The luster hasn’t faded from a legendary Ardmore coach.
On Saturday at the H.F.V. Wilson Community Center was honored longtime coach and teacher Frank Luster during the Ardmore Community Basketball League tournament. Luster, who retired from coaching in 1977 and teaching in 1982, has been a leader in the Ardmore school system for more than 50 years.
Luster was surrounded by supporters at the ceremony, including several who watched him achieve success with both Ardmore Douglass and Ardmore High School athletics.
“The Ardmore community is very supportive,” H.F.V. Wilson Community Center Program Coordinator George Freeman said. “It’s a caring community that has a lot of respect for its teachers and coaches.”
Luster moved to Ardmore in 1958, starting as a teacher at Ardmore Douglass Junior High and a coach at Ardmore Douglass High School. He finished with a 68-41-4 record in football and a 171-73 basketball record in 11 seasons.
When integration merged Ardmore Douglass and Ardmore High Schools in 1970, Luster became Ardmore’s defensive coordinator, where he served until 1975. He was also the basketball coach from 1970-77, and coached track and tennis teams in his tenure.
Before moving to Ardmore, Luster was at Beggs Wheatly School in Beggs, where he won four state championships in football in 10 years.
Even after his retirement from teaching 28 years ago, Luster continued to work with the school bus transportation department until 2009.
