Charles Ash, known as Red, was an Ohio Republican Party

Ohio Republican Party

The Ohio Republican Party is the Ohio state affiliate of the United States Republican Party. It was founded in Columbus, Ohio on February 13, 1854. Kevin DeWine has been chairman of the Ohio GOP since 2009...

 politician and a member of the Ohio General Assembly

Ohio General Assembly

The Ohio General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio. It consists of the 99-member Ohio House of Representatives and the 33-member Ohio Senate...

. Ash became a well known local as the head basketball coach for Canton South High School

Canton South High School

Canton South High School is a public high school in Canton Township, Stark County, Ohio, United States. The school, typically enrolling around 800 students in the 9th, 10th, 11th, & 12th grades, is the only high school in the Canton Local School District. It is a member school of the former Stark...

 for almost forty years. However, after a knee injury prevented him from coaching, Ash entered politics. By the end of his tenure as coach, he had been the winningest coach in high school basketball history.

Ash decided to run against newly appointed Representative Robert Regula

Robert Regula

Robert Regula is an Ohio Democratic Party politician who formerly served in the Ohio General Assembly. As an employee of the Ohio Bell Telephone Company and a former township trustee, Regula was appointed to succeed Representative Irene Smart in 1978, who had won a judiciary position. Soon after...

in 1978, and won handily. He won reelection five times, and retired in 1990. A year later, he died, at the age of 75.