Don Rinker, a ‘true local legend’ in Springfield, dies at 97

Don Rinker, the former owner and operator of Meek’s Sporting Goods in Springfield who was also well known as a high school sports official, died on Saturday at 97 at his home in Springfield.

“Don Rinker was a true local legend, not only in the sports world but also as a cherished figure in our community,” read a post on the Clark County Historical Society Facebook page. “We were fortunate to have had the opportunity to get to know him and hear some of the stories that connected his life to our local history.”

Rinker was inducted into the Ohio High School Athletic Association Officials Hall of Fame in 1997. He worked as an official from 1950-91, refereeing six state championship games and two state final fours in basketball.

“You meet a lot of people as coaches, players and officials and they remember you,” Rinker said in 1997. “A lot of times people will say, ‘Hey, you’re the guy who called a technical on me,’ or ‘You gave me that 15-yard penalty 15 years ago.’”

Rinker also played a part in the formation of the Springfield/Clark County Baseball Hall of Fame in 1959, and he was later inducted into that Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the Springfield High School Hall of Fame in 2012.

According to his obituary, Rinker was “nicknamed Spanky for his childhood resemblance to Spanky McFarland of Little Rascal’s Fame.”

The obituary stated that during World War II, Rinker “spent two years roaming the North Atlantic for the U.S. Coast Guard, on the Emporia Kansas, from his base in Reykjavik, Iceland, before returning home to graduate from Springfield South High School in 1947. Following that stint, he played baseball for the Yankees’ minor league team on the East Coast.”

Rinker took a job at Meek’s in 1948, according to his obituary. He worked there for 55 years. He purchased the company in 1976.

Former Springfield Mayor Timothy Ayers, whose brother Randy Ayers starred at North High School and Miami University before a long basketball coaching career that included a stop at Ohio State, paid tribute to Rinker on Facebook on Thursday.

“His business was an annual stop for my brothers and me during our basketball-playing years,” Ayers wrote. “The routine was to go out for the team and stop at Meek’s Sporting Goods for new tennis shoes. And the trying on of shoes was always in order, Big Frank was first, Randy was second, and I was last (the bane of being the youngest).

“I think he and my father were high school classmates, but we could never figure out what Don’s connection to our father was, except that his love for sports and basketball gave him a reason to look out for us Ayers brothers during our years of playing basketball. Rest well!”

Don Rinker, a local sports legend in Springfield who left an impact in many areas, died Saturday at 97. I always enjoyed seeing him in the press box at Wittenberg games. He was a Hall of Fame official and was also well known as the owner of Meek's Sporting Goods. pic.twitter.com/BAKaKDa191
— David Jablonski (@DavidPJablonski) January 24, 2025

Rinker also was a Reds season-ticket holder from 1974 through this past season. He attended the Field of Dreams game between the Reds and Cubs in Iowa in 2022.

Rinker’s impact on local sports extended to the softball diamond. He teamed with Jim Acton to create a softball tournament in Springfield. It was first called the Hudepohl Invitational and later the Stroh’s Tournament. It started as an eight-team event in 1959, according to a 1974 News-Sun story.

“It was one of the first ones of its kind in the country,” Rinker told the News-Sun in 2008.

By 1964, the tournament had grown to include 26 teams. Rinker, Acton and a Springfield policeman, Art Gueth, then were able to land the right to host the national slow-pitch tournament in 1965. Fifty teams from 31 states played in the tournament.

ABC’s World Wide of Sports sent broadcaster Jim McKay, who wasn’t as famous then as he would be later in his journalism career, to cover the event. Famed Brooklyn Dodgers manager Leo Durocher showed up to participate in the tournament and help announce the event on ABC.

Springfield continued to host the event for decades.

Rinker also played softball for most of his life, starting in the 1950s. A 2010 News-Sun story reported he was playing in his 80s with a team in Michigan. He participated in the Senior Olympics at age 90, according to his obituary.

Rinker “was preceded in death by his parents, his wife of 69 years, Ginger, and his sisters Ruby Miller and Maxine Wagle,” according to his obituary, and “is survived by his daughter Kim Rinker and son-in-law Mark Saporito; son Mark Rinker and daughter-in-law Michelle Elliott, grandsons Bryce (Stacy) and Kyle (Sarah) Rinker; granddaughter Sarah Elliott; great-grandchildren Ellie and Mason Rinker, and many other extended family members and friends.”

A private family service with Coast Guard honors will take place at Vale Cemetery in Springfield. Friends are welcome to attend a celebration of life from 2-7 p.m. Sunday at the Elks Lodge in Springfield.