James Eaddy wore many hats as a teacher, administrator, basketball coach and overcame racial barriers as a basketball referee.
He played basketball and football at Ottawa Hills High School and then played basketball at Central State University in Ohio. His college career was interrupted by a two-year stint in the U.S. Army, but he returned to earn a bachelor’s degree in history, and then earned a master’s degree in education from Michigan State University.
He worked for the Grand Rapids Public Schools for 34 years as a teacher and principal. He also spent over 30 summers working with youth as a playground leader and supervisor with the Grand Rapids Recreation Department.
As a basketball coach, Eaddy’s high school career started at Union High in 1968 where in four years his team won three league, district, and regional titles. He left coaching when he became a school administrator but returned to the sidelines 1990 at his alma mater, Ottawa Hills.
Jim coached the varsity to a historic 1997 Class A Boys Basketball State Championship and he was named Coach of the Year by various media outlets.
As a basketball official, he was the first African American to referee high school basketball in West Michigan and officiated several state title games, and later became just the second African American to officiate in the Big Ten Conference.
In 2004, he was honored locally as a civic “Giant” with the William Glenn Trailblazer Award. His brother Don Eaddy, a standout baseball player who reached the Major Leagues, is also in the Hall of Fame. Jim Eaddy died in 2016 at the age of 88.