GREENVILLE – This is homecoming week for Greenville Senior High School and the annual parade will take place on Thursday beginning at 6 p.m. in downtown Greenville and travel North Broadway to Harmon Drive to the football field. This year’s parade marshal is Ty House, a 1974 graduate of Greenville Senior High.
House has been a long supporter of all things Greenville and admits to bleeding green and white. He, along with Alex Warner, has been providing play-by-play for men’s and women’s basketball and will start his 24th season in November and is currently in his 12th season of providing coverage for Green Wave football. All of the home games can be seen via tape delay on GPAT, WAVE Channel 5 if you have Spectrum Cable.
“I couldn’t be any more humbled or any more honored,” House said of being chosen. He thanked the student council for his selection.
House was a member of the Greenville undefeated football team in the early 1970’s. However, he never really got on the field. He explained he played football his sophomore year and was “fodder” for the upper classmen who started those games. He was noticed by Cross Country Coach Alex Warner as he ran around the track and switched to cross country his junior and senior years. He also played baseball for the Green Wave.
Since moving “home” from stints in Indiana, Rhode Island and Delaware, House has been a huge supporter of the school system and the town. “We raised our family here and had a chance to come home,” he said. The Ohio State University graduate worked in logistics and warehousing and moved away from the area when he worked in South Bend, Ind., Providence, RI, and Dover, Del., but he and his wife, Lita, knew they wanted to come back to Greenville because of family and friends. A job opened up in the area and they have been here since. House is now retired. He and Lita have two children, Emily and Nick, and four grandchildren.
House praised the school system, Greenville students and the community. He pointed to the number of graduates that have gone on to have successful careers and lives. House believes it is because of the admirable job the school system does in educating students. Not only is education a factor, but he also believes the opportunities students have with extra-curricular activities helps them become leaders. The community support also plays a factor. He noted the stands are full for home games and the community travels well to away games and in some cases outnumber the home team.
How is the current varsity football team doing? “If you would have told any fan that Greenville was going to win four or five games this year, they would have been happy. This team could win six or seven games,” he said. He’s also excited to see how the defense is performing. He doesn’t believe Greenville has had a defense this good since Coach Horvath was coaching. “We are 4-2 now,” House said. With a wink, he added, “We’ll be 5-2 after Friday.”
