Glenville High School football has won three state titles in the past four years, most recently with a victory over Shelby in the Division IV state championship Dec. 5. The Tarblooders also captured titles in 2022 and 2023.
The program’s dominant run began after Glenville moved to Division IV in 2020, following Ohio High School Athletic Association enrollment changes that reshuffled classifications.
But Ideastream Public Media commentator Terry Pluto says the story is deeper than championships for head coach Ted Ginn Sr., who just completed his 29th season leading the Tarblooders at age 70.
“To do it at 70, I'm 70," Pluto said. "I cannot imagine coaching a high school team anywhere at the age of 70."
Pluto said Ginn’s journey at Glenville reflects a lifetime of service to the school and the surrounding community.
“He went to Glenville (schools)," Pluto said. "He was a center on the football team. And then he worked as a janitor at Glenville and then he worked in security at Glenville. And then, he was a volunteer assistant on the team and a part-time assistant then became a head coach."
That commitment extended beyond football. In 2007, Ginn founded Ginn Academy, an all-boys public high school within the Cleveland Metropolitan School District.
“So, you don't do that if you're just about winning football or any of that stuff,” Pluto said. “He says, you know, 'it's a calling. It's my duty.'”
Pluto recalled a conversation with Ginn about his pancreatic cancer diagnosis in 2012.
“He said 'I'm in the 5%,'” Pluto said. “He said 'well, basically 5% means that's the rate of survival' of victims of pancreatic cancer after five years, and he's 13 years out. And he says 'God has given me a purpose.'"
Pluto said Ginn has long worked to challenge stereotypes about inner-city schools while serving as a father-figure presence for many of his players.
“He has 90 kids in the program," Pluto said. "He has a freshman team, a JV team, and a varsity. And a lot of the other city schools, really, they have a hard time getting 35 or 40 kids in football,” Pluto said.
Pluto says that allows Ginn to reach more kids.
“Kids after school sometimes right away get into trouble," Pluto said. "They just do, especially if there’s no parents around the home, they’re working or whatever. So this way, you go to school, you go to football practice. Then on top of that, you’ve got coaches yelling at you, 'now you gotta get your grades.' What it is, is, you’re keeping these kids busy.”
Pluto said Ginn’s impact can go a long way.
“Sometimes people roll their eyes when Ted Ginn says...'part of my mission is saving lives', and saving lives in terms of giving a different vision for their life,” Pluto said.
While Glenville has sent players to major programs like Ohio State, Pluto emphasizes that Ginn’s dedication is the same for every athlete.
“He also sends kids to Division III (and) Division II,” Pluto said. “He works just as hard on them to find them scholarships as he does the big time, as he would say, that's his calling.”
At 70-years-old and 29 years coaching, Pluto said Ginn remains deeply connected to his roots.
“He's a Glenville guy who still lives on the East side of Cleveland,” Pluto said. “And he's a guy that has done, I just say, incredible work at Glenville. If his health holds as it has, he's just going to keep coaching.”
