Edgewood's sports success

Fred Milverstedt devotes his Playing the Game column to the glory days of Edgewood High School athletics. "Edgewood was an all-around power until the early '70s," he writes, noting 10 unbeaten football seasons and a combined 14 state titles in basketball, baseball, golf and hockey. Since then, Milverstedt reports, plummeting enrollment has left coaches scrambling to fill out their rosters. The school's president and former athletic director, Tom Shipley - who graduated from Edgewood in 1969 as a three-sport all-city athlete - is determined to boost enrollment and its athletic prowess, recruiting new coaches and staff. The strategy pays off: By the time Shipley leaves Edgewood for the private sector circa 2001, the school is again racking up state titles, including eight straight in girls' golf and, in 2009, baseball, boys' golf and girls' soccer.