One of the longest-serving and most successful baseball coaches in Marysville High School history is joining the elite of Monarch athletic lore.
Retired coach Ed Starling will be inducted into the MHS Athletic Hall of Fame on Friday.
Starling began his Monarch diamond career in the spring of 1981 and led the program through the conclusion of the 2007 campaign.
Along the way, the Monarchs won five conference championships (1984, 1987, 1988, 1989 and 1997) and the 1992 district title.
The Monarchs finished as district runners-up in 1993 and 1994.
Starling compiled an overall won-loss record of 407-283 and a conference mark of 215-132.
Starling, who also served for 33 years as a guidance counselor at MHS, said he can’t put his finger on any one special memory as the Monarchs’ head baseball coach.
“There were just so many great players and assistant coaches with whom I worked through the entire program,” he said. “They were the ones who made it great for me.”
Starling also said the Diamond Club, made up of parental volunteers, was also a key to the program’s success.
“The parents were always very supportive,” he said. “The Diamond Club paid for our indoor hitting facility, which I think is still one of the best in central Ohio.”
The facility, which is attached to the Monarchs’ home dugout, was named for Starling several years ago.
Starling was also instrumental in beginning the John Hays Memorial Tournament.
The event was named for the late Hays, who for many years served as one of Starling’s assistant coaches.
It was later renamed the Hays-Hoehn Tournament.
The additional name came from the late Corey Hoehn, who died from a form of cancer as a high school student.
Hoehn, who played sports in the Marysville school district, was the son of former Monarch assistant baseball coach Chris Hoehn.
Starling’s induction allows him to join his son Andy, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame as an All-Ohio baseball player in 2006.
“I think it’s a unique situation, having a father and son voted into the same Hall of Fame,” said the elder Starling. “I was very happy when Andy was named and I’m happy I’m going to be inducted.
“It’s a special feeling.”
Starling retired from his educational duties several years ago. However, he’s still found ways to remain active.
“I started out by being a test driver at the Transportation Research Center (in East Liberty),” he said. “However, I sat at a desk during my educational career and being a test driver was still more sitting down.”
For the past six years, Starling has worked an average of eight months a year in the seed-packaging department at The Scotts Company.
“It’s just something to keep me busy,” he said.