Birthdate: March 29, 1927
Birthplace: Newport, Kentucky
High School: St. Xavier High School (Cincinnati)
College: University of Dayton
Died: February 2, 2011
Year Inducted: Charter Class of 2006
Paper and print cannot do justice to the career of Bob Arnzen, who spent 43 years as coach at Delphos St. John’s and is the third winningest coach in the history of Ohio high school basketball with 676 wins and 291 losses. His teams were state runners up in 1954 and 1973; state semi-finalists in 1982; state champs in 1983 and state semi-finalists in 1990. St. John’s had no league affiliation until the 1971-72 seasons, when they joined the Western Buckeye League and consequently took the league championship in 1973, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981, and 1982. St. John’s joined the Midwest Athletic Conference in 1982, and were champs in 1983, 1987, and 1989.
Throughout his career Bob was very active in the coaches association, not only on the local level but also on the state and national levels. He served as District Director of the OHSBCA from 1966-68 and then was elected Assistant Secretary Treasurer of the state association, from 1970 to 2001. He also served on the Basketball Advisory Committee from 1987-1994. For many years he has also been a member of the National Federal Interscholastic Coaches Association.
Coach Arnzen received many honors during his career including: Coach of the Year in Ohio (twice); National Catholic Coach of the Year; the Paul Walker Award; Ohio Pro/Am Award for Distinguished Lifetime Achievement in Sports; University of Dayton Sports Achievement Award; Northern Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame and the Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame. Bob Arnzen passed away on February 2, 2011 at the age of 83. His daughter, Jeanne Arnzen Gulick, was inducted into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010.
Watch Bob Arnzen’s Enshrinement Speech:
