A good name is earned, not negotiatedBY KRISTA RAMSEY The Cincinnati Enquirer Naming a stadium is an important matter for Carolyn Hubbard. She stands at the entrance of Mariemont High School's open-air athletic facility, remembering the night it was dedicated as Kusel Stadium 21 years ago. Mrs. Hubbard is the daughter of Norman ''Doc'' Kusel, a 34-year coaching legend who led Mariemont teams to state championships in track and basketball. She knows what it took to get her father's name on the simple brown sign that points the way to the football field. It took more than the 250 trophies he helped teams earn, his 287-125 record in basketball, his 16 individual state champions. It took service, an unending love for his players and commitment to his community.
Something not even a million dollars can buy. Ice cream nights specialMrs. Hubbard smiles as she remembers her father, who died last year. In the 1940s, he was Mariemont High's only coach, moving from football to basketball to track. On Thursday nights during basketball season, he'd hold ''ice cream nights'' at his home for the team. On Friday nights at the games, he'd hold his temper. ''He was so easygoing, even in the big games,'' she says. ''He'd never curse. He didn't yell. The only thing he'd do is recross his legs.'' Outside the stadium, she bumps into Mark Evans, one of Doc Kusel's former basketball players, who now works on the custodial staff at the school. ''He got me my job here,'' he says, in a refrain Mrs. Hubbard hears regularly around town. Players left school, but they never left Doc Kusel. He helped them find their way to college or local employment. They called when they were home for Christmas. They sent letters when they had landed jobs across the country. To the end of his life, their success was his greatest success. ''He wanted to see somebody who would knock himself out for the game,'' Mr. Evans remembers. ''The one thing he didn't like was slouchers.'' ''Go in the school and see the Hall of Fame on the wall,'' he reminds Mrs. Hubbard. ''I just shined up Doc's picture.'' The placard, inscribed ''Coach, teacher, athletic director, friend,'' reminds Mr. Evans that he grew up in the presence of a great man. The sign outside Kusel Stadium reminds Mariemont football and track athletes that they follow a tradition of hard work and high principles. Across the Tristate, hundreds of baseball diamonds and swimming pools, small parks and playing fields have been named in the honor of great men and women. They are bestowed, not negotiated. They are meant to recognize contributions of effort and integrity, civic good will that money can never buy.
But they reveal something more. They tell us what a community values. Steadfastness valuedIn naming its stadium after Doc Kusel, Mariemont reminds its citizens to leave behind something fine for the village's children. It challenges them, like their 34-year coach, to stick around for the long haul. It leads one to wonder what values Cincinnati will promote if Riverfront Stadium is renamed in ''honor'' of Cinergy Corp., perhaps for the sum of $1 million. Will it say that money is Cincinnati's one great value, that anything can be bought and sold? Will it lead people to believe that opening a checkbook is the best way to claim a leadership role in the community? And, indeed, is it? ''A good name is better than precious ointment,'' writes the author of Ecclesiastes. As she looks at the fresh, happy faces of cheerleaders practicing kicks and yells at Kusel Stadium, Carolyn Hubbard knows the truth of it. Her father gave the very hours of his life for this village, the very effort of his heart for his players. In naming a stadium after him, Mariemont residents gave back the affection of their own. There are no plans, ever, to rename Kusel Stadium. It's nice to know some things aren't for sale. Krista Ramsey's column appears in The Enquirer on Saturdays. Write her at 312 Elm St., Cincinnati 45202 or fax at 768-8340. Published Aug. 24, 1996.
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