fred Taylor’s biography. And in it he states that he’s never made a decision in his adult life without consulting Fred Taylor. What a tribute to a guy,” said Cottrill.

The statue is schedule to be unveiled at the end of May.