Coaches

Bill Staff

Year Inducted: 1988

Category: Coaches

Schools / Organizations: Altamont Junior High School
(Ottawa) Shepherd Junior High School

Biography: At the time of his induction, Bill Staff was entering his final year of coaching.  His teams had won 441 games on the junior high or elementary level while losing 246. That’s all packed into his 30 years at Altamont Junior High and Shepherd Junior High in Ottawa. Staff won the Effingham County Tournament while at Altamont. His record at Ottawa is sensational. He won or shared the Starved Rock Conference title in 8 of his last 10 years, won four conference tournaments and had a team in the conference tourney title game 11 straight years. Staff coached 34 teams at the 6^th, 7^th, and 8^th grade levels at Ottawa and 26 of them owned winning records. Staff’s 1974-75 eighth grade club took part in the Basketball Congress International Tournament, winning the Central Illinois Division and placed in the Top 16 nationally at Phoenix, Arizona. This squad was 50-2 over three years and was presented the National Sportsmanship Trophy at Phoenix. Staff’s 1979-80 team was a member of the IESA Elite 8 and had a 43-game winning streak snapped in the quarterfinals of the state meet.  Coach Bill Staff died on April 12, 2013 at the age of 82.