BILL LEIB – Accepted and recognized by many area sports buffs as the “sports photographer of Akron.” A pioneer in the business, Leib filmed sports events in the Akron area as well as around the nation for 50 years. For most of that time, he was the official cinematographer for Akron U. and many high schools. Leib has given unselfishly of his time and effort on behalf of sports, often contributing his services without compensation. Prior to taking up his filming career, Leib was an all-City Series gridder at Akron East High. Later, he played on several semipro football teams, including the Spicer Billiards, Gold Bonds, DeWitt Hall, Orient A. C., Welch A. C. and Madden Movers.

HAROLD WALSH – Walsh’s tie-in with sports encompassed 63 years and during that period, he made many invaluable contributions to the Summit County sports scene. Perhaps he is best known as the area’s premier “boxing expert.” And little wonder, since his connection with the pugilist sport began in 1921. Along with Charles (Chub) Kinney, Walsh put his native Barberton on the nation’s boxing map. From 1922 to 1927 in Barberton’s Old Opry House, Walsh promoted and managed many of the nation’s best fighters. Included among those fighters were Harry Krohn (“The best fighter I ever managed,” Walsh said), Willie Ames, Artie Root, Norm Genet, Tiger Flowers, Battling Gahee and Al Corbett among many others. He was the publicist for Gorilla Jones, Eddie Atlas and K. O. Christner, all members of the SCSHOF. Walsh managed fighters until 1932 but kept up with the sport as a writer with the Akron Beacon Journal, the Cleveland News and for 20 years with Ring Magazine before his death in 1984. Walsh also served on the SCSHOF committee for 22 years.

HARRY KIDDER – Athletic interests have spanned Harry Kidder’s lifetime, from the St. Paul Midgets to Akron South to Geneva College to coach and administrator. A 1941 graduate of Geneva, Kidder’s first job as basketball coach at Peninsula High was interrupted by World War II. After his discharge in 1946, he became St. Mary High’s first football coach. After 13 years, in which he coached every sport except tennis and helped get St. Mary’s stadium built, Kidder resigned. For the next eight years Kidder was faculty manager and a defensive football coach at Akron Garfield High. While at Garfield, he helped to organize the Rampa’s Booster Club. In 1975, Harry was inducted into the St. Vincent-St. Mary Crusaders Hall of Fame.

DR. WILLIAM J. MOORE – A lifetime resident of Summit County, Dr. Moore has contributed heavily to amateur baseball as an organizer and administrator for over 20 years. He helped organize the West Akron Baseball League, currently one of the largest sandlot organizations, and served as the league president in 1967 and 1968. He later became associated with Akron’s largest sandlot organization, the Greater Akron Baseball Federation, which serves youths eight to 18 years of age. In 1972 and again in 1973, Dr. Moore served as president of GABF and is presently on its board of directors. In his spare time, Dr. Moore, a graduate of Ohio State, is an extremely active Buckeye booster and recruiter and has helped many athletes receive college scholarships.

DON HALE AND JIMMY RICE – Like Astaire and Rogers, Abbott and Costello and Lewis and Martin, they were partners. They were together for 33 years and it was only fitting that Don Hale and Jimmy Rice be honored as a pair in 1980. Hale and Rice are to boxing in Akron what Eddie Elias is to bowling – it would not have been the same without them. Hale, a native of London, Ky., came to Akron at an early age. From 1927 to 1932, he boxed professionally under the name of Speedy Johnson. Rice came to Akron from his native Mount Pleasant, W. Va. at the age of nine. He started playing sandlot baseball at age 11, organized his own basketball team at 14 and began running the YMCA leagues while he was a freshman at Garfield High. Around 1940, Hale and Rice got together to form the Lewis Athletic Club, which later became the Hale-Rice AC. For 33 years, this duo trained both amateur and professional fighters at their gym at 1229 Firestone Boulevard. The busiest time of the year was Golden Gloves time. The Hale and Rice team had unbelievable success – winning the Open Division title all 33 years and the Novice Division title all but six of those years. Through the years, they turned out some of Akron’s finest amateur and professional fighters, including Ronnie Delaney, Frank Favaro, Eddie Crawford, Dave Matthews, Tap Harris, Gil King, Lyle Randoph, Dave Marsh and Doyle Baird. Boxing was not a job to Hale and Rice but a hobby. They spent their lifetime dedicated to youth. Through their joint efforts, many a boy took their violence off the streets and into the ring where it was controlled.

ROBERT WYLIE GATES – “How about that, sports fans?” “It’s a barn-burner!” One didn’t need to study the voice too long to identify it as belonging to WAKR radio sportscaster Bob Wylie. After 31 years of covering all aspects of sports in the Akron area, Wylie retired to Winnsboro, S.C. in 1979. If you are a bowler or a golfer, you’ve heard of or come in contact with Wylie somewhere along the way. It you are a high school football or basketball fan, you’ve heard Wylie. If you are an Akron U. basketball or football fan, you’ve heard Wylie. He launched his broadcasting career in Akron with radio station WJW in 1938 upon graduating from Ohio State. After serving as a U. S. Naval officer from 1943-46, Wylie broke back into radio with station WOL in Washington, D. C. However, he longed to return to the Akron area and his chance came in 1948 when he became sports director of WAKR where he remained until his retirement.

WALTER C. LIPPS - A descendent of the Sherbondy family which settled in Summit County in 1819, this Akron native spent most of his life working with the youth of the community. In his 28 years in the City of Akron Recreation Division (1944-71), he served the last 11 years as superintendent. Lipps served as director of Crippled Children Camp, boys’ work secretary of YMCA and as United Community Council’s recreational division director. He was also a SCSHOF charter committee member, an organization he served until his death in 1972. His dedication and devotion to sports were particularly noteworthy, considering that Mayor John S. Ballard named the Firestone Park Community Center Building in Lipps’ honor in November 1972.

EMERSON C. WOOLF - Parlaying his interest in athletics and his military experience, Woolf encouraged young men to take up rifle shooting. A native of Ft. Wayne, Ind., Woolf came to Ohio where he was a standout athlete at Mt. Union College, earning 11 varsity letters in football, basketball, baseball and track. While chairman of the board of the Akron Armory for 30 years, Woolf, who passed away at the age of 90 in 1978, began teaching rifle shooting and contributed much to the success enjoyed by Akron U’s rifle team over the years. During those 30 years at the Armory, he provided a haven for many sporting events, including high school and college basketball, amateur and professional boxing and professional wrestling.

WILLIAM B. AYLWARD – Aylward hails from Pittsburgh, Pa., but that has not deterred him from serving his adopted community. When it came to athletics, the Summit County CYO got the benefit of his time and efforts, serving in several capacities from a coach to its president. Since 1967, Aylward has served on the executive board and has chaired various committees, including several years as fund-raising chairman. He served as CYO president in 1976-77 and was inducted into the CYO Hall of Fame in 1978 as the “Guiding Light” of the CYO. Somehow, Aylward found time to found the Old Time Athletes Association in 1975. While serving as its president, he helped build the membership to 1,200 strong – a notable achievement.

CHARLES EBNER – A transplant from Albany, N.Y., Ebner moved to Barberton after being discharged from the U. S. Navy in 1952. He first got involved in sports as a Little League baseball coach for three years. He joined the Barberton All-Sports Booster Club in 1960 and has served as an officer for more than 10 years and as its president for four years. In addition, Ebner was the guiding force in the founding of the Barberton Sports Hall of Fame. As president of that group, he has staged many successful banquets with Glenn (Bo) Schembechler, John Mackovic and Woody Hayes as guest speakers.

JERRY HOLUB – If there is an organization in Summit County that promotes athletics, you can almost bet Jerome (Jerry) Holub is a member. Holub, an attorney since 1951, is a charter member of the Akron Dapper Dan Club, serving on its executive board since 1959 and as its president in 1965. This life-long Akron resident is co-founder of the Akron Jewish Sports Hall of Fame and a member of its selection committee since the group’s inception in 1971. He has been an executive board member of the Greater Akron Touchdown Club since 1964. Holub has also served as golf chairman of the Akron Bar Association for nine years, and has been a member of the SCSHOF executive committee since 1980. Somehow, Holub also found time to become a member of the Old Time Athletes Association and the Barberton Sports Hall of Fame Association. In 1990, Holub was inducted into the Akron Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.

ALEX SEMEGEN – He was probably best known as the partner of r4adio’s Bob Wylie on Akron U. football and basketball broadcasts. Semegen worked as Wylie’s color commentator and statistician for 20 years, from 1946-65. Semegen also did public relations work for the Akron Clippers, a minor league hockey team, Ascot Thoroughbred Race Park and Northfield Harness Race Track. He managed area softball and golf leagues, worked as sports director for WSLR radio and as a part-time sports writer for the Akron Beacon Journal and Cleveland Plain Dealer. In 1980, he retired as wire and television editor of the Kent-Ravenna Record Courier. Semegen was also president of the Akron chapter of the Old Time Athletes Association and a member of the SCSHOF executive committee prior to his death in 1987.

HERM ZIROULO – In the early 1950s a friend, Jim Whitmire, asked Ziroulo to assist him in running the East Akron YMCA softball and basketball programs. When Whitmire left to go into teaching, Ziroulo took over as league director in both sports and was involved with YMCA athletic programs for over 30 years. In addition to his duties with the YMCA, Ziroulo has been one of the most active baseball and softball umpires in the area. He has umpired for more than 30 years, calling the national baseball tournament in Battle Creek, Mich. for 15 years and the state fast-pitch softball tournament in Parma for 10 years. He has also officiated in the National Slow-Pitch Tournament in Parma. In addition, Ziroulo served as president of the Akron Basketball Officials, the Eastern Ohio Basketball Officials and the Summit Umpire Association.

CLYDE (BUD) MORRIS – He designed the original logo for the SCSHOF back in 1957, but that’s not the only reason Morris is the recipient of the Palich award. For over two decades, Morris has contributed sketches of SCSHOF inductees, Akron U. and Kent State athletic personnel and an untold number of other Akron area sports personalities. For 29 years, this native of Reagan, Texas entertained us with a weekly Sunday Akron Beacon Journal cartoon strip called “Jest Sports.” In addition, his annual cartoons of UA’s Acme-Zip Football Game were an awarded event. Morris learned his trade at Texas Tech and after serving three years in World War II, graduated from the University of Texas. He came to the Beacon Journal in 1951 as an editorial artist and became is chief artist in 1978 before his retirement in 1984.

EDWARD OSTERVICH – Early in life, Ostervich began spending time at East Akron YMCA and always stated with certainty that this experience was the chief influence that got him into athletics. Born in 1910 in Harrisburg, Pa., Ostervich came to Akron in 1920. He earned all-City Series honors as a halfback at East High before becoming a recreation supervisor for the Works Progress Administration, a federal government agency. In 1935, Ostervich initiated the Silver Gloves Boxing Tournament and winter sports at the Akron airport. Meanwhile, he went to Kent State where he earned a degree in 1939 and began a teaching career in the Akron Public School system that lasted until his retirement in 1976. During this time he coached various sports, authored over 30 games for children and along with Bud Lundstrom, Rick Lamp and the Akron Optimist Club started a T-Ball program in 1958 for youngsters on Akron playgrounds that is still going strong. Ostervich passed away in 1989.

E. A. (BUD) FISHER – While attending Kent State, Fisher organized the National Industrial Basketball League’s publicity bureau. He also worked in publicity jobs for the Ohio-Indiana Hockey League, the Akron Bears semi-professional football team, and the Cleveland Browns. He has worked as a Beacon Journal police reporter, a radio news director and public address announcer for the All-American Soap Box Derby. But Fisher is most closely associated with pro bowling as he joined Eddie Elias in the fledgling Professional Bowlers Association as its public relations director in 1962. In that position, Fisher helped the PBA gain national prominence as well as making Akron the center of pro bowling. Fisher was inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame in 1984.

JOE SPOONSTER – It was only natural that the late Joe Spoonster combined his two passions – playing golf and helping the handicapped. Spoonster founded the Vocational Development Center in Akron, a center for training and placing handicapped workers, in 1964. Among other things, the center made the paddle-like Quiet Please signs used in many professional golf tournaments. Spoonster also taught golf to the blind and organized tournaments for amputees. But he may be best known for creating the Chili Open, a golf tournament played on ice that has brought national recognition to the area. In 1986, the Akron Dapper Dan Club presented Spoonster with the first Bill Schlemmer Award for meritorious service to area athletics.

WILLIAM DIES – Before his death in 1987 at age 64, Dies had been heavily involved with the Ohio Youth Wrestling Association, high school wrestling, CYO boxing and basketball, Hot Stove League baseball and the Boy Scouts. Dies was co-organizer of the OYWA with long-time friend Dr. James Felix. The organization, which was started in 1979, involved more than 600 wrestlers from the fourth through the sixth grades. “He was unique,” Felix said. “Bill’s hobby was people. After he was through with this work, he went out of his way to help people. I’ve never seen anybody quite like him, nor do I ever expect to again.”

JERRY MURPHY – Murphy was an accomplished bowler himself, recording a single-game high of 259 and a 3-game series best of 669. But it was the accomplishments of other bowlers that pleased him most. “My biggest thrill is seeing the juniors I’ve worked with, such as Vicki Smith and Kathy McClanning, go on the Women’s Professional Bowling Tour and do so well,” Murphy said. Murphy has developed thousands of junior bowlers in almost 30 years. He started his first junior bowling league in 1960. In 1965, he helped organize the Ohio State Junior Bowling Association, serving as its first president. He also managed the state junior bowling tournament three times. In 1975, he was named a field representative with the American Junior Bowling Congress, serving in the position for 12 years.

ROGER G. BERK SR. – During four decades of Berk’s involvement, radio station WAKR became the voice of sports in the area. The station originated broadcasts of UA football and basketball games as well as a variety of high school sports. WAKR also brought local fans season-long coverage of the Cleveland Browns, the Cleveland Indians, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Cleveland Force. Berk has been with WAKR, founded by his father the late S. Bernard Berk in 1940, “literally from the ground up,” he said, digging post holes for the station’s antenna tower. Berk has been involved in numerous community activities. He was chairman of the Acme-Zip Football Game and in 1984 was inducted into the Akron Radio Hall of Fame.

RICHARD KOTIS – As president of the Fred Arbogast Co., a leading manufacturer of tackle and lures based in Akron, Kotis makes a living from fishing. Yet he also has devoted countless hours to pass along the joys of his sport to others. Kotis originated the concept of fishing clinics directed primarily at children. He has been honored by the Boy Scouts of America for his work with local troops and national and international encampments. He also has conducted numerous seminars on fishing. The Pennsylvania Outdoor Writers Association honored Kotis for his service in helping writers produce authoritative articles on fishing. He has served his sport in a variety of volunteer positions, including as president of the American League of Anglers, director of the Sport Fishing Institute and member of the board of the Fish Ohio Committee.

ROBERT COLE – You don’t think the band can make a difference at a football game? “I don’t know what tune it is that gets the team and the whole Garfield crowd so pepped up,” an opposing coach once commented. “I can’t concentrate on defensing your plays.” Cole was the band director at Akron Garfield High from 1941-64. He always felt his band was an integral part of the athletic program. “There was a wonderful relationship with the band, the football coach and team, and the student body over all those years,” Cole said. “When the team returned (from a game at the Rubber Bowl), the band stayed at school to form a double line and played and cheered as the team went up the drive and into the locker room.” During one memorable City Series playoff game, the band played “Christopher Columbus” over and over during an 85-yard touchdown drive late in the game that gave Garfield a come-from-behind victory. Maybe the band can make a difference after all.

CHARLES (BUD) KRAMPE – Perhaps Tom Melody, sports columnist of the Akron Beacon Journal, summed it up best on April 21, 1986, when he wrote: “Krampe gave until other felt great.” Krampe started out repairing bicycles for the old Buckeye Cycle Co. and ended up owning his own sporting goods store, All-Ohio Athletic Equipment Inc. on East Mill street in downtown Akron. “He loved athletes, he loved athletics,” said his son Tom, who now runs All-Ohio after Bud passed away in 1986 at age 68. Over the years, Bud was a friend to many teams, their coaches and the players, and gave generous business deals so they could be properly outfitted to compete. “He did so much for the Urban League,” said Don Clark, the all-American gridder from Ohio State. “He’d see to it that the prices were right – and if there wasn’t any money for uniforms, he would see to it that the kids had uniforms, anyway. He liked kids, he liked to make them feel good.” 

JIM WHITMIRE – Jim Whitmire was best known for his leisure time activities, which were chock full of coaching, officiating and working with various athletic groups. During his 30-year career, this Akron native was involved in some capacity or another with softball, baseball, football, soccer, basketball, track and field, wrestling, cross country, swimming and volleyball. Whitmire was founder of the Akron Soccer Officials Association, and served as president of Summit Umpires Association, the Akron Coaches Association and the Varsity ‘A’ Association at his alma mater, University of Akron. Whitmire was probably best known for his officiating of basketball, which he did with flair. “One of the biggest things in officiating is you must have an even temperament and you have to remain calm, collected and smile,” Whitmire once said. That was Jim Whitmire, always a smile, and always a funny story to tell – sometimes at his own expense. Unfortunately, Whitmire’s life was cut short at the age of 56 in March 1986, after a short illness.

BRUCE BUCHHOLZER – After Chevrolet dropped its sponsorship of the All-American Soap Box Derby in 1973, Buchholzer was one of the men with the Akron Jaycees who came to the rescue. He served as president of the reorganized Derby committee in 1974 and general chairman in 1975. He has served on the executive committee ever since. Buchholzer has been on the SCSHOF executive committee since 1964, serving as general chairman twice. He is a past commissioner of the Eastern District of Boy Scouts of America and a charter member of the East Akron YMCA management committee. He has also served on the East Akron Board of Trade for 41 years and the Akron Board of Trade Council for 36 years.

WILLIAM FALOR – Falor co-founded the Akron chapter of the Dapper Dan Club in 1959, serving as its president for the first three years. He was a member of the Akron Touchdown Club for 31 years, worked with the Northeast Ohio Bantamweight Football Association for 12 years and for the past 25 years as published the Summit County Historical Calendar. He also played four years of basketball at AU in the 1940s and later coached in the Akron Class A League and with the YMCA.

JOE ANTENORA – At his office in Akron, base for the 3,000-plus membership, “the commish,” as he was known prior to his retirement in 1991 from the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA), began each day having coffee with his office staff. Antenora’s “steady rudder” approach to administering the PBA characterizes the style of the organization; capable, committed and consistent. Born in Sandyville, Ohio, just south of Canton, Antenora enrolled in Kent State, where he graduated with a journalism degree. In 1962, he went to work for SCSHOFer Eddie Elias, who founded the PBA in 1958. Antenora joined the PBA in 1965 as director of operations and was named executive secretary in 1970. Two years later, he was placed in complete operational charge of the PBA but his title of Commissioner, the first ever for the PBA, was not awarded until 1977. Under Antenora’s tenure the PBA has shown stability and growth. In the last 16 years, the prize structure has grown from $2.2 million to over $6.5 million.

KEN MACDONALD - As the Beacon Journal wrote upon his retirement in December 1989, “Ken MacDonald not only has been synonymous with University of Akron athletics for almost three decades, but also has been its most ardent fan.” Most people know MacDonald as the long-time director of sports information at UA. However, his love of sports has been far more reaching than just in his former vocation. From 1973 until 1981, MacDonald served as secretary-treasurer of the Greater Akron AA Baseball League. He quickly moved to a similar position with the Greater Akron Baseball Federation, the Akron area’s largest sandlot organization, until 1987. In between, MacDonald found time to serve the Summit Umpires Association as business manager for summer baseball from 1980 through 1984. As a member of the Akron Optimist Club, MacDonald has worked with the T-Ball program and for the past 14 years with the Junior World of Golf Tournament. Unbiased, MacDonald also worked with the Ohio Senior Olympics for five years in the early 1980s. He has served on the UA Sports Hall of Fame committee since its inception in 1975, and since 1976 has been on the SCSHOF committee. In 1991, MacDonald was president of the Akron Dapper Dan Club, which raises funds for charitable work among boys and girls.

TOM PHILLIPS – Some say that winning wasn’t everything with Tom Phillips. He doesn’t argue that point. “It seemed to me,” Phillips once said about his coaching career, “that if you couldn’t teach anything other than blocking and tackling, you were wasting your time.” Indeed, Phillips always tried to teach those who played football for him at Struthers and Barberton high schools and at Kent State about values beyond the six points awarded for a touchdown. He founded a Fellowship of Christian Athlete’s chapter at Barberton, and helped do the same thing at Kent State. He has been involved with the FCA for more than 30 years at the local, state and national levels. Phillips coached at Struthers and Barberton from 1947 until becoming an assistant coach at Kent State in 1969. He served at Kent as assistant football coach, director of ticket sales, assistant athletic director and business manager until 1980. He later worked at Southern Methodist University, the University of Wyoming, and UA. He has directed numerous football clinics, OHSAA tournaments, set up NCAA basketball tournaments in Wyoming and Texas, and directed the ticket lottery for the 1985 NCAA Final Four.

LORRAINE (RAINY) STITZLEIN – Her bio lists her as a businesswoman and house wife, but her busy career since she graduated from UA in 1948 hasn’t left Rainy Stitzlein much time to stay at home. She is a fashion expert and businesswoman, the first woman named as an honorary member of Beta Gamma Sigma Kappa of Ohio, a national organization for business administration. She is a community activist, involved in many local and national charities. She is a member of the UA Board of Trustees. But in the sports world, Stitzlein is best known for her contribution to the Professional Bowlers Association. In fact, she’s referred to as the First Lady of the PBA. She joined Eddie Elias Enterprises in 1958 and helped Elias found the PBA that year as the business secretary, organizing the staff and handling the finances. But she was more than that. If Elias was the father of the PBA, Stitzlein was the “mother, midwife, nurse, aunt, cousin and hostess,” a sports writer once wrote. She continues to serve as executive vice president of Elias Enterprises. In 1978, she was named Lifetime Honorary Member of the PBA. In 1980, she was inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame for meritorious service. She is the only woman ever named to any men’s professional sports hall of fame.

RUDY DIDONATO – It is said that blue and gold runs in his blood. Rudy has been associated with UA since 1952 when he was a freshman and, in some way or another, he has been active with his alma mater for over 40 years. In 1981, after retiring from his nighttime job at Firestone Tire and Rubber Co., Rudy joined the Varsity ‘A’ Association. Since then, DiDonato has made scholarship, fund-raising and merchandising his pet projects. He has been involved in the formation of four scholarship funds, all of which will continue helping needy male and female students for years to come. One of those funds, the DiDonato Scholarship, was established with the help of his mother Beatrice, sisters Mary and the late Joanne, brothers Tony, Bob and Eugene, and Firestone Tire and Rubber Co. For the past eight years, he has chaired the Varsity ‘A’ Reverse Raffle that has produced more than $35,000. He was instrumental in setting up Porky’s Place at the Rubber Bowl and James Rhodes Arena for the sale of UA sportswear and souvenirs. DiDonato was co-chairman of the “Welcome to the MAC” banquet in honor of UA joining the Mid-American Conference in 1992. In addition, DiDonato is actively involved in UA’s Business Advisory Council and the Zip Athletic Club. In early 1993, DiDonato was honored with the Meritorious Service Award at the Varsity ‘A’ Sports Hall of Fame banquet.

ARDEN B. CRAPO – As a young boy, Arden Crapo was introduced to gymnastics at Seiberling School and then honed those newly acquired skills at the Akron Turner Club. It became a lifelong love. For over 40 years, this transplant from Pontiac, Mich. was a volunteer coach and teacher of gymnasts for the YMCA and several other organizations. Crapo loved the sport and believed in it as a way of keeping a healthy body and an alert mind. In addition, Crapo was the guiding spirit behind the development of the Akron Junior Olympics and helped to sponsor Lake Erie Amateur Athletic Union gymnastics and swimming meets. He was somewhat of a pioneer in using motion picture film as a training toll. “The children got a chance to see themselves at work,” said the 82-year-old Crapo. “It added to their appreciation and helped them correct their mistakes.” Crapo attended the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo and the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, where he was a roving fixture with camera in hand and an alert eye for important events. From these self-financed trips, Crapo compiled a library of motion picture films that he used in his teaching and coaching, and in the cause of raising funds locally to support the U. S. Olympic team over the years.

DR. ROBERT R. ROBERTS – Dr. Roberts was always “on call” for high school athletes. In fact, Dr. Roberts made the “call” himself. Many times, when Dr. Roberts was just a spectator at a high school game, instead of heading for the concession stand at halftime he would drop into the locker rooms, just to see if he could help with an injured player. That was in addition to his 30 years of service as team physician for the St. Vincent-St. Mary High team. Not only did Dr. Roberts attend all home and away games, he also administered all player physicals and tended almost every injury imaginable. Moreover, he performed his services at no cost to the school, the players or their families. Before joining on at St. V-M, Dr. Roberts was the team physician for Kenmore High and also served as the Kenmore PeeWee team and the Central High Wildcats. He also played a big role in the development, building and funding of the Kenmore High football stadium. In 1993, Dr. Roberts was honored by the Ohio High School Athletic Association for his contributions, and in 1992 received a similar citation from the Ohio State Medical Association.

DR. NORMAN P. AUBURN – Perhaps his belief that “athletics serves a dual purpose – the developing of a healthy body while developing a sound mind” gives hint to the interest he paid the athletic program during his 20 years as UA president. That interest paid off in action by Dr. Auburn during the years 1951-71. One of the first moves as president was to begin studies to build a physical education building. The result was Memorial Hall (1954) which brought UA basketball back on campus after playing in such places as Goodyear Gym, Perkins Gym and the Akron Armory. He allowed Stu Parry to talk him into starting a soccer program that has grown into a national power. Could it be that Dr. Auburn was influenced by the fact that he lettered in collegiate soccer at the University of Cincinnati? Without question, Dr. Auburn helped save Zip football from extinction when he, Kenneth (Red) Cochrane, Ben Maidenburg and Fred Prockrandt were co-founders of the Acme-Zip Football Game in 1954. When Acme-Zip celebrated its 42^nd anniversary in 1995, it was the oldest promotion of its kind in the nation. The 1967 development of Lee Jackson Field not only gave UA a “campus atmosphere,”  it included athletic facilities for track, tennis, baseball and soccer. Dr. Auburn was also responsible for the upgrading of UA’s Marching Band and helping acquire the Rubber Bowl (1971). It was not only the big things but the little ones as well – from throwing out the first pitch at the annual home baseball opener, his pep talks to the football and basketball teams as well as his religious attendance at both. In short, during Dr. Auburn’s 20 years as president, he paved the way for UA becoming a NCAA Division I program, which occurred in 1988. In February 1988, Dr. Auburn was presented the Meritorious Service Award at the UA Sports Hall of Fame banquet. At the 1995 SCSHOF banquet at the age of 90, Dr. Auburn became the oldest Palich Award recipient.

HARRIET PARKER THOMPSON – One of the pioneering coaches and promoters of girls’ athletics in the Akron Public School System, Thompson started swimming and basketball programs for girls at Akron East High in the early 1930s. Her East High swim team participated in Amateur Athletic Union events in the area. One of her prized students was SCSHOF swimmer Rhea Barry. Thompson was instrumental in forming the East High Girls Athletic Club which organized numerous sports activities at East High and away from it. Those who received sufficient points for participating earned an East High athletic letter. For many years, Thompson coached swimming and taught life saving at the Akron YMCA, Munroe Falls Park and in Tallmadge while also giving swimming lessons at Silver Lake. Thompson and her husband Walter built a recreation complex at their Tallmadge residence, which served neighborhood children and their parents from 1951 to 1965. The area featured an official softball field and horseshoe court as well as areas for badminton and croquet. The softball diamond served as the practice field for the Tallmadge Twins softball team that ranked high in state competition. Mrs. Thompson, a UA graduate, died June 29, 1995 at the age of 89.       

RON TEDESCHI - Ron Tedeschi has been called The World’s Greatest Sorts Fan. His support of Northeast Ohio’s professional, collegiate and high school teams is legendary, along with his rabid enthusiasm for Ohio State and Notre Dame. He founded the Akron Browns Backers, perhaps the largest club of its kind in the country. Yet, for every bit of pleasure Tedeschi has derived from sports, he has tried to give something back. Take the Browns Backers Club - through its annual banquets, the club has raised more than $100,000 for Akron’s Interval Brotherhood Home. The club’s donations were largely responsible for a new multipurpose building that was erected at the drug and alcohol rehabilitation center in 1992. A long-time businessman in the formal wear industry, Tedeschi was always ready to donate the use of tuxedos by a high school coach or team, advertise in local sports programs and purchase or sell tickets for fundraisers. He often used his unmatched connections with sports teams to obtain memorabilla and equipment items that could be used at charity auctions and as prizes at fund-raising bowling and golf events, or donates his own tickets or souvenirs. The World’s Greatest Sports Fane? Perhaps a more suitable title for Ron Tedeschi would be the World’s Most Generous Sports Fan.