Danbury will honor 2021 athletic hall of fame class on Jan. 22

DANBURY TWP. — Danbury High School will induct one former coach, a former standout athlete and two teams into its athletic hall of fame later this month. Among the Class of 2021 inductees who will be honored on January 22 at the Lakers' boys basketball game against Plymouth will be Ron Ray, Chuck Ihnat, the 1964-65 boys basketball team and the 1982 boys track & field team. "This is one of the great things you get to do to bring people together," said Danbury athletic director Keith Mora, who is a member of the hall of fame committee. "Seeing their reaction to be honored is really cool." Ron Ray was the Danbury boys basketball coach from 1963-68 and compiled a 68-27 record with four league championships. Mora said that Ray plans to attend the ceremony. Three of Ray's five Danbury teams finished in the top 20 of the AP rankings. The Lakers' 1964-65 team went 17-2 and finished No. 3 in the state. Ray also was an assistant football coach from 1963-66 (the '63 team won the Lakeshore Championship) and coached track from 1964-68. Charlie "Chuck" Ihnat was an All-Ohio honorable mention pick in football in 1963, when there were fewer classes and fewer players honored on all-state teams. He also was a first-team all-conference pick as a quarterback and linebacker. The 1965 Danbury graduate also was a standout in basketball, finishing his career with 995 points, which was a school record at the time. Inhalt also was a three-year letter winner in track & field and earned one letter in baseball. The 1964-65 boys basketball team coached by Ray and led by Ihnat also will be inducted into Danbury's athletic hall of fame. Mora said one of the players plans to travel from Florida. The Lakers won 17 games that season, a school record at the time, and were ranked No. 3 in the state. The boys 1982 track team won district and regional team championships and placed second in the Lakeshore Conference and won the Toledo Blade Relays. The Lakers finished 9-0 in duals. Danbury's athletic hall of fame was founded in 2015. This will be the sixth class honored. There was no 2020 class due to the coronavirus.