Helped lay the foundation for Cleveland’s amateur sports program, a program which served as a model for many cities. A founder of the Muny Football Association, he served as its first president from 1946 to 1960. Also served as president of the Muny Basketball Association from 1931 until 1960, chairman of the football and basketball arbitration boards, and secretary of the Cleveland Baseball Federation’s arbitration board.
Directing Supervisor of the Physical Education Department of Curriculum and Instruction for the Cleveland Public Schools since 1973, he has contributed thousands of free hours of service to promoting amateur sports in the Cleveland area since 1952. Former local AAU president and an AAU Basketball Committee Chairman on the local and national levels, a trustee for the Cleveland Golden Gloves Association and a founder and treasurer of the Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame Foundation he has also been an active participant in the function of the Cleveland Baseball Federation, the Muny Football and Basketball Associations and the Amateur Softball Association.
George Chandick’s outstanding 18-year post-college career as a player and player-coach in the Greater Cleveland Basketball League set the tone for a lifetime of devotion and service to athletics in the Greater Cleveland area. A lengthy list of achievements and honors as a coach, official, team sponsor and participant, George embraced a variety of sports, from youth baseball and track and field to horseshoes. His tenure as Council President and later Mayor of Seven Hills, and as a teacher of elementary physical education for 38 years in the Cleveland Public School System enhanced, rather than stemmed, the tide of his activities on behalf of young athletes.
From 1955 to 1985, the road to participation in any City of Cleveland recreational activity for Clevelanders of all ages went through City Hall’s Room 8 and Mary Jane Boldin. As the Cleveland Recreation Department’s Secretary to the Director of Organized Sports, she shouldered the bulk of the day-to-day responsibilities for everything from finding teams for people to join to locating sponsors and funding for those teams. Her efforts in support of Director John S. Nagy were instrumental in the growth of the city’s summer playground Junior Olympics program. She also served with distinction as secretary and/or board member for a myriad of MUNY and AAU programs. In 1986 she was inducted into the Cleveland Men’s Slo-Pitch Hall of Fame.
For her many years and broad service to sports programs, Jane Pease was elected into the Cleveland State University Sports Hall of Fame. A charter member of the National Division of Girls and Womens Sports Committee for Track and Field in the 1950’s, she was a strong contributor to the revision of the rules and techniques of officiating. For stellar service, Jane has received Lifetime Honorary Membership in the Cleveland Physical Education Association and the Cleveland and Great Lakes Field Hockey Associations.
After a stellar athletic career at Parma High School and Notre Dame, Ron Mottl put his energies into public service and support for many sports programs that have benefitted untold numbers of youngsters. He was elected into the Parma Sports Hall of Fame and the baseball field on the Cuyahoga Community College West Campus bears his name. Ron continues to have a significant influence on the Greater Cleveland sports scene.
As Athletic Director of the CYO of Cleveland from 1972 to 1985, Richard Hyland doubled the number of programs during his tenure. An innovator, he introduced free substitution for baseball and softball (later adopted nationally), girl’s soccer, cross-country and co-ed hockey. He was instrumental in the development of the CYO Coaches Certification Program, the first of his kind in the U.S. Dick also served as Secretary of the Cleveland Baseball Foundation.