By STEVE MARTIN
Sheridan Historical Society
Roland Wallace. If you are not 80 years or so old, if you did not grow up in Sheridan and did not graduate from school here in the late 1940s or early 1950s, and if you were not a high school basketball fan, Roland Wallace is probably not a name familiar to you. But if you have accomplished all these milestones, then perhaps you will recall that Roland, or “Ron” as he was called, was quite the basketballer in Sheridan.
Whether or not you are familiar with the name, on Saturday evening, Dec. 4 of this year, during the intermission between the junior varsity and varsity basketball games at Hobbs Memorial Gymnasium, Roland will be inducted into the Hamilton County Basketball Hall of Fame.
Unfortunately, this honor comes a bit too late for Roland himself as he passed away in August of 2020. His sister Roberta Huff and other members of his family will be there to honor him, and they hope you will also come and help them celebrate his life and his basketball accomplishments. Roland’s son, Dr. David Wallace, will be there to accept the honor in place of his father.
There is an interesting story about Roland as told by his older sister Roberta, who still lives in Sheridan. He almost did not play basketball at all. When Roland first tried out for basketball in the eighth grade, he was told he was so terrible it would be a waste of his time to continue down this path. But Roberta says this just made him more determined than ever to play, so he spent the rest of the school year and all the following summer and fall honing his skills on the court. Practice. Practice. Practice! He was obsessed. No one was going to tell him he could not play basketball. No one.
By the time first-year basketball tryouts came around, Roland was ready and easily made the junior varsity team, much to the surprise of all except Roland himself. He made the varsity team thereafter each year and made quite a name for himself. Now here we are in 2021, 69 years later, and he is getting inducted into the Hamilton County Basketball Hall of Fame. Quite an accomplishment for a Sheridan youngster who would not be deterred by a junior high school coach telling him he was not good enough to make the team.
We hope you will be able to make it the game on Dec. 4 and help Roland Wallace’s family celebrate his accomplishments on the basketball court and take his place alongside the other great Sheridan inductees – Jim Godby, Larry Hobbs, James Mace, Harry Hobbs, Roland Inskeep, Bill Bowen, Dave Sanders, Chris Rodgers, and Rex Pitts. Roland Wallace will be the 10th Hamilton County HOF player from Sheridan.
You are invited to arrive early and begin the festivities in the Hospitality Room beginning at 6 p.m.