Mike Haley, former City League coaching icon, dies; he was 73

Mike Haley, who oversaw Roosevelt, Roth and Dunbar high school boys basketball programs from area to state powers and who was the first Ohioan to play on and coach a boys basketball state championship team, died last weekend. He was 73.

No information about the circumstances of his death or funeral arrangements were available. Kleptz YMCA executive director Josh Haynes confirmed the death. Haley had been a gymnasium supervisor at the Clayton-based Greater Dayton branch for at least the past 10 years. His last day of work was Friday.

SHOWING: 5-8 p.m. Thursday, House of Wheat Funeral Home, 2107 N. Gettysburg Ave., Dayton

“The Y was a great fit for Mike,” Haynes said. “He even told me he loved working at the Y. It gave him something to do and it was his social connection. He was good for the Y and we were good for him.”

FUNERAL: 1 p.m. Friday, House of Wheat

Haley coached many outstanding area boys basketball players, many of whom such as Dwight Anderson also starred collegiately or pursued coaching.

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Haley was a first team All-Ohioan as a senior in high school, leading his native Portsmouth to the 1961 Class AA state title with a 50-44 defeat of Urbana at Ohio State University’s St. John Arena in Columbus. At Ohio University he helped the Bobcats win the Mid-American Conference title in 1963-64. That team also advanced to the NCAA elite eight by stunning Kentucky.

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He would parlay that playing success to coaching City League basketball after relocating to Dayton.

Haley initially was the boys head coach at Roosevelt and landed the Roth position after Roosevelt closed. Featuring a signature full-court pressing defense for an entire game and a transition-inspired offense, Haley’s high-scoring Roth teams won consecutive state titles in 1981-82.

The 1981 Falcons defeated Wadsworth 73-66 in the Class AAA title game. The next season, with a star-studded lineup that included up-and-coming running back Keith Byars, Roth defeated Youngstown Rayen 68-56 to win a Class AA state title.

Like Roosevelt, Roth also closed and Haley moved on to Dunbar, becoming the perfect basketball complement to what Tom Montgomery had built in Wolverines football.

Dunbar boys basketball was runner-up to Canton McKinley (Class AAA) in 1984. Just three seasons later Dunbar’s lineup of Kirk Taylor, Renaldo O’Neal, Troy Harris, Mark Baker and Mike Haley Jr. defeated Canton McKinley 70-65 to win a Class AAA title at UD Arena, the program’s first.

After resigning from Dunbar, Haley returned and coached at Portsmouth through the 1994-95 season. His easy-going manner with Kleptz YMCA youth belied a fiercely competitive playing and coaching career.

“That’s what was so special about him,” Haynes said. “The kids still knew of him. Everyone called him Coach. You know how games can get; he had a way of calming everybody down. He was a good mentor for those kids and they all respected him. He was a great guy to have around.”

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