EDITOR’S NOTE: The Knox County Sports Hall of Fame inducted its inaugural class on Nov. 2, 2019 at the Knox County Historical Society. Seven local athletic legends made up the first class of inductees. Knox Pages reporter Grant Pepper helped research each inductee in preparation for the ceremony. This week, we will run stories based on that research. Pepper used resources like Newspapers.com, the world’s largest online newspaper archive, to collect statistics, quotes and anecdotes pertaining to each athlete.
Long before Richard Mavis launched his 54-year career in public service, he was known as one of Danville’s finest athletes.
Standing at 6-foot-4, with massive hands and a farm boy’s strength, Mavis played several sports at Danville High School. He played football and basketball, and when asked to participate in track & field in the spring, Mavis gladly took up shot put.
But it was his time on the hardwood that cemented him in Blue Devil lore. Mavis, a four-year letterman, scored 1,300 career points at Danville, placing him third on the school’s all-time scoring list behind Skyler Durbin and his brother-in-law, Glen Turney.
Mavis led the area in scoring in his senior season, 1959-60, when he averaged 22.5 points per game. He was named Honorable Mention All-Ohio in his senior season.
Mavis was most famous for his “bunny shot,” as he proved to be an elite finisher around the rim. While rebounds were not tracked in his day, Mavis estimates he averaged close to 20 boards per game. He recalled one game where he recorded 38 points and 34 rebounds.
Despite putting up legendary numbers, Mavis said the game was never about point or rebound totals.
“Back then as a kid, you’re playing and you hope you win more than you lose,” he said.
Mavis led the Blue Devils to two Knox County League championships. During his freshman and junior seasons, Danville won both the regular season league title and the conference tournament. The Blue Devils also won the Mid Buckeye Conference in Mavis’s freshman year.
Mavis used his size and natural athletic abilities to excel on the football field as well. He was a three-year letterman under legendary head coach Red Nugent. He played fullback in the single-wing offense, sharing direct snaps with the halfback, and he also played defensive tackle.
Mavis was a part of one of the winningest classes in Danville football history. The Class of 1960 went 27-8-1, earning conference titles in all but one season. While Mavis played sparingly as a freshman, when the team went undefeated, he played a major role in the team’s dominance at the end of his high school career.
Mavis led the Blue Devils to an 8-1 record his junior year and a 7-1-1 record his senior year. The Blue Devils were Mid Buckeye Conference champions both years and Knox County League champions his senior year.
Mavis went to Kent State University on an athletic scholarship after graduating from Danville, but soon discovered it wasn’t the right fit. He transferred to Otterbein College after his freshman year and starred on the football team, playing defensive tackle and lettering his last two seasons.
He played basketball at Otterbein as well, but his career was cut short due to lingering football injuries.
Mavis swept the gym floor and worked as a dormitory custodian at Otterbein to pay for part of his college tuition. He continued that same work ethic into his professional career, where he worked as a teacher and a business owner before getting involved in local government.
Mavis is currently wrapping up his 24th and final year as the mayor of Mount Vernon. He has served on local, regional and state committees, and was recently recognized for his lifelong dedication to public service.
When asked what sports taught him about life, Mavis said this:
“One of the things that I learned from sports, you learn to always be competitive. You never give up. Because all of us go through life – there are hurdles, there are defeats – and sports teaches you that you get over those and keep on going … Nobody goes through life undefeated.”
