MHS Athletic Hall of Fame: William Whetsell played 4 sports and earned 11 varsity letters

William Whetsell played four sports at Marietta High, earning 11 total varsity letters.
(Photo courtesy of Stewart Photography)

According to former teammate and close friend Doug Robinson, the induction of Bill Whetsell into Marietta High School’s Hall of Fame was long overdue.

“Bill was a great athlete – without a doubt one of the best all-around athletes at Marietta High School,” Robinson said.

Whetsell, who graduated from MHS in 1963, earned 11 varsity letters in four different sports. His father (Bill Whetsell) coached the men’s basketball team at Marietta College and that is the sport which eventually landed Whetsell on the roster with Marshall University hoops for several seasons.

“Because his dad was a college basketball coach, Bill spent a lot of time at Marietta College – he shot a lot of basketball,” Robinson said. “He was an excellent shooter and big enough to rebound. There wasn’t a 3-point rule when we played, but he could shoot from outside.”

Whetsell died last year on Sept. 1 at the age of 78. Bill Whetsell and his wife, Sharon, have two sons – Doug and Andy – and four grandchildren.

At Marietta High School, Whetsell earned three letters in both basketball and football, two in baseball, two in golf and one in track as a high jumper.

During his junior year, Whetsell led the Tigers’ boys basketball team in scoring and finished runner-up to teammate Bill Warden among his Central Ohio League peers in scoring. He was selected to the All-COL first team.

When Marietta lost Warden’s services due to a knee injury during the regular season, Whetsell stepped his game up. The Tigers opened the season with 22 straight wins before losing in the district finals to a Portsmouth squad which had two future Major League Baseball players on the roster – Al Oliver and Larry Hisle.

The following season as a senior, Whetsell led both the COL and Marietta High School in scoring, and was named Player of the Year in the COL as well as member of the All-Ohio second team.

During his senior year, Whetsell played quarterback for a Tigers football team which finished 7-3. He earned honorable mention honors for statewide recognition and also in the COL.

Growing up on the same street in Devola, Whetsell and Robinson were more than friends. They were like brothers.

“I didn’t have a brother at the time, but I was at the Whetsell house more than I was at my house,” Robinson said. “Bill was just a good guy and a good athlete.”

Whetsell and Robinson were part of the same graduating class and same Marietta boys basketball team which finished a combined 44-3 during their junior and senior year.

“Bill Watts was our basketball coach – he was an ex-Marine and we would run laps in the gym, and up and down stairs in the school before and after practice,” Robinson said. “We pressed constantly. We would fast break every time. That was our game – when the game started until coach called us off.”

Whetsell played two seasons at the varsity level for Marshall University. He appeared in 39 games and scored 375 points. During the 1964-65 season, Whetsell averaged 12.8 points per game.

“Bill went to Marshall and scored 55 points in a game as a freshman on the JV team,” he said.

“Later in his career, he hurt his knee and there was no more basketball. He came to Marietta College and graduated from there.”

After college, Whetsell resided in places such as Northern California, Michigan, Tennessee and South Carolina. Despite the distance apart, Robinson and Whetsell maintained their long-standing friendship throughout their professional life.

Robinson remembers having Whetsell as his partner while winning a member-guest tournament at Marietta Country Club.

“We spent so much time with his family,” Robinson said. “We played a lot of golf. I was a pretty good golfer in his day. The only thing Bill struggled was his putting. Golf was big for him in his later years.”

Contact Kerry Patrick at kpatrick@newsandsentinel.com