Shelby E. Linville

To me, Shelby Linville was a true, genuine basketball player. I got to see him play a few games in tournaments at the Fairgrounds in Dayton. Shelby was basketball to me, the way he walked, carried himself, moved, he was taken from the mold of what and how a basketball player should be. To this day, I judge the quality of a player by comparing him, or her, to Shelby. Not many compare. I saw him in tournament games those two years they won the state. Paul Walker was their coach, he himself is a legend, and a good friend of my brother. The Middletown Middies, Shelby was a member of one of their great eras, as was Jerry Lucas

Shelby E. Linville

 (November 8, 1929 – August 5, 2008) 

An American basketball player and educator best known for his college career at the 

University of Kentucky.

Linville was born in Dayton, Kentucky and moved to Middletown, Ohio at 15. 

He starred at Middletown High School, where he led the team to two state championships

Following his standout college career, Linville first attended Miami University, then transferred to Kentucky to play for Adolph Rupp. Linville played three seasons at Kentucky, the best of which was his junior campaign where he averaged 10.4 points per game and helped lead the 1950–51 Wildcats to the 1951 National Championship. Linville had a strong NCAA tournament showing, making the 

All-Final Four team alongside teammate Bill Spivey

After graduating in 1952, Linville became a high school teacher, coach and administrator.

 He was also a Baptist minister.

Linville died on August 5, 2008

Legendary Coach Paul Walker on the left, Shelby is the third one down

I see a lot of Shelby's qualities in Elena Della Donne

Shelby Linville

Who is Shelby Linville, you ask? He actually is from my past, and I got to thinking of him the other day. I try, once in a while, not every day, to do some memory testing. I will pick a time or a date or a place, and try to remember back to that point. Yesterday, for some reason, I picked basketball, and tried to remember who played on the Middletown Middies, state champions a few times, Bob Grimes, McChesney and Shelby Linville.

I think Shelby played on two state championship teams, and one national championship team at Kentucky. He played for the legendary coach at Middletown, Paul Walker, who brought state wide prominence in basketball to Middletown. Later on, Walker coached Jerry Lucas.

Why Shelby Linville? I was an avid basketball fan in those days, spent many an hour at the old fairgrounds coliseum. High school on Friday and Saturday, Sunday, a visiting touring team, or in those days, Industrial Teams, got to see all the greats in those days. Cousey, George Miken, the old Globetrotters, "Sweetwater" Clifton.

But I still remember the first time I saw Shelby Linville. A regional tournament game, not sure who Middletown was playing, but in walked the Middletown team. Shelby had some sort of a charisma about him, he looked like a basketball player, he walked like a basketball player, he became an icon to me, I have judged many people over the years by their comparison to him.

His obituary, August 5, 2008 .......
Shelby Linville, who played on Kentucky's 1950-51 national championship basketball team, has died in Ohio. He was 78.
Phil Linville says his father died of cancer Tuesday at a nursing home in Middletown.
Linville's Middletown High School team won two state championships in the 1940s, and he was a member of the school's athletic hall of fame.
Linville was a teacher and coach at several schools and was a Baptist minister for more than 40 years. His son says he continued to conduct Bible studies at his home in Middletown until he entered the nursing home this Spring.
Linville is survived by his wife, Yvonne; three sons; 10 grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.

He was someone I remembered when the occasions arose, or something would flash back to an earlier time and place. He impacted my life in some ways, he didn't know it, and we never met.

An interesting interview with Shelby