Former EC principal holds unique stat in Connersville

(CONNERSVILLE, Ind.) – A former East Central principal holds a unique statistic at a historic gym.

The Connersville Spartan Bowl was opened in 1958 and it has held numerous Sectionals and other big games.

The first Sectional was played in 1959 and Jim Helms competed there as a player for Springfield High School in Franklin County. 

Less than a decade later, Helms returned to the Connersville Spartan Bowl. This time as a coach in the 1968 Sectional for Whitewater High School. 

“This involved one of the most memorable games in the history of the Bowl as Whitewater beat Brookville by one point. It took quite a while to get the floor cleared afterward,” one historian said. 

Helms was also a longtime IHSAA referee and officiated games at the Spartan Bowl. 

He then returned to the Spartan Bowl in a fourth role, as the principal of East Central High School when the Trojans played Connersville.

Helms is believed to be the only person who has been to the historic Connersville gym as a player, coach, referee and principal.

Outside of basketball, Helms spent 51 years in education including more than three decades as East Central’s principal. He also served as Ivy Tech Southeast Chancellor from 2001 to 2014.

Springfield had just 67 students in 1959 and one of Helms classmates, Larry Myers would go on to be the P.A. announcer at the Spartan Bowl for 35 years.