His father died in 1994, but Archie Aldridge said he was thankful his mother, Shirley Curtis, was in the stands for his crowning athletic achievement. His No. 51 basketball jersey, the number he wore because it was “the one they gave me,” was officially retired, and a banner was unveiled that read: “A. Aldridge, 1971-73.” It hangs in a corner of Wade E. Miller, right there next to Jerry Lucas’ No. 13.
Fittingly, it was Lucas’ bronzed size 16 basketball shoes that inspired Aldridge nearly five decades ago when he was “overtook by Middie Magic.”
Aldridge, 58, was joined at midcourt by two of his cousins, Kevin L. Aldridge and Kevin. S. Aldridge, MHS Principal Carmela Cotter and Gary Lebo, the school’s athletic director. When Aldridge was introduced, everyone in the gym gave him a lengthy standing ovation while he slowly walked to midcourt, a cane in his left hand balancing his 6-foot-4 frame.
Later, Aldridge called the jersey retirement “very nice” and said he was grateful it occurred while he was alive, a sentiment echoed by his mother. She “always knew” her son one day would become a great basketball player.
“He just had it in him,” she said.
Aldridge, a 1973 MHS graduate, scored 1,514 points, ranking him second all-time behind Lucas. As a senior, Aldridge averaged 35.2 points per game, the highest in the nation, and 17 rebounds and 10 blocks a game. He was named Ohio’s Class AAA Player of the Year.
He later played at Floria State, then transferred to Miami University where he scored 1,486 points in three seasons, and when he graduated in 1978, he was the school’s No. 1 scorer, a record now held by Ron Harper.
Three MHS basketball jerseys have been retired: Lucas, Aldridge and Butch Carter. School officials have said that eventually all three banners will hang in the gym.
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