Illini Legends, Lists and Lore: Illini from Paris, Ill. (2024)

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In 13 days, Illinois redshirt junior high jumper Rose Yeboah, former Illini volleyball star Jordan Poulter, current Illini assistant track and field coach (and standout hammer thrower) Deanna Price, and others will be among the American athletes marching in the opening ceremonies of the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad at Paris, France.

The state of Illinois has its very own Paris, an Edgar County community located 65 miles southeast of Champaign. It’s one of eight American cities named Paris.

Illinois’ Paris has a rich history. It’s been visited by presidential candidate Abraham Lincoln in 1858 and by author/lecturer Mark Twain in 1871. It was the childhood home of Carl Switzer, a child actor who was better known as “Alfalfa” in the “Our Gang” comedies of the late 1930s. A Naval serviceman named George Clark became Paris’s first World War casualty when he was killed at Pearl Harbor while serving on the U.S.S. Arizona on Dec. 7, 1941.

Albert Austin Harding, the University of Illinois’ first Director of Bands, also was raised in Paris. So talented a musician was Harding that, even before graduating from Paris High School in 1899, he became the school’s band director. From 1907 through 1948 when he retired, he directed the UI band. In 1974, UI’s band facility was renamed the Harding Band Building.

Paris High School has sent a handful of athletic dignitaries to Champaign-Urbana to wear the Orange and Blue for the University of Illinois.

They include:

— Bernie Shively, football: A native of Oliver and a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, Shively went on to become the most decorated Paris High player. He became an All-America blocking guard for Red Grange at Illinois and also starred as a wrestler and in track and field.

Shively went on to serve as athletics director at the University of Kentucky from 1938 through 1967 during Wildcat basketball’s golden era. He died at the age of 64 in December 1967.

— Charles Jenks, football: A gridiron teammate of Shively at both Paris High School and the University of Illinois, Jenks lettered in 1925 as a fullback for the Illini. He died in 2000 at the age of 95.

— Dick Foley, basketball: Foley was a star player for the Paris High basketball team that was state champions in 1943 and runner-up the season before. After just one semester at the University of Illinois, he joined the U.S. Army and was stationed near Paris, France, during World War II.

Upon returning to Champaign, Foley rejoined the Illini basketball team and played for coach Harry Combes' 1949 Big Ten champs. Earning a degree in civil engineering from the UI, one of his most famous assignment was with Felmley-Dickerson, the company that constructed the Assembly Hall. Foley died in 2013 at the age of 87.

— Elmer Plew, basketball: A 6-foot, two-handed set shot artist, Plew became a two-time letter winner for Combes at Illinois. During the 1952-53 season, he came off the bench and helped the Illini win 18 of its 22 games and finish 13th in the Associated Press rankings. In 1953-54, Plew was a member of a 17-5 Illinois team. He went on to coach high school ball in Illinois at Rock Falls, Urbana and Hillsboro. Plew died in 2007 at the age of 74 in Clarksville, Tenn.

— Brad Farnham, basketball: Farnham averaged nearly 20 points per game during his last two seasons with the Paris Tigers. At 6-6, he led his team to a 30-1 record during the 1970-71 campaign. At Illinois, Farnham lettered once for Harv Schmidt (1974) and once for Gene Bartow (1975). He concluded his collegiate career at Eastern Illinois. Today, he helps operate the Farnham Brothers Farm in Paris.

— Otho Tucker, basketball: A three-sport standout at Paris High, Tucker was a consensus All-State basketball player for the Tigers. Recruited to Illinois by Schmidt, he also lettered for both Bartow (11.8 points per game in 1975) and Lou Henson (9.0 in 1976).

The Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Famer, who was drafted by the Boston Celtics, went on to earn a Ph.D. at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro. Since 2007, Tucker has served as the CEO at Lake Oconee Academy in Greensboro, Ga.

Illini Birthdays

Saturday:

• Susan Blauser Surridge, basketball

Sunday:

• Luke Armbrust, golf (25)

Monday:

• Jalen Coleman-Lands, basketball (28)

Tuesday:

• Dain Dainja, basketball (22)

Wednesday:

• Joe Glassey, baseball (23)

Thursday:

• Carey Booth, basketball (19)

Friday:

• Zeke Clark, tennis (26)