By Pete Van Mullem
(March 14, 2023)
The Peabody Gazette-Herald bobbed high above the boy’s head as he shouted, “The Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor! The Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor!” Five-year-old Ron Slaymaker watched the paper boy, uncertain about all the commotion on December 7, 1941. “I remember that day,” recalled Slaymaker. “For the next four years, we were involved in World War II. Everything changed. We had to sacrifice. All the news was about the war.” Slaymaker enjoys telling stories and at 86 years old he has a lot to share. His tales entertain and often he adds flavor, and exaggerations to key details for a greater effect. But regardless of the story, the listener leaves with a lesson to apply in their lives.
One story Slaymaker likes to share when speaking at athletic banquets, coaching clinics, or community functions describes a moment during the 1960s when as a young coach he raised his hand. The moment changed his life. To Slaymaker that action set in motion a course of events that opened doors to new opportunities and experiences, keeping him in basketball for 64 years and counting. But before Slaymaker raised his hand, he grew up during one of the most significant time periods in U.S. history.
Peabody
Clarence and Florence Slaymaker welcomed their first child, Ron Lee Slaymaker on December 23, 1936, to their home in Peabody, Kansas. Peabody rests 56 miles west of Emporia, Kansas, and 165 miles southwest of Kansas City. A community of 1367 residents in the late thirties, 932 people reside in Peabody today according to the U.S. Census. The rural community stays true to its agricultural roots, serving as a hub for farmers in a twenty-mile radius of the city’s 1880s Main Street, a downtown historic district with 42 buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Florence stayed at home to raise, Ron and his sister, Karla, who is nine years younger. Clarence ran the local pool hall, worked in a factory, and farmed; he also operated a custom combining operation. Ron followed the harvest with his father, spending his summers cutting wheat from Texas to Montana. The experience matured him; he learned the value of hard work and how to balance temptations. “I was exposed to a carnival existence in the summertime,” recalls Slaymaker. “I was around a bunch of younger people, raising hell and going out every night – partying, chasing women, smoking, and drinking.”
At home in Peabody, Clarence maintained a similar lifestyle to the one he lived each summer and both Ron’s parents modeled the addictive behaviors of smoking and hard drinking. Some of Clarence’s surly, drunken personality may have rubbed off on Ron. “I was a little bit of an ornery kid. All my friends were too,” shared Slaymaker. “Today, some of the things we did would probably get you in jail, back then it was just being ornery.” Yet, something steered Ron on a different path; alcohol never became a part of his lifestyle and he never smoked. Social behaviors sparked tension in Clarence and Florence’s marriage, but they loved their children and provided Ron a foundation for future success: life lessons in making choices and the value of hard work.
At an early age, Ron discovered sports; first through his father, who dragged him along to local games, and then through his friends. “We were always playing something,” recalls Slaymaker. “It was a small town, my friends and I did not have a lot of choices. We picked sides, played, and had fun.” Ron demonstrated natural skills on the athletic field, and he was a quick learner. His speed gave him an advantage in school running events, like the 50-yard dash, where he won his fair share of blue ribbons. Through sport, Ron learned he could accomplish things, a mindset he carried off the field as well. Sports also taught him how to handle setbacks. In the 7th grade, he stepped in a hole while running the 50-yard dash on a makeshift, schoolyard track. “I remember that feeling, it pushed my leg all the way up into my chest,” recalls Slaymaker. “From that point on, I was in and out of the chiropractor’s office. I had one leg longer than the other and I had to wear a pad in my shoe. I no longer had the speed I once had. I was not getting those blue ribbons anymore.”
The setback did not curb his interest in sports, yet it changed how he competed. He no longer relied on his speed. Instead, he leaned on his physical and mental quickness and work ethic to give him an advantage; all skills that transferred well to team sports like baseball, basketball, and football. “I learned to work harder and discovered I could outwork others,” recalls Slaymaker. “I made myself better, not because I played better but because I worked harder.”
The strong friendships Ron forged through sport helped him navigate adolescence and he found role models in professional athletes like Red Sox baseball legend, Ted Williams; Boston Celtic’s playmaker, Bob Cousy; and West Point football players, Doc Blanchard, and Glenn Davis. Yet, his coaches and teachers at school became the role models he needed when things at home became tenuous between his parents.
Shirley Temple
Fanny Markham had their full attention. Markham combined his youthful, handsome, and athletic appearance with a strong sense of confidence, presenting to teenagers an authoritarian presence in his role as the varsity basketball coach at Peabody High School, during Ron’s freshman and sophomore seasons. Yet, the young impressionable athletes didn’t fear Markham, they were awestruck by him. Markham served in the Navy for four years during WWII, earning him instant respect; he sported a tattoo of a hula girl that ran from his knee to his ankle on one leg, endearing him to juveniles seeking rebellion; and Markham starred in baseball and basketball at the Kansas State Teachers College from 1947-50, earning first-team all-conference honors in basketball while leading the Hornets to two conference championships.
While Ron and his teammates didn’t see Markham play basketball in college, they witnessed Fanny’s playmaking ability and long-range shooting in town games. Each town had a team and Markham led the Peabody squad. “He was basketball-wise and a masterful passer. Seeing him play was a big influence on how I played,” recalled Slaymaker. Markham served as a role model for Slaymaker, for who he was and how he carried himself; also, because he served in the Navy. Military service fascinated Slaymaker. He grew up with it. WWII ended in 1945 before he turned 9 years old but by the summer of 1950, the U.S. entered the Korean War. The Korean War dominated newspaper headlines throughout Slaymaker’s high school years. His friends, a few years older, served in the war and he too wondered what it might be like to serve in the military.
During Ron’s junior year of high school, as the United States appeared poised to end its involvement in the Korean War, Clarence and Florence ended their marriage. The change at home forced him to grow up faster. “He (my father) was in and out of jail and he was trying to keep another business alive. He just put the whole custom combining operation on my shoulders. I was not ready. I had no choice, I was the boss,” recalls Slaymaker. “Here I was as a 16-year-old kid going out and finding the fields that needed to be cut. It was not a good experience at the time, but in the long run, it was because it forced me to become a leader.”
The experience matured him but he still had a lot of growing up to do. At Peabody High, he played for Bob Grimm, a basketball coach who believed his role was to develop boys into men. Grimm, a no-nonsense coach, nurtured life lessons through the sport of basketball. After one particular game in which Ron played exceptionally well but the Peabody Warriors lost, Grimm chewed on Ron hard in the next practice. “He was grouchy. He was on everybody, including me. I started pouting. Here I had a great game and he is all over my ass,” remembers Slaymaker. “He called me over in practice and wanted to know why I was pouting. I spilled the beans, about how I had a great game and he was still jumping my ass.” Coach Grimm explained to Ron that it was a team game and even though he had a great performance he still shared responsibility for the loss.
The moment with his high school coach stayed with him throughout his coaching career. One of the many impactful high school sports experiences that shaped him. Sports held most of his attention in school, but one girl held his attention too. “Shirley was a seventh grader going on a sophomore in college. She was beautiful and mature – an early bloomer,” recalls Slaymaker. “I was a shrimp. All the boys were interested but for whatever reason, she liked me.”
Shirley Temple, who shared the same name as the famous actress Shirley Temple, was one year older than Ron when they started dating in middle school. “At first, her father didn’t want her to date me. I was a Slaymaker – my father had a reputation around town,” said Ron. But Shirley, stubborn and determined went against her father’s wishes and continued to see Ron. They dated through high school. Shirley graduated from Peabody High as the class valedictorian in 1953 and pursued a career in education at the Kansas State Teacher College in Emporia, Kansas. Ron made a number of trips to Emporia during his senior year at Peabody High. “I did not trust anybody,” laughed Slaymaker. Ron had a choice to make upon graduation from high school in 1954; his love for Shirley swayed his decision.
Tex Winter
Slaymaker lined up behind the center. But as the defense received final instructions from his high school coach, the junior quarterback overheard him say: “Ron is the easiest guy to bring down on the team – go smack him.” His coach assumed a three-point stance on the defensive line, still young enough to mix it up with his athletes in practice. Slaymaker changed the play call – he’d show him. Upon the snap, Slaymaker kept the ball and ran straight at his coach. With all the leverage his skinny, 5-10 frame could muster he plowed right over his coach, knocking him to the ground.
Slaymaker loved football. His competitive drive and desire to prove himself on the football field, as a quarterback caught the attention of collegiate recruiters. But his high school coach may have been right. “Sometimes what hurts is the truth. He (my coach) was absolutely right, I was easy to tackle,” recalls Slaymaker. “I got my brains beat out through high school (on the football field). I broke a collarbone, dealt with a bad back, and had nagging injuries.” Slaymaker decided to pursue basketball in college. His 21.6 points per game average his senior year garnered him attention from college scouts, including Kansas State University and future Hall of Fame basketball coach Tex Winter.
At the time, Coach Winter was in his first season leading the Wildcats. He would spend 15 seasons in Manhattan, Kansas winning 261 games and notching two NCAA Final Four appearances. In basketball coaching, Tex Winter is best known for further developing the Triangle Offense, an offense he learned from his college coach, Sam Berry at the University of Southern California. The Triangle Offense gained popularity during the 1990s and Winter became known as a master teacher of the offensive strategy, joining Phil Jackson as an assistant coach for 10 NBA Championships, six with the Chicago Bulls and four with the Los Angeles Lakers. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame honored Winter with an induction ceremony in 2011.
Slaymaker signed with Kansas State. Yet, in August of 1954 with the start of a new school year approaching, Slaymaker had a change of heart. “Kansas State Teachers College was a natural spot for me and they had recruited me all along,” said Slaymaker. “So, I changed my mind, mainly because of Shirley.” While playing for Tex Winter might have sent Slaymaker on a different coaching path, the Peabody High standout found a mentor and father figure in Gus Fish, the head men’s basketball coach at the Kansas State Teachers College in Emporia, Kansas.
Panama
Slaymaker’s body took a pounding. The older, stronger upperclassman banged the rookie as he fought through screens on defense and bumped him as he cut on offense. Gus Fish barked at his players. His bellowing voice reverberated across the hardwood and ricocheted off the wooden bleachers. His words, peppered with a few expletives, enticed the physical play, pushing them to play hard, be physical, and be tough-minded.
In 1946, Gus Fish resurrected the men’s basketball program at the Kansas State Teachers College, after a three-year hiatus during World War II. Fish compiled a 323-279 record in 24 seasons; a run that included six conference championships and six appearances in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) national tournament. Fish also served as the NAIA president in 1955 and later became a member of the NAIA Hall of Fame in 1960.
Fish and Slaymaker bonded over basketball. Slaymaker watched how his coach did things; how he led him and his teammates – actions, and decisions Slaymaker later used as a coach. Fish became an important mentor for the aspiring coach and a father figure at a time when Slaymaker’s own father held less of a presence in his life. Yet, Fish dabbled in a lifestyle off the court all too familiar to Ron. “He had a big red face with a cherry red nose, everybody said his face was red because he drank too much. He was a big drinker – bigger than my dad. He was a chain smoker, probably more than my Dad. Later in life, I found he tried to put the make on my mother – so he chased the women,” recalls Slaymaker. “But I loved him.”
Slaymaker liked the structure and discipline under his new coach. What he lacked in size and strength, he made up for in grit and toughness. But after his freshman season, he wanted more. “I was a runt. I was probably 140 pounds soaking wet, maybe 5’10” and a half. I needed to be smarter, bigger, and stronger,” said Slaymaker. “I had a friend from high school that went into the Army; six months of basic training and he put on 40 pounds. He was a stud. My wheels started turning – that is what I am going to do.”
The Korean Armistice Agreement ended the Korean War on July 27, 1953, creating the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). But with no official peace treaty between North and South Korea, the U.S. continued to assist the United Nations in monitoring the DMZ. The U.S. continued to draft young men, ages 18-26, throughout the 1950s, to train them for combat. Still, the need for servicemen diminished and anyone enrolled in college was unlikely to get drafted. Slaymaker chose to enlist in the U.S. Army in the summer of 1955. “I went into the Army not to save the country but to put on 40 pounds,” chuckled Slaymaker. “Back then you could enlist for two years – so that is what I did.”
A week before Christmas, in 1955, Slaymaker stood with his company of 150 men in the bitter cold of the Colorado Rockies. They waited for their orders, each expecting to land somewhere in Korea. Most of them did end up in Korea but not Slaymaker. He, along with 9 other enlistees, received orders for jungle training at Fort Kobbe in Panama.
Slaymaker looked forward to going home for Christmas before departing for Panama. Ron and Shirley had set a wedding date of December 23rd. But instead of getting married and spending the holidays with his family, Slaymaker shipped out to Panama on December 23rd – the beginning of their life together as a married couple put on hold. Shirley Temple and Ron Slaymaker wed the next spring, on May 25, 1956, during Ron’s two-week leave from Fort Kobbe. They honeymooned the following Christmas in Panama.
Slaymaker earned five promotions during his two-year short stint in the military at Fort Kobbe, rising to the rank of Sargent. “Probably the greatest two years of my life. I loved the Army. I almost stayed in it and made a career out of it. I liked the discipline: the yes sir and no sir; to have your uniform just perfect; and your shoes shined – I liked that,” said Slaymaker. “It was a great experience for me. It was a developmental part of my life, being in the army and serving in leadership positions.”
Slaymaker played basketball for the Army in the Canal Zone League. His play in the Caribbean Championships caught the attention of some collegiate recruiters and he started receiving letters, offers of cash, and even a promise of an elementary school teaching position for Shirley. But Slaymaker had full intentions of returning to Emporia and playing for Coach Fish. When he returned to Emporia from his time in the service, the extra bulk he hoped to put on his 5-10 frame, never materialized. He remained scrawny, 140 pounds. But Ron matured and became a main player for Coach Fish, earning three straight First-Team All-Central Intercollegiate Conference honors. Known for his playmaking ability and sharp shooting, Slaymaker earned NAIA All-American honors as a sophomore in 1958, while leading the Hornets to a 13-6 finish, scoring 13.9 points per game, while shooting 86.5% from the foul line. The Hornets went 16-8 his junior year and 14-6 his senior season (1959-60).
Slaymaker finished second in scoring on the team his last two seasons and demonstrated his superb marksmanship from the free throw line, leading the nation his senior year for National Small Colleges at 90.9% and concluding his collegiate career with 86.2% accuracy. His free throw proficiency came at a time when basketball players had recently transitioned from the two-hand, underhanded free throw toss, to a one-handed shot. Slaymaker shot one-handed, mimicking the style of the future. The transition from the underhanded toss at the free throw line to the one-handed set shot was one of the changes to the game of basketball Slaymaker experienced as a player. The game of basketball continued to evolve and Slaymaker adapted to the changes as a teacher of the game.
Roosevelt High
Slaymaker grimaced as he looked over his stipend contract at the Kansas State Teachers College. He recently agreed to join Coach Fish as a graduate assistant coach for the 1960-61 season. Slaymaker stared at the $900 figure and wondered why he did not receive the extra $400 for his good grades because he met the 3.5 GPA requirement. “I went to see the athletic director because I was supposed to be getting a $1300 per year stipend,” remembers Slaymaker. “I came out of the meeting with a full-time job as a faculty member teaching and coaching.”
What Coach Fish’s intentions were in helping Slaymaker get his start in coaching, rest with the hall of famer. Yet, coach Fish must have noticed Slaymaker’s penchant for thinking like a coach, and administrators at the college must have trusted Slaymaker’s ability to lead and teach in offering him a full-time position one year after graduation. Right away, Fish became a coaching mentor and the mentee remembers a conversation with his boss that first year. “He told me if you are ever going to want my job then you are going to have to get out and get a head job somewhere,” said Slaymaker. “He didn’t think I could move into his job from being his assistant.”
Slaymaker took his mentor’s advice. After the 1960-61 season, he applied for a teaching and coaching position at Roosevelt High School in Emporia, Kansas. Roosevelt High School, along with the newly constructed Thomas Butcher Elementary School, operated as laboratory schools under the administration of the Kansas State Teachers College. Both schools trained the next generation of educators, providing students with classroom experiences teaching and working with elementary through high school students.
Charged with supervising and observing student teachers, Slaymaker also taught 4th through 12th grade and served as the head coach in football, basketball, and track. For each sport, a graduate student at the college served as his assistant. Confident from his time as a collegiate player and serving one year under Fish, Slaymaker thought he would find instant success as a high school coach and turn around a football program that managed four total wins in the previous two seasons. “We were cocky young coaches my first year. We thought we could show up, change a few attitudes, and kick some ass,” said Slaymaker. “We started 0-5 my first year in football. We got thumped pretty good. We found that change in attitudes was not as easy as it appeared.”
But Slaymaker and the Roosevelt High Roughriders would find the win column in their sixth game, against Hartford High, blasting the Jaguars 44-0. The win served as a confidence boost for the players and their young coach. But one person didn’t appreciate the blowout victory led by a member of his faculty. At Roosevelt, the teachers and coaches served as faculty at the college and they reported to the president. The next morning, Slaymaker received a phone call from President John E. King while he cleaned up the equipment from the night before. President King let him have it. “I thought he was going to congratulate me on winning my first game. Not true. It was about the best ass-chewing I have ever had,” said Slaymaker. “He accused me of having blood in my eye and running up the score.” Humbled by his boss at the moment, Slaymaker shrugged off the exchange. He did not agree with President King’s perspective; he did not purposely run up the score. The issue would come up again.
The Roughriders earned their second win in their next game, a 33-7 victory over Eskridge High, and finished the season: 2-6-1. Slaymaker also found limited success on the basketball court in his first season, going 6-14. Thus, by the time the Track and Field season started, Slaymaker and his assistant coach, Jim Paramore, badly wanted to put a trophy in the Roosevelt High display case; something to soothe their damaged egos. They decided to host a triangular track meet with two other area schools: Americus High and Redding High. “Both schools hardly had any athletes out for track. We won that track meet and had a nice trophy made and put it in the display case,” laughed Slaymaker. “Our egos were sticking out there quite a ways.”
Slaymaker always wanted to be a coach, ever since the 4th grade, and now he was doing it. And even though the early losses humbled him, Slaymaker knew he picked the right profession. He was on the correct path and getting better as a coach. What he did not know is how a decision he made at the coaches meeting during his first year at Roosevelt High would change the long-term trajectory of his career – a simple decision to raise his hand.
The room grew quiet. Nobody moved. The election of officers served as the last order of business at the Twin Valley Athletic League Fall Football Coaches Meeting in 1961. The rookie head coach read the room, and none of the seven football coaches representing the surrounding high schools: LeRoy, Gridley, Madison, Olpe, Waverly, Lebo, and Hartford wanted this position. Slaymaker fidgeted in his seat as the seconds passed. He knew if he raised his hand, he would be tasked with the position of secretary. While he liked the thought of serving as an officer for the league, the only secretaries he knew were women. This was a women’s job he thought and none of the men in the room appeared interested in that title. He waited with the other seven coaches. More time passed. Then for a reason he still can’t explain today, he raised his hand. Slaymaker held the position of secretary for the Twin Valley Athletic League for six years. He made the most of it and it would lead to new opportunities – he just did not know it yet.
Ph.D.
In 1962, Roosevelt High finished the football season at 4-4-1. Then, the Roughriders started winning under Slaymaker, going 8-0-1, 7-2, and 7-2 over the next three seasons. In Slaymaker’s final season in 1966, Roosevelt finished a perfect 9-0, scoring over 40 points seven times while holding opponents scoreless in eight of the nine contests. Success followed on the basketball court too. After a 4-4 start to the 1962-63 season, the Roughriders hit their stride and finished 18-6. They notched 22 wins in Slaymaker’s third season, starting a string of four 20-plus winning seasons, that included a state semi-final tournament appearance in 1966. In six seasons at Roosevelt High, Slaymaker went 112-31.
After the 4-4 start in his second basketball season, Slaymaker’s squad faced the Hartford Jaguars on the basketball court. Slaymaker knew his team had the upper hand. Thus, he distributed playing time evenly among the 10 players suited for the game. It did not matter, the Roughriders rolled 75 to 15. The next morning, Slaymaker anticipated the phone call from President King. So, when the phone rang he knew exactly what to say. “He started in on me and I couldn’t get into the conversation,” recalls Slaymaker. “But because I had more confidence in myself as a coach, I edged in and interrupted him. I explained that we did not run up the score on purpose – we were pushing defense.”
Slaymaker asked for a conversation on Monday morning to better explain himself. The meeting led to a mutual understanding: Slaymaker agreed not to run up the score and President King agreed to stop calling him. Over time, King took a liking to his young teacher and coach and Slaymaker saw his boss as a father figure. Before the end of the 1966-67 school year, King called Slaymaker into his office and told him that when Gus Fish retires they wanted him to become the next head coach. But the offer came with a caveat, he needed to get his doctorate degree. “I was interested in the job, but getting my doctorate was not something of great interest to me at the time,” said Slaymaker.
In the spring of 1968, with their four-year-old son, Rocky, and newborn son, Lance. Ron and Shirley made plans to move to Wyoming for Ron to work on his doctorate. During the 1967-68 school year, in January, King accepted the position of President at the University of Wyoming. He convinced Slaymaker and another young staff member, Jim Meyer to join him in Laramie. Meyer went with King in January but Slaymaker needed to finish the school year. Then in a strange turn of events, President King’s tenure abruptly ended in Laramie in the Spring of 1968. Meyer stayed in Laramie but the Slaymakers changed plans and in the summer of 1969, they moved to Fayetteville, Arkansas where he and Shirley began work on their doctorate degrees at the University of Arkansas. They both completed coursework in the summer of 1969 and returned to Emporia where Ron finished his dissertation while serving as an assistant to Coach Fish for his mentors last season. In the spring of 1970, the Kansas State Teachers College named the 32-year-old, Ron Slaymaker head men’s basketball coach.
Pop-a-Shot
The state of Kansas is rich in basketball history; the game’s inventor, James Naismith taught at the University of Kansas; and his student, Forest “Phog” Allen who later become referred to as the father of basketball coaching, served as the head coach of the Jayhawks for 39 seasons, winning 520 games. In Salina, Kansas Ken Cochran carved his own place in basketball lore. In 1981, while recovering from open heart bypass surgery, Cochran got an idea for a new game. An arcade-style game where players shoot miniature basketballs at three small, elevated hoops enclosed by netting. The balls returned to players via a ramp. He named it Triple Shot. The game evolved: reduced to one hoop, a scoring system, and improved materials. Renamed Pop-a-Shot, the game became a national sensation. The Pop-a-Shot company still exists today. While Cochran’s legacy in basketball is forever connected to the game he invented in his garage, from 1970-78, Cochran led the men’s basketball program at Marymount College in Salina, Kansas to unprecedented success, going 290-48 and winning five NAIA District 10 Championships.
At first, Slaymaker’s teams struggled against Cochran’s full-court pressure defense, but most teams did during Cochran’s run, especially in Smoot Gymnasium where the Marymount Spartans won 106 consecutive games in the mid-1970s. Cochran built a powerhouse and Marymount set the standard for small college basketball in the 1970s and in the state of Kansas. But they had an advantage – full-ride scholarships.
When the Kansas State Teachers College hired Slaymaker in 1970 they did not offer athletic scholarships for basketball. “We were lucky if we had enough money for tuition and books,” said Slaymaker. “That was our scholarship program.” For NAIA collegiate basketball programs in the 1970’s the number of full grant-in-aid scholarships a school gave varied across institutions, predicated on each school’s athletic budget. It took thirteen years into his tenure as head coach, before Emporia State University offered their first full-ride basketball scholarship in 1983. [Note: In the 1970s the college underwent two name changes, first to Emporia Kansas State College in 1974 and later to Emporia State University in 1977].
Even with a disadvantage in recruiting, Slaymaker knew his Hornets had to rise to the standard set by Cochran’s program. And the Hornets made progress winning 15 games entering a meeting with the Spartans in the 1976 NAIA District 10 Title game. With a home crowd behind them at Smoot Gym, Marymount jumped on the Hornets early. “They started guarding you when you got off the bus. I swear we did not get the ball across half-court,” recalls Slaymaker. The Spartans won 98 to 67 to end the Hornet’s season at 16-11. In six seasons Slaymaker won more than he lost (82-73). He would get another shot to beat Cochran one year later.
Early in his coaching career, Slaymaker leaned on the influence of his mentor, Gus Fish, adopting many of his leadership and coaching tactics. Yet, he did not copy Fish’s coaching style. “I could chew ass, but I tried to be more positive,” said Slaymaker. A young head coach, Slaymaker strived to learn more, listening over and over on cassette tapes to the motivational messages of Jack Parr. Parr was an all-American basketball player at Kansas State University in 1958, who later founded the Achievement Motivation Institute. Slaymaker and Parr later became friends, serving on the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame Board together.
Hungry for more material, Slaymaker purchased a series of cassette tapes on success in life, recorded by the famed Earl Nightingale at a garage sale in Leavenworth, Kansas. “One lesson I zeroed in on from those tapes was: do what other people don’t want to or won’t do,” said Slaymaker. He lived this lesson; Slaymaker already demonstrated his willingness to do what other people didn’t want to or would not do when he raised his hand at the Twin Valley League football coach’s meeting. So, when Slaymaker found himself at a meeting of 23 Kansas NAIA basketball coaches, he had a choice to make when the group began to elect officers for the next year. “I did my time as secretary – I was not going to do that again,” recalls Slaymaker. After a long silence, Slaymaker raised his hand.
At Roosevelt High, Slaymaker served as secretary of the Twin Valley League for all six years, only leaving the position when he left high school coaching. This time, the current chairman of the Kansas NAIA basketball coaches, took a new job within two years and he asked Slaymaker to succeed him. He took the position, leaving the secretaries job behind him for good but the lesson from the Nightingale Program stuck with him – and he continued to raise his hand, and more opportunities followed.
Fans jammed the 1500-seat Tabor College gymnasium in anticipation of the 1977 NAIA District 10 Championship game. Students from Emporia Kansas State College made the 60-mile drive from Emporia to Hillsboro early to cheer on their Hornets, filling the gym hours before tip-off. “I don’t know how they got in the gym early but they took almost every seat. There were people turned away at the door,” remembers Slaymaker. “When we came out to warm up the students had to be moved back to the stands. They were all over the floor, most of them pretty inebriated.” The neutral-court contest felt like a home game for the Hornets in their rematch with Cochran’s Spartans. Both teams rolled through the regular season and post-season play; both teams returned five starters. The stage was set for an intense and spirited contest with a berth in the national tournament on the line.
True to their defensive style of play, Marymount denied every inbound pass and passes to the wing. But their signature in-your-face pressure defense did not rattle the Hornets this year and the teams traded buckets early, with the Hornets trailing by two at the half, 46-48. The game stayed tight into the second half and then with about six minutes to go, the score even, the Hornets responded to the pressure by attacking the basket. They penetrated and scored a lay-up to break the tie, got a stop on defense, and scored another lay-up to go up four. The momentum shifted and Slaymaker’s team felt a surge of confidence. They poured it on for a 102-84 victory. Marymount ended their season at 28-4. The Hornets took their 23-5 record and advanced to the NAIA National Tournament in Kansas City. The college and the community of Emporia celebrated.
After upending Fairmount State in the opening round of the National Tournament, 76-71, the Hornet’s season ended with a loss to East Texas State in the second round to end the year at 24-6. In seven years, Slaymaker established himself as a head coach; his confidence in his ability to build and lead a program soared. The early success could have softened him and made him complacent but he strived to improve as a coach. So, when he received an advertisement for the book Beyond the Absolute Limit: With Basketball Cyberwatics by Stan Kellner, he made a phone call that changed how he coached and lived his life.
YES I Can
Stan Kellner faced the basket. Five youths focused on the long-time coach. Late in his career, Kellner still held the presence of a coach years younger. His posture carried an intensity and his eyes shared his enthusiasm. Kellner’s clear voice presented a message he delivered over a thousand times: “Your imagination rules your world. If you learn how to discipline it, it can really help you become the person and the player you truly want to be. Don’t let anyone tell you, you are not good enough because you have that internal success mechanism that subconsciously will produce for you the habits that you want to be – the winner you would like to be.”
The youth, serving as demonstrators for a video recording went back to work on Kellner’s cue, focusing on the mental aspects of shooting as they practiced the structured routine. Kellner barked feedback to keep them thinking: “Tell yourself I am a shooting machine, train your subconscious on each shot, and remember for each shot say: sight, feel, yes (on a make) – sight, feel, clear (on a miss).”
The video highlighted Kellner’s Ultimate Shooting Method, an approach based on what Kellner termed Basketball Cybernetics, concepts that focus on the subconscious mind. For Kellner, Basketball Cybernetics is based on a fundamental law and uses fundamental techniques. The fundamental law states that the way a player thinks is the way the player performs. Fundamental techniques provide repetitive and disciplined mental pictures to change the way an athlete thinks. Kellner credits the use of Basketball Cybernetics with turning around his Brentwood High School (NY) basketball team, where from 1965-78 he led the Indians to a 210-56 record, including nine district championships. Kellner shares his approach to Basketball Cybernetics in his book: Beyond the Absolute Limit.
Slaymaker came across an advertisement for Kellner’s book when preparing to teach a graduate course. The flyer had Kellner’s phone number on it. Slaymaker called him. One conversation led to another and Slaymaker adopted Kellner’s book for his course. Then he had an idea. “I loved what he stood for,” said Slaymaker. “I asked him to come to Emporia that next summer to do a day clinic.” Slaymaker rallied over 100 area college and high school coaches to attend the clinic; Kellner dazzled. “He had those people eating out of his hand – he was so charismatic. Such a great speaker and he had a great message – very positive in everything he said,” recalled Slaymaker.
Kellner’s message of positive thinking resonated with Slaymaker, who already carried an optimistic disposition. The young coach, eager to get better, could not get enough of Stan Kellner. Thus, when an idea for running a basketball camp featuring Kellner’s methods got going, Slaymaker once again rallied the resources to get it started. In the summer of 1974, 33 boys and 33 girls participated in the YES I Can Basketball Camp. With Kellner’s positive energy and Slaymaker’s connections in the local community, the camp quickly grew from 130 youth the next year to over 200 by year four. One week of camp eventually became four weeks with over 1,000 youth each summer. The YES I Can Basketball Camp operated for 21 years in Emporia, before moving 55 miles up the road to Ottawa, Kansas, where it ran at Ottawa University before ending in 2014.
The YES I Can Camp utilized Kellner’s Basketball Cybernetics, to teach youth how to bring the mind and body together for peak performance. The camp impacted thousands of youth over the years with Slaymaker and Kellner working together, playing off each other’s strengths to teach a positive mindset in sport and life. Like the youth, Slaymaker listened to Kellner’s message. The only difference is that he heard it five days a week, for four weeks, summer after summer. Slaymaker learned to recite Kellner’s motivational speeches in his mind; over time he gave the same speech to audiences. Kellner and his message became a part of who Slaymaker was – his character, his coaching style, and the way he operated his life. Kellner helped Slaymaker push Beyond his Absolute Limit and in the 1985-86 season, Slaymaker led the Hornets beyond their limit to reach the NAIA National Tournament in Kansas City.
Coach of the Year
On March 15, 1986, over 9,000 fans, many decked in black and gold, filled Kemper Arena in Kansas City for a Sweet 16 matchup in the NAIA National Tournament between the Emporia State Hornets and the David Lipscomb University Bison. The Hornets ranked 8th in the NAIA’s final regular season rankings, and served the role of the hometown team, their campus located 109 miles from downtown Kansas City.
To get to Kansas City, the Hornets captured the NAIA District 10 Championship with a 92-84 win over Fort Hays State, ending the Tiger’s run of three straight district championships and two straight NAIA National Championships. Then in the opening round, the Hornets bested BYU-Hawaii, 80-72 to notch their 31st win of the season, a school record. The Bison entered the national tournament on a 13-game winning streak, in a season in which they reached a number one national ranking. They took a six-point victory over Minnesota-Duluth in the opening round to notch their 31st win of the season.
Under the guidance of Don Meyer, David Lipscomb was making their third appearance in the national tournament in six seasons. In 1986, Coach Meyer was 14 years into a 38-year coaching career, in which he became a coaching icon. Upon his retirement in 2010, Meyer’s 923 wins were the most among men’s college basketball coaches, at any level. Yet, Meyer did more than win games, he mentored and taught coaches through his annual Coaching Academy. His Academy welcomed thousands of coaches over the years, first to Nashville and later Aberdeen, South Dakota, where Meyer finished his career at Northern State University. Influential coaches served as clinicians at the Academy; legends in the sport like John Wooden, Pat Summitt, Bill Self, and Dick Bennett. Meyer also produced over 30 instructional videos on teaching basketball strategy.
In the 1985-86 season, Slaymaker had his most complete team. All five starters hailed from local Kansas schools, including two NAIA All-Americans in Brian Robinson and Craig Stromgren. Robinson averaged 28.1 points per game his senior season to finish his career as the Hornet’s all-time leading scorer with 2,533 points. A 6-5 point guard, Stromgren set a Hornet record for assists in one season with 256. He also led the team in rebounds at 7.9 per game. More importantly, he brought a level of competitiveness: “I just always had the approach that I was going to win,” Stromgren said his senior year. “And whatever we needed to do to do that, that’s what I was going to do.”
Energized by their fan base, Emporia State took an early lead and held a 40-34 advantage over Lipscomb at halftime. The Hornets continued to lead throughout the second half, including an eight-point, 60-52 advantage with 9:48 remaining. Then the Hornets, who shot 52% from the field all season, went cold. The Bison took advantage of Emporia’s drought, keeping it close and taking their first lead of the game, 68-67 with 4:35 remaining. The Hornets had their chances down the stretch but missed free throws, uncharacteristic of a team that shot 71.4% from the foul line all season. Lipscomb held the lead and grabbed a 79-76 victory.
His team devastated, emotional, and at a loss for words after the game, Slaymaker kept things in perspective: “I’m not thinking of all the things we didn’t do,” said Slaymaker. “I’m thinking of all the good things we did. It was a great season, no matter what happened out there tonight.” The Bison won their next three games and the NAIA National Championship. The NAIA named Slaymaker their 1986 National Coach of the Year.
Slaymaker secured his niche as a teacher of the game and as an ambassador for the Emporia State University in 16 seasons as the head coach at his alma mater. He built a successful basketball program and garnered the support of the community. Everyone in Emporia knew Coach Slay. In athletics and especially basketball, Slaymaker and Emporia State became synonymous with one another. The college that gave him his start as a student-athlete and later as a coach, now reaped the benefits of his commitment and dedication to his craft and the school. But, Slaymaker’s influence continued to grow and extend beyond Emporia and the state of Kansas, because he kept raising his hand.
Coach K
During his 18-year tenure on the NAIA District Committee for Kansas basketball coaches, including a 10-year stint as Chairman, Slaymaker volunteered and served on a number of other committees throughout the NAIA: the National Rating Committee, the All-American Selection Committee, the NAIA Olympic Trials Committee, the NAIA Tournament Seeding Committee, and the NAIA Basketball Coaches Executive Committee, and he served as president of the NAIA Coaches Association. At one point, the NAIA appointed him as a representative for the USA Basketball Games Committee.
The Games Committee selected the U.S. players for the Olympics, Pan-American Games, the USA Olympic Festivals, and other foreign tournaments the U.S. was involved in. Slaymaker evaluated the top talent in the United States, making frequent trips to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs; he even held a vote for the 1988 USA Basketball Olympic Team. His six-year service on the Games Committee expanded Slaymaker’s connections in basketball outside of Kansas and put him on a preferred list for coaching assignments around the world, opening the door to new international coaching opportunities.
Slaymaker took his Emporia State team to Europe the summer before the 1985-86 record-breaking season and then he teamed with the coach that beat him in at the national tournament, Don Meyer, for a planned trip to Greece and Israel; Meyer would serve as Slaymaker’s assistant. The team featured 10 All-Americans, including two from Emporia State in Stromgren and Robinson. The trip never materialized due to unrest overseas but Slaymaker still got to travel with Meyer internationally in the summer of 1986. For winning the national championship, David Lipscomb earned a trip to the World Sports Fair in Tokyo. Slaymaker did not coach with Meyer but he traveled with the team, serving as the Chief of Mission, coordinating the team’s two-week travel arrangements and other administrative duties.
Opportunities kept coming. Slaymaker served as assistant to then Notre Dame head coach, Digger Phelps at the 1986 USA Basketball Olympic Festival in Houston, Texas, along with Don King, a highly successful high school coach from Iowa. King won over 500 career games coaching at various high schools including a state championship with Cedar Rapids Washington in 1969.
“When Don (King) and I would reminisce about that time, years later, we always laughed because Coach Phelps never remember Don’s or my name, even after two weeks,” chuckled Slaymaker at the memory. “But it was a wonderful experience. A two-week gig. I learned a lot from Digger Phelps.” Phelps led Notre Dame for 20 seasons (1971-1991), winning 393 games and making 14 appearances in the NCAA Tournament, including the 1977-78 Final Four.
In the summer of 1987, Slaymaker served as Mike Krzyzewski’s assistant at the World University Games in Zagreb, Yugoslavia. With the top talent in the U.S. participating in the Pan-American Games in Indianapolis, Indiana, Coach Krzyzewski’s squad featured the next best talent. They fell short in the gold medal game, 85-100, against two future NBA players for Yugoslavia: Vlade Divac and Drazen Petrovic. The USA team included future NBA players in BJ Armstrong, Mitch Richmond, Danny Ferry, and Shawn Elliott. Slaymaker embraced the opportunity to work with Coach Krzyzewski. “I audio-recorded every practice and every meeting. I gained a lot from observing him. He is so incredibly focused,” said Slaymaker. “You really get to know someone when you share time with them each day in close quarters. Coach K, Tom Miller (head coach at the University of Colorado), and I shared a room no bigger than about 6 X 6 (feet) in Yugoslavia. He (Coach K) was just a regular guy – very genuine. He made me feel like I was somebody.”
For Slaymaker, it became a snowball effect – one opportunity led to another. When Coach Krzyzewski needed a coach to replace him at a coaching clinic in Greece, he called Slaymaker. In the summer of 1988, Ron and Shirley went to Greece – all expenses paid. He made a good impression at the clinic and the next summer he returned to Europe to run basketball camps for the Department of Defense Dependents Schools (DoDDS), providing basketball instruction for youth of American troops stationed in Germany. Slaymaker returned for 23 consecutive summers. Slaymaker attributes his opportunities beyond Kansas to raising his hand and doing something nobody wanted to do as a young coach back at Roosevelt High School; each new experience challenged him to develop his leadership and communication skills. Thus, when he faced a new challenge back in Emporia, Kansas, he was ready for it.
NCAA D2
With an 80-72 victory over Park College in the opening round of the 1992 NAIA District 16 Playoffs, Slaymaker earned his 500th career victory as a head coach (Roosevelt High and Emporia State combined), in his last season as an NAIA coach. One year later, he achieved his 400th career win in a double-overtime victory over Central Missouri, 83-75, in his first season as an NCAA Division II coach.
The gap between NAIA schools based on enrollment numbers started to widen in the mid-1980s, giving athletic programs at schools with more students a competitive edge. In Kansas, four NAIA schools: Emporia State, Pittsburg State, Washburn, and Fort Hays State each reported enrollments eight to nine times larger during the 1987-88 academic year than the other 15 NAIA schools in Kansas. The discrepancies across NAIA schools persisted across the U.S. Thus, in the spring of 1988, the NAIA Executive Committee members began exploring a two-division format for the NAIA. The placement of schools into divisions would be based on the amount of financial aid they had available to student-athletes compared to non-athletes.
The NAIA implemented the two-division format for the 1991-92 season but by then Washburn and Pittsburg State had already left for NCAA Division II. Emporia State and Fort Hays State soon followed. In 1973, the NCAA established three competitive divisions: Division I (D1), Division II (D2), and Division III (D3). NCAA D2 provided schools the ability to offer partial athletic scholarships to better align with their institutional budget. Over the years, the NAIA lost member schools to NCAA D2, going from 588 schools in 1970 to 250 in 2023. Emporia State University became an NCAA Division II member school beginning in the 1992-93 season, joining the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA). To meet provisional membership requirements for D2, the Hornets competed at both the NAIA and NCAA D2 levels for three seasons from 1989-92 and were without a conference for two seasons.
The adjustment for programs moving from the NAIA to NCAA D2 varied by institution. However, one constant remained true: an institution with the financial support of the administration and with the ability to fundraise, especially scholarship money did better than its competitors. In addition, membership in NCAA D2 created a movement away from regional interest to national interest in the schools. For Emporia State, a 200-plus mile road trip for a conference game became the norm, compared to the shorter road trips they played against NAIA schools in Kansas. In recruiting, Slaymaker’s ability to recruit hometown talent dwindled and his roster of out-of-staters increased.
Through it all, Slaymaker adjusted. The Hornets went 18-9 and 16-11 in their first two seasons as an NCAA D2 school. On campus, Slaymaker continued to teach classes as a faculty member, even though teaching was no longer a part of his contract; he managed the concession stand at Welch Stadium for football games, a task he did for almost 40 years with no bump in his salary; and he operated the YES I Can Camp each summer on campus. But after 24-plus years leading the Hornets, Slaymaker felt like maybe he needed to find a better balance. “I was never really one to be stressed out. I did not often say no,” stated Slaymaker. “However, as I got towards the tail end of my career it did not seem like I had a balance. My kids were grown and gone but I was not getting to do things that were enjoyable to me. I had overextended myself on a lot of things.”
Off the court, Slaymaker pursued outdoor activities. He grew up fishing and hunting, and his love of pheasant hunting stayed with him. He arranged the practice schedule during Thanksgiving break to allow him to travel to Western Kansas to pheasant hunt. Early in their marriage, Ron and Shirley purchased 140 acres in the country outside Hartford, Kansas, a 20-mile drive from their home in Emporia. Slaymaker calls it his little oasis, with three small lakes, two large marshes, and lots of trees; a place he could go to be outdoors, away from his professional responsibilities. An escape, where he can dabble, think and create. A place he could build a cabin out of a steel box car.
The box car rested a half-mile off the main public road on a little hill overlooking one of the small lakes. “It was a storage shed that the pack rats, the black snakes, and the spiders – whatever was a critter lived there for many years before I decided I had better take care of this or I will never set foot in it,” said Slaymaker. He decided to turn the old steel box car into a cabin. He told his mother of his plans. Florence loved the idea and every Christmas thereafter, she sent him some cash to help with the project. Slaymaker let people enjoy the property as long as they asked. One fisherman had a construction background. Slaymaker asked him if he would cut two holes in the steel, one for a big picture window and another hole on the opposite side for a small window, to allow for airflow. “I had $1200 saved up from my mother,” said Slaymaker. “I asked him if he would do it for $1200, the windows and a build a partition for the doorway.”
The fisherman agreed. With the exterior complete, Slaymaker worked on the interior. He put in knotty pine walls and salvaged a gym floor from the old Emporia High School for the flooring. The rustic box car, turned into a cabin, lacks electricity and running water but it sleeps three and includes a couch and a table. Slaymaker added a porch and a yard, extending down to the lake – all surrounded by trees. “It is as I envisioned it – it’s wonderful,” said Slaymaker. “I spend a lot of time out there.”
Teaching and coaching at Emporia State allowed Slaymaker to live a balanced life and raise a family. If he ever became too occupied with coaching, Shirley let him know, especially at the dinner table. “If I was eating and I had something on your mind and was muttering to myself – anytime I did that, I heard about it,” laughed Slaymaker.
Slaymaker credits his balanced approach to keeping him in Kansas. He passed on opportunities early in his career to take assistant coaching positions at larger schools in urban areas. The small-town kid just couldn’t leave the things he loved – so he stayed. And by the mid-1990s it seemed like Coach Slay, as he became affectionately called, would be leading the Hornets forever. He was not slowing down, even when he faced a health scare early in the 1996-97 season.
Mr. Hornet
By the mid-1990s, Slaymaker’s 40-plus year association with the college in Emporia, Kansas meant wherever he went on campus and in the community he crossed paths with people he taught, coached, or coached against. “The President at Emporia State thought I would be a great Alumni Director of Relations. They called me Mr. Hornet or Mr. Emporia State – you know because I had been there so long,” laughed Slaymaker. “I thought about it briefly but I did not have much interest in doing administrative kinds of things. All I wanted to do was teach and coach.” He passed on the offer.
After two straight winning seasons at the NCAA D2 level, the Hornets suffered through a six-win campaign in the 1994-95 season. Then in December of the 1995-96 season, Slaymaker received the difficult news that he had prostate cancer. He continued to coach, taking estrogen for 90 days to shrink the cancer cells, a common procedure at the time to increase the chances of a successful surgery. In this case, the delay allowed Slaymaker to finish the season and schedule surgery for the spring. The Hornets endured their second consecutive losing season but Coach Slay still led them to an improved 12-15 mark. In preparation for the surgery in April, he missed one day of work, the only day he missed in 44 years. Following successful surgery, Slaymaker returned the Hornets to their winning ways the next year, finishing 15-12.
The cancer diagnosis didn’t slow Slaymaker down but the two things he loved: teaching in the classroom and serving as a head basketball coach no longer coincided in the modern era of collegiate sport and Emporia State shifted away from coaches serving as faculty to align with the changes. At the NCAA D2 level, money became the driver of decision-making and Slaymaker had a greater responsibility to fundraise scholarship money. Also, Slaymaker’s visibility in the community led to more requests on his time: speaking engagements at community events, high school graduations, and coaching clinics. “I realized to do my job I was going to have to give up several things in my life, teaching being one of them,” said Slaymaker. With his increased day-to-day responsibilities, he found less time to teach and coach. He announced in May of 1997 that the next season would be his last.
White Auditorium on the campus of Emporia State University filled with 5,000 Hornet faithful on Saturday, February 22, 1998. When the final buzzer sounded, the crowd stormed the court; not in jubilation as the Ichabods of Washburn University beat the Hornets 77-62 but to pay tribute to their coach in his last game. Those influenced by Coach Slay: former players, family members, and community supporters formed a large circle around him. Slaymaker took the microphone and stated, “In the last few days, I’ve had more things said, more things written, and more things discussed than anyone deserves in a lifetime. It has been humbling, it has been a little bit embarrassing, and it has very much been appreciated.”
What might have felt like the right time to leave, did not mean people wanted to see him go. Former players reflected after his last game: “It’s a shame a guy like him can’t go on forever,” said Howard Bonser a Hornet player from 1987-1991. “It’s a shame I can’t do it all over again because I would in a heartbeat.” And rival coaches felt a loss: “He is a great leader and a great personality. It’s sad for me that this is his last game. My parting words would be, please reconsider,” said Bob Chipman, who coached rival Washburn University for 38 seasons, winning 807 career games and an NAIA National Championship in 1987.
At 61 years of age, Slaymaker finished his 28-year career at Emporia State with 462 wins, a national coach of the year honor, six NAIA District 10 Coach of the Year awards, five Central States Intercollegiate Conference championships, four District 10 titles, and four appearances in the NAIA National Tournament. In 1987, Emporia State inducted him into their Athletic Hall of Honor, the first of four hall of fame inductions for the coach from Peabody, Kansas, which included the Kansas Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame (1997), the NAIA Hall of Fame (2000), and the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame (2002).
Fort Hays State Coach, Bill Morse, who coached against him in both the NAIA and the NCAA D2, stated upon Slaymaker’s retirement: “He should look at this as a start of a new life but still stay in basketball.” Slaymaker stayed in basketball but his full-time job remained at the University as a half-time instructor and as a special assistant to the President. Mr. Hornet’s value to the University and community remained even if he no longer held a presence on the sideline in White Auditorium. His full-time employment at ESU ended in 2004, yet he continues to teach a coaching basketball course when asked to do so.
A year removed from coaching, Slaymaker traded in his suit jacket for a zebra shirt, the black and white stripes worn by referees. He officiated basketball as a substitute over the years but with more time he joined the local official’s association. He earned his keep, officiating sub-varsity, middle school, and youth contests. But Slaymaker quickly climbed the ranks to varsity games and status as a top official, selected to officiate state tournaments. He connected with coaches and athletes. He had a feel for the game, he knew how to communicate with them, and he understood their perspective. The more he officiated, the greater appreciation he had for the role of an official and he realized how the experience made him a better coach.
Officiating did not replace leading a team in a game or through a season but like coaching Slaymaker had to focus, face adversity and feel the thrill of the moment. Slaymaker always stayed in the moment, it did not matter if he was officiating a state tournament game or a junior high contest. “It is exciting to throw the ball up at the state tournament. That really makes your heart beat a little bit,” said Slaymaker. “But the important factor in officiating is that every game is important. A junior high game is just as important to those kids as the tournament games.”
Beyond officiating, Coach Slay stayed involved in basketball through the annual YES I Can basketball camp, he spoke frequently at coaching clinics, and he mentored coaches. Slaymaker stayed busy helping Shirley operate the Poehler Mercantile Antique Mall in Emporia. At one point, he served on six boards, including Chairman of the United Way for East-Central Kansas, an eight-county area, helping them raise money for two years; co-chairman for Emporia’s Sesquicentennial Committee, to celebrate the 150-year anniversary of the community; and board member for the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame, assisting in the inductee nomination and the annual ceremony process.
Slaymaker’s legacy is the influence he had on the players he coached, the students he taught, and the coaches he mentored. Emporia State cemented his legacy in White Auditorium on February 28, 2013, by renaming the court in his honor. His signature, Coach Slay eloquently inscribed on the hardwood above the text: Ron Slaymaker Court, etched along each sideline, near the mid-court line. His coaching legacy clearly intact, Coach Slay did not plan to return to the sidelines as a coach. Then, once again, he raised his hand.
Back on the Sidelines
Slaymaker entered the locker room, his game face on, ready to compete. His serious tone fit the moment. His Chase County High School girls’ basketball team faced Council Grove in an early 2014-15 season contest between two teams with postseason aspirations. But the teenage girls in front of him did not match his demeanor. They appeared loose and unconcerned about the game in a few minutes – they started giggling.
Slaymaker paused. First, glancing down to make sure his fly was not open. But quickly realized the girls were not laughing at him but chuckling at his assistant coach as she fumbled to fix a button on her blouse. Slaymaker, a bit frustrated, let the moment pass and delivered his pre-game message. Chase County rolled to a big win. “It was a lesson for me. They (the girls) were into it even though they may not appear to be,” stated Slaymaker. He knew he needed to adjust. He was 16 years removed from leading the Hornets men’s basketball team and in his 54 years involved in basketball he never coached a girls’ team.
At 77 years of age, Slaymaker did not expect to be back coaching. Just a few months earlier, in September 2014 he underwent hip replacement surgery. The recovery time threatened to end his 10-year consecutive run officiating the state basketball tournament and leave him without a season of basketball. As he recovered from the surgery, the current Chase County girls’ basketball coach opted to take a new position back in his hometown, a couple of weeks before the start of the school year. Slaymaker heard about the opening. He interviewed for the position and won the job.
He prepared with the same passion and drive he did with his basketball teams at ESU, “I dug out every note I had and every practice schedule. I was pretty meticulous about my practice schedules. I have them in a book. I went through page by page. I started thinking and planning and asking friends. I had way too much material in front of me,” stated Slaymaker. “But I did not coach those girls any different than my men’s teams at ESU.”
He pushed defense early and expected them to learn the art of taking a charge on defense, by placing their body in front of the offensive player as designated by the rules of play. A few weeks into practice, not one girl executed the skill. Then it happened in a mid-December practice. Slaymaker went berserk, jumping, and screaming in jubilation. “My gosh I think I wet my pants,” he hollered, setting off a chorus of giggles among the teenagers. Two weeks later, he unwrapped a Christmas package from the team to reveal a great big package of adult diapers.
“For me coaching girls was different. They weren’t outwardly quite as serious but I think inwardly they were,” said Slaymaker. “They were silly. They had fun. I really enjoyed it. I kind of became a little silly.” Yet, come game time, Slaymaker’s competitiveness always took a serious tone even when his team kept it loose, often seconds before the tip-off.
The buzzer sounded. The Bulldog players gathered around Slaymaker for final instructions. Each player placed a hand towards the center of the huddle for a final cheer before taking the floor. Slaymaker noticed his point guard with one hand in the huddle but her body turned away and focused on something else. He leaned back to catch what had her attention. “I see her other hand move and she had a damn burrito in her hand. She just chomped on that burrito,” laughed Slaymaker. “I kind of yelled at her to pay attention.” Chase County played hard and cruised to a victory. Slaymaker learned maybe he did not have to be quite so serious about things.
Slaymaker adapted and he found success in the win column his first season, winning 19 games, including an appearance in the 2015 State 2A Tournament. He achieved a milestone in his second season, coaching his 1,000th game as a head coach, a 44-35 victory over Herington High. The Bulldogs returned to state in 2017. If Slaymaker had any hesitation about coaching at 80-plus years of age he never thought about it. He has aspirations to reach 100. “I have studied centenarians and the advice they share,” said Slaymaker. “You need to do four things: stay busy, stay positive, be flexible, and be able to handle loss.” His Chase County team provided all of the above. The 22-mile drive to the high school from his house in Emporia, practice planning, mentorship, and game coaching, kept him busy; he learned to be flexible, adapting to the personalities and energy of teenage girls; Slaymaker already lived with a positive vibe; and even though they won consistently, the Bulldogs suffered their fair share of losses in Slaymaker’s first four seasons. But while Coach Slay, long ago, learned to handle the loss of a basketball game, nothing prepared him for the loss he faced at home.
After 62 years of marriage, and at the age of 82, Shirley Temple Slaymaker passed away on June 7, 2018. Ron took time to grieve; losing the love of his life left a void. But he knew he had to stay positive and be flexible to the change in his life. Thus, he kept busy going into the fall of 2018, officiating volleyball games, serving as commissioner of the Lyon County Athletic League, and preparing for his fifth season leading the Bulldogs. Slaymaker led Chase County to an 18-3 record in 2018-19 and coached for two more seasons before retiring in the Spring of 2021.
Circle of Life
Slaymaker truly felt his coaching days were behind him. He remained involved in basketball and other sports, like serving as a starter for local track & field events. He continued to serve as the commissioner of the Lyon County League, where he assigned officials for league contests; a position that also kept him involved in discussions about topics and issues facing coaches in Kansas, including coaching vacancies around East-Central Kansas.
Thus, when Olpe High School went in search of their first head girls’ basketball coach in 45 years in the summer of 2021, they turned to Slaymaker to help them find a coach. He knew a lot of people but that didn’t mean anyone wanted the job. The previous coach, Jesse Nelson built a high school girls’ basketball dynasty. In 44 years, Nelson won 951 games. In his last season (2020-21) the Eagles went undefeated (25-0) and Nelson captured his fourth state championship, retiring with a winning streak of 51 straight games. The National Federation of High School Associations (NFHS) named Nelson the 2021 National Girls Basketball Coach of the Year.
Slaymaker knew Nelson well. Jesse served as an assistant to Slaymaker for one season after playing four years at the Kansas State Teacher’s College, where he was the first recruit on Slaymaker’s first team. The search for Olpe’s next coach reached into mid-October and a scenario quite familiar to Slaymaker happened: nobody wanted the job. He raised his hand. Some questioned his age. In an interview with the Emporia Gazette after taking the position, Slaymaker addressed the concerns: “Some people say I’m too old to coach…We put age limits on things and I think that’s not right. I still have the energy and I think coaching is an energy thing… I still have the energy…When I don’t have the energy, I hope I’m smart enough to say no.”
With six seniors gone from the state championship season, Slaymaker would be leading a young squad. And because Olpe dominated opponents for so long, a few teams were likely itching to stick it to the Eagles a little bit. One team, the Hartford Jaguars had not beaten Olpe in 41 years. They seized the opportunity, winning by 30 to end the streak. One of many lumps Olpe took that year, finishing 8-14. But Slaymaker recognized potential with his younger squad and felt with a good summer in the gym, Olpe could return to their winning ways.
The first round of the 2023 State 1A-DI Tournament in Dodge City, Kansas pitted the second-seeded Quinter Bulldogs (20-3) against the seventh-seeded Olpe Eagles (16-7). In just his second season, Slaymaker had Olpe back at the state tournament. Prior to the game in a radio interview, Slaymaker reflected on the season and the upcoming match-up: “Our defense has been strong all year. If we get our defense going it creates offense for us. We got a job ahead of us, but hey that’s what it is all about and we are really excited for the opportunity.”
Quinter took an early lead but a 14-9 second-quarter advantage by the Eagles made it a two-point deficit at the half. After the Bulldogs scored 12 unanswered points to open the second half, Slaymaker had the Eagles turn up the pressure. It worked and with 2:12 left in the game, they trailed by only five. But the Bulldogs held on for a 57-47 victory. Slaymaker’s 43rd season as a coach ended. Will it be his last? He’s committed to one more season at Olpe; he wants to finish with the group of seniors that started with him as sophomores.
At 86, Slaymaker feels fortunate to still be able to share the game he loves but he understands it won’t last forever. When he does decide to leave coaching behind he will stay right where it all started – in Emporia, Kansas. “In some way, I’ve had kind of a fairy tale career to have played here, stayed here, made a life here. I’d say this is pretty much a dream come true for me,” stated Slaymaker after retiring from Emporia State in 1998. 25 years later he’s still coaching basketball, near where it all started. He made a life in East-Central Kansas and he made a career doing things others were not willing to do – modeling the importance of raising your hand.
Author’s Note
This feature article on Ron Slaymaker’s life and career is based on his personal reflections through a series of interviews. Additional information was added to provide historical context. Secondary sources corroborated and supported Coach Slay’s personal reflections. In a few instances, exact records (i.e., early team scores and won-loss records at Roosevelt High) were difficult to confirm and Slaymaker’s personal account is taken as is.
Acknowledgments
Coach Slay is known for his willingness to give his time and I am honored he made time for me so that I may share his life and career with you. A special thank you to Andy Carrier, the long-time, hall-of-fame men’s basketball coach at Ottawa University (KS) for introducing me to Ron Slaymaker in the early 2000s. Finally, thank you to Mark Stanbrough and Gwen Larson at Emporia State University, and Tom Hughes for helping to secure the photos used in the article.
Sources
Newspapers
The Emporia Gazette
Peabody Gazette-Bulletin
Peabody Gazette-Herald
Salina Journal
The Mercury (Manhattan, Kansas)
The Wichita Eagle
Media
Emporia State Men’s Basketball Media Guide 2011-12
How to Be a Prime Time Shooter (Stan Kellner Instructional Video)
KOVE News (Emporia Radio Broadcasting)
Web Sites
City of Peabody: https://www.peabodyks.com/
Emporia State University: www.emporia.edu
Emporia State University (Athletics): https://esuhornets.com
Kansas Historical Society: https://www.kshs.org/
Kansas Sports Hall of Fame: https://www.kshof.org/
Kansas State High School Activities Association: https://www.kshsaa.org/
Kansas State University: www.ksu.edu
David Lipscomb Sports: https://lipscombsports.com/
NAIA: www.naia.org
NCAA: www.ncaa.org
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame: https://www.hoophall.com/
National Archives: https://www.archives.gov/
Pop-A-Shot: https://www.popashot.net/
Small College Basketball: https://www.smallcollegebasketball.com
Suffolk Sport’s Hall of Fame: https://www.suffolksportshof.com/
University of Notre Dame Athletics: https://und.com/
USA Basketball: www.usabasketball.com
US Census: https://www.census.gov/
(For a detailed bibliography please contact the author)
