Recently Ralph Tasker was inducted into the West Virginia Sportswriters Hall of Fame. Tasker was only one of two people inducted to this year's Hall of Fame class. Tasker is a native of Moundsville, WV. He graduated from Alderson-Broaddus College in 1941 with a degree in social studies education. He would later be inducted to the AB Hall of Fame in 1992. He was also the commencement speaker at graduation ceremonies that same year at AB. Tasker was a four-year letterman for the Battlers under legendary head coach Rex Pyles. He was a guard on the team and led AB to two WVIAC basketball titles.
Tasker started his coaching career at Sulpher Springs, Ohio. He was head coach during the 1940-41 season. He would leave after one season to join the military and serve the country during World War II.
After the war ended, Tasker returned to coaching taking the head job at Lovington High School in Lovington, New Mexico. At Lovington, Tasker compiled a 52-22 record. His 1948-49 team won the New Mexico State Basketball Championship. In those days, there were no separate classifications for schools. Lovington lost out on Tasker's services as a teacher/coach when the school refused to give him a key to the gym. Tasker then left in disgust over the gym key issue and took the job at Hobbs High School in Hobbs, New Mexico.
At Hobbs High School, Tasker would win 11 state championships stretching over a course of decades. Tasker's championships ranged from 1956 to 1988. He was twice named national high school coach of the year. He was inducted into the National High School Sports Hall of Fame. Tasker's teams were known for their high-scoring squads that were known for a tenacious full-court press. His 1969-70 team averaged 114.6 points per game and recorded 14 consecutive 100-point games. Both of these accomplishments are national records.
On January 29, 1993, Tasker won game 1027 which moved him into first place on the all-time wins list nationally for high school basketball coaches. Tasker would retire following the 1997-98 season and finished with a 1122-291 record. That is a winning percentage of .794%. His total wins still ranks third all-time in wins nationally.
Tasker's teams employed a full-court man-to-man pressure defense that was witnessed by a young head coach at Bowie High School in El Paso, TX. The coach's name was Nolan Richardson who saw Hobbs High School play in a tournament in El Paso at the time. Nolan Richardson would adopt Tasker's style of play and tabbed it "40 minutes of hell". Richardson would later lead the Arkansas Razorbacks to a National Championship using this style of play. In an interview on CBS, Richardson credited Tasker for his coaching philosophy.
Hobbs was also named Teacher of the Year at Hobbs High School three separate school years. The arena at Hobbs is named Ralph Tasker Arena in his honor. Tasker would die in 1999. We at Battler Beat congratulate Ralph Tasker and his family for his latest honor!
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