High school football venue to be renamed for longtime coach

Posted on July 22, 2021

*Unit 5 says any costs for the change will come from private donations. (WJBC file photo)*

NORMAL – Normal Community High School is honoring a longtime coach by naming the football field after him.

The Unit 5 School Board Wednesday night approved renaming the venue Dick Tharp Field, paying tribute to the Ironmen’s head coach from 1968 to 1988.

Tharp’s 158 wins is the most in school history. During that time, Tharp guided the Ironmen to eight playoff appearances. In 1974, his team was the Class 4A runner-up in the Illinois High School Association playoffs.

Unit 5 says any costs for the change will come from private donations. Current plans call for the renaming to occur during the football season this fall.

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