Harry Fitzhugh once was singled out in a Chicago Sun-Times poll as'the most influential figure' in the history of high school sports inIllinois.
As executive director of the Illinois High School Association from1968 to 1978, Fitzhugh oversaw the implementation of the two-classbasketball system in 1972, the adoption of the football playoffs in1974, the introduction of the girls interscholastic program in 1977and the expansion of the boys program.
Fitzhugh died June 29 at his retirement home in La Jolla, Calif.He was 90. Private family services were held Tuesday in Auburn, Ill.,where Fitzhugh was raised and attended high school. He was buried inPawnee, Ill.
Fitzhugh, who served as a teacher, coach and administrator for 44years, also guided the construction of the IHSA's presentheadquarters building in Bloomington and the organization's move fromits old offices in Chicago in 1974. And he directed the IHSA througha complete revision of its constitution and bylaws that were ratifiedin 1976.
'He was the right man at the right time for the IHSA,' said JimFlynn, an assistant executive director of the IHSA. 'He saw the bigpicture, but he retained his small-town manner of doing things.
'He had a great sense of humor, and he wasn't afraid to laugh athimself. If he made a mistake, he would say: 'Well, I really blewthat one.' He was committed to doing what he felt was best for theIHSA.'
Dave Fry, who was hired by Fitzhugh in 1957 and served asexecutive director from 1991 to 2002, said Fitzhugh's personality,style and knack for delegating responsibilities made it easy forthings to get done.
'He was not the kind of guy who looked for changes,' Fry said,'but when people had good ideas, he would facilitate the processingof those ideas. He was a good person to say: 'Let's go get it done.'And he did.'
When Fitzhugh retired, the IHSA had expanded its state series to11 sports for boys, 12 sports for girls, music, speech and chess. Andhe wasn't afraid to admit that he was wrong in his initialdetermination to retain the one-class basketball format againstproponents of a two-class system.
'There were two sides to the issue,' Fitzhugh said in an interviewlast year. 'Some wanted to keep one class so there will only be onestate champion and small schools, like Hebron [1952 state champion]and Cobden [1964 state runner-up], will forever have a chance to win.And some wanted to give small schools more of a chance to getrecognition.
'I didn't think it would ever work. I wanted to keep one class.With two classes, you would never have a true state champion. Butthey proved me wrong. I thought there would be empty seats. Buteveryone in town showed up for the tournament.
'They changed my mind completely. In the end, it was one of thecrowning achievements of my 10 years.'
