Memories of former Portage High School coach and athletic director Larry Casbon shone as the school’s baseball diamond was dedicated Thursday in his memory.
Athletic Director Brett St. Germain said Casbon was head baseball coach from 1966 to 1976, compiling a record of 112 wins, 100 losses and three ties over those 11 years. “But anyone who understands coaching notes that numbers only tell a fraction of the story.”
“Those years were about more than the wins and the losses. They were about teaching, mentoring and building young men of character,” St. Germain said.
Casbon served as athletic director from 1977 to 1995. In those 19 years, PHS racked up three state championships, 13 semistate championships, 31 regional championships and 60 sectional titles, St. Germain said.
“But even those impressive achievements do not fully capture Coach Casbon’s impact,” he said.
“Larry Casbon left an indelible mark on Portage High School. He was someone who cared deeply about people, who believed in doing things the right way, and who understood that athletes are the best when they build community, pride and care,” St. Germain said.
Casbon’s son, Scott Casbon, of Chesterton, recognized those who knew his father and attended the field dedication. “Many people here today can probably point to a lesson, conversation or simply a moment where you showed up to them. And that was really what he was driving for,” Scott said.
Scott grew up watching a lot of sports on television with his dad. “You learn a lot of things. A lot of stories have sports analogies,” when your father is a coach, Scott said.
He also learned the importance of practice. “There’s always going to be someone with more natural ability, but you can always out-work them,” Scott said.
Linda Casbon was married to Larry for almost 58 years. “I think he cared very deeply for our family,” she said. At home, his gentle nature came out.
They met on a blind date, going on a double date with Linda’s girlfriend, who set up Linda and Larry. “I saw him every weekend,” she said, except when she was on a vacation overseas.
“We had a good marriage,” she said.
Before their children were born, Linda would sit in her car near the baseball diamond to watch the games. Spring sporting events can be chilly, she noted as the wind whipped past her Thursday.
Their grandson threw out the first pitch of the game.
Curt Casbon, of Boone Grove, is Larry’s young brother by four years. “I live within half a mile of where he was born,” Curt said.
Curt, Larry and their brother Roger would often play baseball together. “We went out in the back yard, and Larry was pitcher. My brother, Roger, would be catcher. I would strike out more often than not,” Curt recalled.
Larry had talent. “I remember his first college baseball game he played; he hit two home runs,” Curt said.
Larry graduated from David Lipscomb College in Nashville, Tennessee.
Jim Samuel, of West Lafayette, retired from Portage Township Schools in 2006 – “just yesterday,” he said – after serving with Larry Casbon and ultimately as assistant superintendent for secondary education.
Samuel met Casbon when Samuel was an eighth grader, during Casbon’s first year of teaching. “He’s going to teach us how to make free throws,” Samuel’s coach told him. “I was impressed as a young guy.”
“We ended up coaching together,” Samuel said.
“Some people just have a special personality, and when you’re with them, you feel like you’re the only one in the room,” Samuel said.
“He was my mentor and my friend. We ended up the closest of friends.”
Former Porter County Sheriff David Reynolds was an athlete in high school and interacted with Casbon.
Despite Casbon being involved in PHS athletics across five or six decades, his memory was impressive. “He knew the players and their families and remembered them all,” Reynolds said.
When Reynolds was a Portage police detective and later police chief, he would walk the school. “If he saw me, I couldn’t get away for an hour or two hours,” as Casbon asked about everyone, Reynolds said.
Portage Township School Board President Andy Maletta said Casbon cared deeply about the students. “He was just always there. You would see him at every athletic event.”
School Board attorney Ken Elwood is a former PHS football coach. “He was one of the hardest-working guys I ever met,” Elwood said. Casbon’s door was always open. “You would always find him here.”
“He was one of the hardest-working guys I ever met,” Elwood said. “He was just a great influence.”
“Larry Casbon was up there in the Mount Rushmore of mentors,” he said.
Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
