This year, it’s Bob Lutz and Mike Burcham.

Sunday, June 25, 2000

This year, it’s Bob Lutz and Mike Burcham. Next year, who knows?

But Dave Lawless wants there to be a next year to honor another individual.

Lawless, who is one of the people behind this Saturday’s appreciation dinner for Ironton High School coaches Bob Lutz and Mike Burcham, wants to make the event an annual affair.

"Bob Lutz and Mike Burcham are great coaches, they’ve had great success, and they’ll be back next year," said Lawless. "But people should remember they are retiring as teachers, and they gave 100 percent in the classroom as well as on the field. This dinner is about what they’ve done as teachers as well as coaches.

"That’s one reason I’d like for this dinner to continue. I’d like to see this become an annual affair to honor other teachers for the job they’ve done."

Former Ironton players Ken Fritz and Mark Snyder will be among the guest speakers. Also scheduled to speak are former Ironton and St. Joe football coach James J. "Bear" Mains and former Ironton basketball coach Bob Leith.

Fritz was the Associated Press Lineman of the Year and first team All-Ohio player for the Fighting Tigers. He was a four-year letterman at Ohio State, co-captain his senior year, a two-time first team Big Ten selection, a two-time first team AP All-American, and a 10th round draft choice of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Snyder was a first team All-Ohio pick at Ironton. He earned Division I-AA All-American honors at Marshall as he set a school record with 10 interceptions in one season, and is currently an assistant coach for the Minnesota Gophers.

The dinner will be held from 7-10 p.m. Saturday, July 1, in Tiger Alley.

The dinner is a family affair with no alcoholic beverages. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for children. Since the event is being catered by the Scioto Ribber, Lawless said people must have a reservation in order to enter the dinner.

"I’d like to see the whole community get involved and support Bob and Mike," Lawless said. "They’ve given a lot to this community and they’re still going to give by coming back to coach and run the athletic department, so it would be nice if the people came out and gave a little something back to them."

Interested people should contact Rick McKnight at 576-9015, John Wolfe at 532-7000, Dave Lawless at 532-6705, Rich Mountain at 532-8755 (Scherer-Mountain Insurance), or Jeff Linn at 532-4872 (Bob Linn Sporting Goods).

Lutz has been the head football coach at Ironton for the past 28 years. His 282-60-5 record – which includes 20-8-1 in three seasons at St. Joe – puts him in an eighth place tie on the Ohio high school coaches all-time victory list.

Lutz’s teams have made 18 postseason playoff appearances, been state runners-up six times including last year, and he his teams won state titles in 1979 and 1989.

Burcham has served as Ironton’s athletic director since 1972 and he is a member of the Ohio High School Athletic Directors Hall of Fame.

Burcham was Ironton’s head baseball coach from 1978 to 1984. He posted a 319-129 record with a state title in 1972. He is a member of the Ohio High School Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame.

He is also a member of the University of Rio Grande Athletic Hall of Fame. His career total of 23 home runs is second all-time behind Charlie Roberts who hit 25. Burcham coached Roberts during the early 1980s.