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Just about every person in Mifflin County's world of athletics has a Jim Shilling story.
Jim, a long-time fixture first at Lewistown's YMCA and later at the Juniata Valley YMCA in Burnham, passed away at the age of 85 back on Nov. 6.
Jim possessed an unbelievable love of children and young adults, and he displayed an incredible willingness to help others. I can't be totally serious, though! Jim loved to be a joker at times, too, and he was known to pull a prank or two.
I was first exposed to Jim as a 7-year-old at the Lewistown YMCA. I recall watching in amazement as Jim would pummel one opponent after another in ping pong. Nobody could touch that guy! Later in my youth I learned that Jim was a three-time state champion ping pong player and he had won an incredible 963 consecutive matches. I believe that qualifies as domination!
I enjoyed coaching the Lewistown Panther girls basketball team from 1984 until the formation of Mifflin County High School in 2011, and Jim served as a volunteer for the Lewistown Panther Club for a lot of that time.
When tip-off and holiday tournament action was going on, Jim was always there. During those tournaments, Jim would give a ride to Tim Hackett to the events. A big sports fan, Tim was confined to a wheelchair. Tim loved to take tickets at the tournaments, and Jim always made sure Tim was there. Before stepping forward to give Tim rides, Jim had noticed that Tim often waited a long time for a taxi to come and get him to take him home. Jim took care of a ride both ways for Tim so that Tim could enjoy being a tournament helper.
Of course, these tournaments provided the perfect opportunity for Jim to show some of his devilish side, as well. My mother used to spend many hours in the ticket booth at LAHS during those tournaments. Jim would always make sure she had a coffee and perhaps a hot dog if she was hungry.
One tournament, Jim decided that he would tell everyone who would listen that my mother was the hot dog eating champion.
"She eats more hot dogs than anyone at these tournaments. I think she is up to 10 today," Jim would say. He even bought her a small trophy that said, "Hot Dog Eating Champ."
At one tournament, he told the "hot dog champ" story to some elderly fans from Elkland who were visiting town for the games. When the husband and wife arrived at the ticket window, the wife said, "Oh, you must be the lady that eats all the hot dogs!"
At that point, my mother walked out the ticket booth and yelled, "JIM!" Jim's smile was as wide as could be!
Summer nights meant 100 degree conditions at the YMCA for Summer League Basketball. Everyone seemed to comment on the sometimes staggering heat. Everyone, that is, except Jim. Jim still sported his yellow or orange sweatshirt and was ready with a smile and jokes for all.
Jim always kept me on my toes when I was coaching. I can remember going to the hall for a drink at halftime during one of those YMCA Summer League games. We were leading something like 30-8 at the time.
"You better talk to those girls. They're loafing!" or "Tell them to pick it up," would be the "suggestions" from Jim at the half.
I remember when we won our first state championship in 1997. Jim offered congratulations with a smile, but quickly added, "Tomorrow, it's back to work! You want them to win again, right?"
Anyone who was ever around Sunday School League basketball or March Madness at the Juniata Valley YMCA knows how many people and teams went through the Y on a weekend. Jim would often be in charge of getting officials for all the games. Make no mistake, getting those games covered was a difficult undertaking. It was here that Jim's love of kids shined brightly.
On countless occasions I would see officials walking out of the gym with a towel, wiping off sweat after officiating four games or so. The officials "thought" they were done for the day. Not so fast! Jim needed to talk them first.
"Hey, I need you to go do two games in the other gym," Jim would say. The tired official would say, "I'm tired. I just did four games." Jim would quickly respond with, "Don't you like kids?" Nine times out of 10 the official would do AT LEAST two more games for Jim!
Jim also worked his magic with youngsters who ran the scoreboard and kept track of the scorebook pages in each gym. When the kids grew weary, Jim would send in a hot dog and a pop and he had his worker for a while longer!
In his younger days, Jim would gladly take a turn officiating basketball games himself. If he saw a young player struggling during a game, he would make sure their frown turned into a smile. I don't know how many times I saw him stop a game, create an imaginary foul call, and place a young child on the line for a free throw. "YMCA rules!" Jim would say at the time.
If the player was especially small, he would have them move up closer to the basket. When one of the kids made one of these special shots, the kid would smile like they won a championship. Perhaps the only one with a wider grin was Jim!
I am sure many people have Jim Shilling stories that they could share. During this time of Thanksgiving, I couldn't help but share a few thoughts now. Rest in peace, my friend.
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Kevin Kodish coached girls basketball at Lewistown, Mifflin County and Juniata high schools.