Carla Chapman takes her rightful place as the first female in the rafters at St. Vincent-St. Mary

AKRON, Ohio – LeBron James. Jerome Lane. Curtis Wilson. Carla Chapman.

Those are the four jerseys now hanging in the rafters at St. Vincent-St. Mary after Chapman’s No. 34 jersey was retired in a ceremony Monday night during halftime of STVM’s girls basketball’s 81-25 win over Villa Angela-St. Joseph.

Chapman, who graduated in 1981, is the first female to have her jersey retired by STVM in any sport. The importance of the moment was not lost on current STVM girls basketball head coach Carley Whitney.

“To me, this is monumental in St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, period,” Whitney said. “I'm not going to say women's sports at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School. I'm going to say St. Vincent, St. Mary, period.”

For Whitney, a banner hanging in the gym with Chapman’s name gives her players something they can look at and set a goal to one day be up there next to Chapman.

“I think it is extremely important to have a threshold of greatness that is visible,” Whitney said. “These girls can look up in the rafters and see somebody that looks like them. And historically, if you talk to kids and you ask them who their favorite athlete is, most of the time it's male because that's what they know and that's what they see and that's visible.

“And to have a role model who will be hanging in our rafters for eternity, where girls can come here every day at practice, at assemblies, whatever, and look up and say that is Carla Chapman. She's a female basketball player. And that is something I can strive for because it's attainable, because I'm a girl too.”

Chapman, who has often come back to talk to Whitney’s teams, also felt that way and thinks having her name in the rafters will make those future visits just a little different.

“It’s going to feel much different than it has because I have talked to her teams a couple of times,” Chapman said. “I want to be an inspiration. I want young girls to see themselves in me. I want them to see that this is something that they too can achieve. I think the best way to do that is to be up close and personal with someone that makes it real.”

Chapman helped lead the Fighting Irish to back-to-back Ohio AAA state championships in 1979 and 1980, scoring more than 1,000 points in her career. In her senior season, she was named a Parade Magazine All-American when she averaged 25 points and 20 rebounds per game.

She continued her basketball career playing at The Ohio State University for Hall of Fame coach Tara Van Derveer. In her four years at Ohio State from 1982 through '85, the Buckeyes went 93-22, won four Big Ten championships and reached the NCAA East Regional final in 1985. She finished with 1,247 points and 633 rebounds and was named first-team All-Big Ten in 1984.

Even though Chapman was inducted into the St. Vincent-St. Mary Athletic Hall of Fame in 1999 and the Summit County Sports Hall of Fame in 2000, it still took until 2023 for her to have her number retired.

But the 60-year-old was just as happy to have the moment happen on Monday as she would have been had it happened years ago.

“It is probably as meaningful today as it would have been 35-40 years ago,” Chapman said. “It is an extreme honor. Everyone wants to be a trailblazer at something. I just happened to get an award for something that I have always felt was a platform for me. It was all about me getting to college. That’s really all I wanted. I didn’t know I would accomplish what we were able to accomplish.”

Before the ceremony, Chapman wasn’t sure how she would feel when she first saw her name up next to the likes of James, Lane and Wilson.

“I think I need to see it to have it really hit home,” Chapman said. “I’m in good company. I couldn’t be more honored. I’m not even sure I see myself that way. That’s special.”

After Chapman addressed the crowd at halftime, members of her family stood at the top of the stands and unveiled the number. Chapman was overcome with emotion, as she cupped her hands over her mouth and was surrounded by teammates from her high school days as the crowd chanted "Carla, Carla, Carla!"

If Chapman has her way, she will be the first - but certainly not the last - female to get that feeling at STVM.

“Being the first, it really means everything,” Chapman said. “In fact, that was my reason for even accepting the honor is that there was a commitment that this wouldn’t be the only time.”