Chuck Kyle

Induction Year : 2013

Sport: Football

Chuck Kyle of St. Ignatius is universally acclaimed as the greatest high school football coach in Ohio history.
Since graduating from John Carroll University as an English major in 1973, he has held one job — English teacher and football and track coach at his high school alma mater.

After 10 years as an assistant he was elevated to head coach in 1983 and in 30 seasons his teams have compiled an astonishing record of 301 victories, 69 losses and one tie. His Wildcats have captured 11 state championships and have been awarded three mythical national championships in 1989, 1993 and 1995. They have qualified for the state football playoffs 24 of the last 25 years and along the way posted winning streaks of 39 games and 38 games.

The 62-year-old Kyle has collected innumerable personal awards. He was the Nike National Coach of the Year in 2001 and the Schutt National Coach of the Year in 2008. He has been Ohio coach of the year four times.

Chuck served as a head coach in the 1989 Cuyahoga County East-West all-star game and in the 1994 “Big 33 Game” matching all-star teams from Ohio and Pennsylvania. In 2009 he was head coach of the United States team that won the world junior championship.

He is revered as an English teacher. In addition to sophomore English, he teaches Chaucer and Shakespeare as a senior elective. By the way, he still coaches the track team.

Chuck and his wife, Patricia, who teaches art at St. Ignatius, raised three daughters and one son. They live in Westlake.

Ted Ginn, Sr.

Induction Year : 2013

Sport: Football

Ted Ginn, Sr. has been described as an evangelist and a Pied Piper because he re-wrote the game plan for high school football in Cleveland.

Ted spent his early years in Franklinton, Louisiana, where his grandparents instilled in him rigid Christian values. He moved to Cleveland for his high school years at Glenville, playing center and linebacker on the Tarblooders football team of the 1970s.

After graduating, he returned to Glenville as a volunteer assistant football coach and full-time uniformed security guard. He would patrol the hallways in his blue-gray officer’s uniform during the school day and change into his coaching togs after school.

After 10 years as an unpaid assistant coach, he actually went on the coaching payroll in 1986. He succeeded James Hubbard as head coach in 1997 and before long earned national attention for the Glenville football program.
In 1999 Glenville became the first Cleveland public school to qualify for the state football playoffs and the Tarblooders went on to the playoffs 11 times in 12 years from 1999 to 2010. Glenville was state runnerup in 2009.

Glenville also has won every Senate football championship since Ted took over in 1997 and has not lost a conference game in his century.

More than 50 of his athletes have been awarded full college scholarships, including his son, Ted Jr. at Ohio State and Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith, also at Ohio State. Several of his players went on play pro football in the NFL.
He also coached the Glenville track team to five straight state championships.

Ted has battled cancer for the last two years and did not coach last year, but he has returned to the sidelines this season.

In 2007 the Cleveland Municipal School District created Ginn Academy in the Collinwood area, an all-boys school with Ted as headmaster.

He always points out that his mission is not to win football games, it is to save lives and souls. He has been honored by numerous like-minded organizations, such as the National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women’s Clubs, the National Black Coaches Association and the National Fatherhood Initiative.

Ted and his wife, Jeanette, have two children, son Ted Jr. and daughter Tiffany.

Raymont Harris

Induction Year : 2012

Sport: Football

He ran hard and far in six NFL seasons, but Raymont Harris may be best remembered for two evenings of football that saw him dart in and around rivals and directly into a pair of record books. One of the nights came in college, the other in high school. Harris, a native of Lorain, produced the greatest performance by an Ohio State University running back in a bowl game when he piled up 235 yards in the Buckeyes’ 28-21 victory over Brigham Young in the 1993 Holiday Bowl.

Raymont scored three of OSU’s four touchdowns but more impressive was that not one of his 39 carries resulted in negative yardage. Harris still holds the Holiday Bowl record for rushing yardage. Harris still holds the Holiday Bowl record for rushing yardage.

A few years earlier, as a senior at Admiral King High School, Harris delivered a performance that is still talked about in Lorain County football circles. Facing cross-town rival Lorain High, Harris ran for 332 yards and five touchdowns as the Admirals triumphed.

Harris was selected in the fourth round of the 1994 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears, the 114th overall pick and made an immediate impact. The Bears were knocked out of the playoffs in the next game by eventual Super Bowl champion San Francisco.

Harris retired from pro football in 2001. He joined The Ohio State University Department of Athletics in March 2010 as director of development and resides in New Albany with his wife, Leslie, and children Shakia, Elijah, and Olivia.

Jim Tressel

Induction Year : 2012

Sport: Football

Jim Tressel’s college football legacy was forged on eight crisp autumn afternoons.

Before packed houses in Columbus and Ann Arbor, Tressel coached the Ohio State Buckeyes to an octet of victories over the University of Michigan. He lost just once to the arch-rival to the north.

Tressel is the only OSU head coach to win seven consecutive games against the Wolverines. The eight victories over Michigan are more than any Ohio State coach other than Woody Hayes (16 wins).

While the most die-hard OSU fans believe nothing can top a victory over Michigan, Tressel led the Buckeyes to the 2002 national championship with a double overtime victory over the University of Miami in the Fiesta Bowl.

The dramatic victory completed a perfect 14-0 season, the first such campaign in college football history and gave the Buckeyes their first national crown in 34 years.

It also earned Tressel the American College Football Association Coach of the Year award, making him the first coach in NCAA history to collect the honor in two divisions. Tressel had won it in 1991 and 1994 as the head coach at Youngstown State, a Division I-AA member school.

In nine seasons at Ohio State, Tressel won eight Big Ten championships and had two 19-game winning streaks. He won 94 of 126 games, a success rate of 81 percent.

Tressel’s roots are deep into Greater Cleveland. He was born in Mentor, graduated from Berea High School, and played quarterback at Baldwin-Wallace under the watchful eye of his father, head coach Lee Tressel.

Before taking his first head coaching position at Youngstown State in 1985, Tressel served assistant coach roles at Akron, Miami of Ohio, Syracuse, and Ohio State.

At YSU, Tressel dominated Division I-AA football, winning four national championships. The first one, in 1991, allowed him to join his dad as the first father and son duo to capture national crowns. Lee Tressel coached Baldwin-Wallace to the 1978 Division III title.

Tressel is currently serving as Vice-President of Strategic Engagement at the University of Akron.

Clinton Jones

Induction Year : 2012

Sport: Football

Clinton Jones made track’s loss, football’s gain.

A standout hurdler at Cathedral Latin School, the powerful Jones scored only three touchdowns for the Lions during a three-year career shortened by injuries. But a self-commitment to excel on the gridiron transformed Jones into a powerful force during his collegiate career at Michigan State and with the Minnesota Vikings.

As a three-year letterman from 1964 to 1966 under MSU coach Duffy Daugherty, Jones accounted for 2,549 career all-purpose yards and 23 touchdowns. He led the Spartans in rushing and all-purpose yards his final two seasons while helping the Spartans to a combined record of 19-1-1, winning consecutive Big Ten championships in 1965 and 1966.

He led the Big Ten in scoring in 1965 when he scored 11 touchdowns and 68 points. As co-captain in 1966, he helped the Spartans go 9-0-1 and a No. 2 national ranking after the controversial 10-10 tie with Notre Dame. He earned All-Big Ten and All-American honors those years, finishing sixth in Heisman Trophy voting as a senior. He continued to run track in the spring for the Spartans, earning conference honors in hurdling events.

Jones was selected No. 2 overall by Minnesota in the 1967 National Football League Draft, MSU teammate Charles “Bubba” Smith going No. 1 to the Baltimore Colts. In seven NFL seasons, six with the Vikings, he accounted for 5,035 all-purpose yards and 21 touchdowns. The Vikings won three division titles and he played in the 1970 Super Bowl against Kansas City. He finished his career with San Diego in 1973.

He went on to become a licensed chiropractic doctor in 1981 and has practiced with his wife, Rosielee, in California for more than 30 years.

Dick Crum

Induction Year : 2011

Sport: Football

In a state famous for turning out great football coaches, Dick Crum ranks among the best ever from Ohio. This native of Boardman played college football at Muskingum and Mount Union Colleges. He started his coaching career as an assistant at Boardman in 1957. He moved on to Sandusky and Warren Harding before becoming the head coach at Mentor High School in 1963 where he compiled a 50-9-1 record over six years, including perfect 10-0 seasons on 1966 and 1968. Mentor opened the 1968 season with a shocking 19-0 victory over Massillon in storied Paul Brown Stadium and was ranked first in The Plain Dealer ratings and second in both state wire service polls the rest of the season.

In 1969 Dick moved on to Miami as an assistant coach under Bill Mallory and in 1974 Dick succeeded him as head coach. In four years Crum posted a 34-10-1 record with three Mid-American Conference championships and Tangerine Bowl victories over Georgia and South Carolina. In 1978 he moved on to North Carolina where over the next 10 years he became the Tar Heels all-time winningest football coach with a record of 72-41-3, one Atlantic Coast Conference title and six bowl game appearances where he registered victories over Michigan, Arkansas and twice over Texas. He was fired after the 1987 season and North Carolina has not won an ACC title since.

He finished his coaching career at Kent State from 1988 to 1990. He has received Mount Union College’s Award of Excellence and is a member of Miami University’s exclusive Cradle of Coaches Society. He is a member of six halls of fame, namely Boardman High School, Mentor High School, Ohio High School Football Coaches, Tangerine Bowl, Gator Bowl and Miami University. The Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame is proud to welcome Dick into number seven.

Bob Golic

Induction Year : 2011

Sport: Football

The multi-talented Bob Golic starred as a wrestler, football player and television entertainer in a career that began at St. Joseph High School (now Villa Angela-St. Joseph) on Cleveland’s east side, where he was an all-scholastic linebacker and state champion wrestler.

At Notre Dame Bob was a two-time all-American in both football and wrestling. He was the middle linebacker on Notre Dame’s 1977 national championship football team. He set a school record with 26 tackles in a win over Michigan and was the defensive MVP of Notre Dame’s 38-10 victory over Texas in the Cotton Bowl with 17 tackles and a blocked field goal.

As a heavyweight wrestler he compiled a 54-4-1 record and finished fourth and third in consecutive NCAA wrestling tournaments.

The New England Patriots drafted Bob in the second round in 1979. When they released him after three seasons the Browns immediately claimed him and converted hm to nose tackle. Bob went on to enjoy an eight-year career as a nose tackle with the Browns, who reached the AFC championship game three times with Golic at nose tackle. He made all-pro twice and was picked for three Pro Bowls.

Bob played in the NFL for 14 years, the last four with the Los Angeles Raiders. He retired after the 1992 campaign and became an actor and TV sports reporter. He was a star on the sitcom “Saved by the Bell: The College Years.” Bob currently hosts a daily sports talk show on Akron radio station WNIR-FM (100.1). Bob’s name also is on the marquee of a sports bar at the corner of West Sixth and Lakeside in the Warehouse District.

Dick Brubaker

Induction Year : 2011

Sport: Football

Dick Brubaker was the epitome of determination.

The one-time standout at Shaker Heights High, where the Raiders won the Lake Erie League championship in 1949, he played two seasons at Ohio Wesleyan University. The Bishops won the Ohio Athletic Conference title in 1951.

Seeking a bigger challenge, Brubaker transferred to Ohio State and approached legendary coach Woody Hayes to allow him to play as a walk-on wide receiver. After sitting out a season, he was rewarded for his hard work when he made the first team midway through the 1953 season.

In 1954, Brubaker and John Borton were elected co-captains by their teammates. They helped guide the Buckeyes to the school’s first 10-0 record, a Rose Bowl victory against Southern Cal and the second national championship in school history.

In the vaunted OSU rushing game, he helped block for future Heisman Trophy winner Howard “Hopalong” Cassady. Brubaker never received an athletic scholarship.

After playing with the Chicago Cardinals in 1955, he was drafted by the navy and served 18 months. He played part of the 1957 season with the Cardinals, before setting his sights on a law degree that he obtained from Western Reserve University. He returned to the football field in 1960, playing a final season for the Buffalo Bills of the newly-formed American Football League.

He went on to a long and illustrious legal career with Calfee, Halter & Griswold in Cleveland, specializing in estates and trusts law. With his wife, Nancy, they raised three children and live in Newbury.

Roger Davis

Induction Year : 2010

Sport: Football

A Sports Illustrated cover photo in November of 1959 focused the camera lens directly on greatness. Surging under two of those famous orange helmets of Syracuse University were All-American lineman Roger Davis and All-American running back Ernie Davis.

Roger Davis, a graduate of Solon High School where he earned 10 letters in football, basketball and baseball, and joins the Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame to crown a career that saw him win championships in the NCAA and NFL.

Davis was known at Syracuse as “Hound Dog” because of his love of training coonhounds, an American hunting dog. He played three years for the Orangemen, from 1957-1959. His final year was his finest as Syracuse was unbeaten, defeating Texas in the Cotton Bowl to become national champions.

Receiving All-American recognition, Davis was much sought after by the pros. In the 1960 NFL draft, he was a first round selection of the Chicago Bears, being the seventh choice of the entire draft.

Davis played like a No. 1 selection. He was a starter at right guard on the Bears team that won the 1963 NFL title by defeating the New York Giants, 14-10 in a game played on Dec. 29 at Wrigley Field in temperatures that struggled to get out of single digits.

There were two more NFL stops for Davis. He played for the L.A. Rams in 1964 and for the New York Giants that he helped defeat in 1965 and 1966.

While at Syracuse and Chicago, Davis played for two legendary coaches. Hall of Famer Ben Schwartzwalder was his coach in college and George “Papa Bear” Halas, one of the NFL’s founding fathers, was his coach in Chicago.

In 1999, Davis was honored with a spot on Syracuse’s All Century Football Team.

Since retiring from football Roger has worked for Nationwide Insurance. He is the father of four children, grandfather of seven and makes his home in Pepper Pike.

Arthur B. (Mickey) McBride

Induction Year : 2010

Sport: Football

Arthur B. (Mickey) McBride is one of the most important sports figures in Cleveland history for two reasons. First, he founded the Cleveland Browns in 1946 and, second, he hired Paul Brown to coach them.

McBride started his business career as a newsboy on the south side of Chicago in the late 1890’s, defending his corner with his fists and with his guile. At the age of 23 he was circulation director of the Chicago American. Three years later in 1913 the Cleveland News hired him as its circulation director.

The resourceful McBride eventually expanded his horizons. In 1931 he bought a half interest in Zone Cab and in 1933 he bought Yellow Cab. He invested in real estate in Cleveland, Chicago and Florida. He bought a printing company and a horse racing wire service.

He became interested in football in the early 1940s when his son, Art Jr., was a student at the University of Notre Dame. In 1942 he attempted to buy the Cleveland Rams of the National Football League from owner Dan Reeves, who rejected his overture. Consequently, when the All-America Football Conference was launched, McBride purchased a franchise for $50,000 and put Paul Brown on the payroll when he was still in the Navy. He also signed players and began paying them, such as Lou Groza and Dante Lavelli, when they were still in the service overseas. In 1950 McBride navigated the Browns into the NFL. In seven years under McBride’s ownership the Browns won five championships and had a record of 83-13-3. They rightfully called themselves the greatest show in football. McBride sold the Browns in 1953 to a Cleveland syndicate for $600,000.

He also contributed to the lexicon of pro football with his “Cab Squad,” giving borderline players jobs driving cabs until they were needed. The cab companies are still owned by his family.