Al Harden was truly a legend, in many ways.
He was a legend at Covington, starring on a great basketball team and then went on to play hoops at Indiana University. He then was a coach and later worked with other sports legends. Along the way, Harden made an impact on those he loved, worked with, played with or just interacted with.
Harden passed away Oct. 6 at the age of 82.
He was a 1961 graduate of Covington High School, and was a starter on the 1960 team that defeated Lafayette Jeff in the semi-state, and is still considered by many as the best Covington team ever.
“Al was as much a brother to me as my own brother Bob,” said Scotty Wallace, a teammate from the 1960 team. “From when we were 7-8 years old, we were never apart. Al was an only child, so the three of us were always together. We played basketball and baseball, did all the school stuff together and we were best of friends. Al and Bob then both got recruited by IU to play basketball. Al was such a good person.”
That ’60 team had its own story.
“They hired Bill Miller the summer before to be coach,” Wallace said. “Miller played for Tony Hinkle at Butler and it was his first job ever. He was a big guy (6’6”) so he really made our big guys better, and we ended up winning 30 games and going to the semi-state.”
“The semi-state was played at the Purdue Fieldhouse (now Lambert Fieldhouse),” Wallace continued. “We had played in front of maybe a thousand people all season and there were 10,000 at the place. As we walked in the door, I turned to Al and said ‘what are we doing here?’ Then we beat Jeff by nine points. Al ran the clock out for the last couple minutes.”
That work, and of three other years, earned Harden a basketball scholarship to Indiana, where he went on to play three seasons, and was a starting guard and co-captain his senior year.
Back then college freshmen were not eligible to play on the varsity squads, so Harden spent his freshman season with some other legends.
First was his teammate from Covington, and best friend, Bob Wallace.
Then there were the VanArsdale twins. Dick and Tom were co-winners of the ’61 Indiana Mr. Basketball Award, who went on to become All-Americans at IU and then were both three-time NBA All-Stars.
Alongside the duo was Jon McGlocklin, who was drafted after his Indiana years, played 12 years in the NBA and won a championship with the Bucks.
“Al, my brother and those three made for a pretty good freshman team,” Wallace noted.
After his four years at IU, Harden set out in the coaching world.
He started close to home, becoming the first-ever coach at Fountain Central High School, where the district had newly consolidated.
“Al was the first boys’ basketball coach in school history, starting in 1965 after his graduation from Indiana, where he played three years of varsity basketball, and after a great high school career at Covington,” said current FCHS Athletic Director Evan Morgan. “He was a lifelong supporter of basketball, at all levels, and especially student-athletes. He lived a colorful and wonderful life. His contributions were many to many, many people. We extend our condolences to his wife and family.”
Harden has another tie to Fountain Central.
Dave Sanders was a 1969 Fountain Central graduate who played basketball for Harden. After graduating, he received a college scholarship and eventually graduated from Chadron State College.
As Sanders began getting into coaching, he used his Harden connection to get to the Denver area and in 1974 was hired at Columbine High School. The two stayed in regular contact during that time period. Tragically, on April 20, 1999, Sanders was one of the 14 victims of the Columbine massacre, and the only teacher killed. He is credited with saving hundreds of students’ lives. Today, the basketball court at FCHS is named the Dave Sanders Court.
After five years at FCHS, the college world called Harden, and he moved out west, where he became the assistant basketball coach at Denver University. After only two seasons in the second seat, though, it was a promotion to the top job and he was the head coach from 1972-’77.
From there, the business world called, and Harden was rubbing elbows with more legends.
“Al got hired by Converse,” Greg Clingan said. “He was a legend of Covington and western Indiana. I was about six months old and my parents took me to that semi-state game at Lambert, so I can sure say I was there. I’ve got a recording of the game, and when I need to get into a better mood, I put that game on, listening to the announcer talking about Al dribbling out those last minutes.”
Harden’s job with Converse was to recruit new college grads to the world of shoe endorsements.
Remember, this was 1979 and it was a different world.
“Al had his small-town roots, and he was he loved by everyone,” Clingan said. “He had a real presence and personality.”
That personality allowed Harden to land two of the biggest names of the 1979 field, as he signed both Larry Bird and Magic Johnson to Converse deals.
“He had a knack,” Wallace said.
Harden was on his way to meet with Michael Jordan about signing with Converse when he was involved in a serious auto accident. The meeting never happened, and Jordan ended up with Nike, and endorsement history.
As other accounts in this story note — there may have been a very different shoe world if not for that accident.
Recovery was long, but it did happen, and Harden moved into a less hectic phase of life, including retirement.
“My family moved from Hillsboro to Covington in 1955,” said Troy Bever, who steps into the boys’ basketball head coaching job this year after a career of teaching and coaching at the school. “After 1960, every meal included conversations about that team. If you were a guard at Covington, there was the Al Harden standard. The biggest honor you could receive was being named with Al in the same breath. You knew you had reached the pinnacle.”
Bever also noted other Harden family moments.
“Al’s dad Effrey helped raise the money and build what was then the new gym,” he said. “He (Effrey) helped start the Little League program in Covington, and at that time, it was the only thing for kids to play in the summer. Every year, the Effrey Harden Award went to the best Little League player, and it was for many years the biggest youth award in Covington. Al would come back to town to present the award, and there were usually a few pairs of Chuck Taylors (Converse shoes) for some guys. He was adored; he was such an icon in this community. He was such a big deal and he was such a great man. I just want to take a minute to express the sympathies and condolences of the entire Covington School community to Myrna, Rob and Roger. There are just so many great stories and great memories.”
Impacts made from youth through retirement.
Moments bigger than life in some cases. Contacts with a long list of Who’s-Who.
That was Al Harden, who never forgot his roots in Covington.
That’s what legends do.
