When it came to high school sports, Robert “Dub” Clark, Loren “Goney” Ridgeway and Dallas Farr were arguably the biggest fans Hamilton Southeastern Schools had.
Affectionately known as “Three Wise Men” in the local sports community, the three late Fishers residents were scheduled to be honored at the Feb. 11 boys basketball game against Carmel.
HSE High School Athletics Director Greg Habegger said the Three Wisemen had been around for as long as he has worked at HSE High School, dating back to 1989 when he was the freshman basketball coach.
“So, I was introduced to them when I first got here back in the fall of ‘89,” Habegger said. “I came in as freshman basketball coach, and those guys were already staples here in our community and watching games.”
Habegger said one of his favorite memories of the men was during the 1989-90 school year when Clark and Ridgeway bought all the food for the basketball banquet after HSE won the Range Line Conference.
“They just were the definition of being true fans,” Habegger said. “They came and sat on the front row and they supported our kids. They traveled to most of the away games, and they were there in the front row as well. That’s how other athletic directors got to know who they were. They interacted with kids and would stop them as they walked by or ran by during warmups and talk to them.
“They’d talk to our coaches and support our coaches.”
All three men grew up in Fishers and attended HSE Schools. Clark died in December 2017 at age 94. Ridgeway died in August 2020 at age 86. Farr died in November 2021 at age 92.
Habegger said dozens of the men’s family members planned to attend the tribute during the game.
Clark’s daughter Cherie Bryant, a Fishers resident, said her dad always was an avid sports fan. Clark attended a one-room schoolhouse on the corner of 141st Street and Promise Road, and she grew up hearing stories about how Clark and his sister played softball behind the school building. Clark eventually played basketball for the original Fishers High School and graduated in 1941.
Bryant said her father was interested in all games. He attended all high school sports, from volleyball to football, for boys and girls sports.
“He went to all the tourneys,” she said. “If Southeastern didn’t have a game, Dad would go to a Noblesville game. He’d go to Westfield, he’d go to Carmel, he’d go to Sheridan. He’d find a game somewhere to go to. He wasn’t going to sit home on a Friday or Saturday night.”
Bryant said her father, who often attended games with Farr and Ridgeway, enjoyed introducing himself to a referee, coach or player.
“Those three never met a referee or a coach that they didn’t introduce themselves to, even at away games,” she said. “They just were that type of people. They could appreciate athletes from other school districts. They always sat in same place, and they’d always encourage even opposing team players.”
Ridgeway’s daughter, Debbie Gibbs, said she and her family attended sporting events throughout her life.
“Even as a little girl, we were going to Cincinnati Reds games,” she said.
Gibbs’ brother, David Ridgeway, had muscular dystrophy. She said her father was dedicated to taking him to games.
Ridgeway graduated from FHS in 1953.
“He grew up with sports,” said Gibbs, who lives in Fortville.
Gibbs said the three men had a big impact on players.
“They looked forward to seeing the players and were very supportive of them,” Gibbs said. “The girls basketball team were the ones that first named them the Three Wiseman.”
Farr’s daughter, Jo Ellen Canada, said her father also attended sports games for as long as she can remember.
“I mean, like, forever,” she said.
Farr played basketball at FHS and graduated in 1947.
Canada and her brother David Farr said the teams often would invite the men to their banquets.
“One of the biggest highlights my dad had at the end of each season was they would a have banquet or awards ceremony for the team. He thought it was such a big deal they would invite him to that,” David Farr said. “They would usually give him some kind of basket full of hats or shirts that were Southeastern or Fishers. So, that was a big deal for him to be included.”
Farr began liver cancer treatment in the fall of 2021.
“When I was making his appointments, at the end of his first session, he said, ‘Don’t make them on a Friday because I have to go to games,’” Canada said. “He had planned on going to games, but the girls or boys (basketball games) hadn’t started yet at that time. (All three men) were truly interested in the kids and the parents. It was just a huge part of his life.”
The Mudsock Trophy
In 2007, after the new Fishers High School was built, the Clarks sponsored the Mudsock Trophy.
“When Fishers High School opened in 2007, the athletic directors got together and had this idea about this competition between the two high schools,” HSE High School Athletic Director Greg Habegger said. “We could no more than get the idea out of our mouths talking to Dub Clark before he said he and his family would foot the bill.”
The Mudsock tournaments involve 19 individual combined boys and girls sports. Each team wins a plaque if they win against the opposing school. The Mudsock Trophy is a large bronze trophy that is awarded to the high school that wins the most games throughout the year. The Mudsock Trophy is a traveling award that is housed this year at HSE.