Retrospect: Bryan was a star for Fort Recovery

Sixty years ago this week, Fort Recovery High School star Tom Bryan was in the midst of his record-breaking senior season.

The Indians defeated the Bryant Owls 65-46 in the Portland High School gym on Dec. 10, 1966. The 6-foot, 4-inch, forward would go on to break the school’s all-time scoring record that season, totaling 1,166 points. The Indians finished the 1966-67 season with a record of 22-2, after an upset loss to Kalida in the Ohio state tournament.

Despite the loss, Bryan was named UPI Player of the Year and first team All-Ohio Class A, averaging 28.4 points per game. He still holds two of the top three spots for highest single game scoring record during that season when he scored 55 points and 50 points.

(Tyler Niekamp is the only other Tribe player to break the 50-point mark, doing so when he scored 52 during a 2003 sectional victory over Waynesfield.)

After high school, Bryan went on to play basketball at the University of Nebraska, and later played professional basketball in Belgium for seven years.