Wayne Embry embodies and lives by “P” words: preparation, perception, perseverance, persistence, pride and passion. Others will use another “P” word—pioneer—to describe a man who has made his mark during a long and storied basketball career.
Embry joined the Raptors on June 7, 2004, as senior basketball advisor and continues to serve in that capacity. He took charge of the basketball operations area as Interim GM from January 26, 2006 – February 28, 2006. Over the course of that time, Embry engineered two trades (Aaron Williams to New Orleans/Oklahoma City and Jalen Rose to New York) to create significant salary cap space for his successor, Bryan Colangelo, to rebuild the roster in the offseason.
Embry’s career in the NBA spans more than 45 years as a player and front office executive. While Embry enjoyed a successful 11-year career as a player, he will be forever remembered in professional sports circles for being the first African American to be general manager and a president of an NBA club.
Embry became the first NBA African American general manager in 1972 when he was named to the post by the Milwaukee Bucks. He served in that capacity for eight years leading the Bucks to two seasons of 59 or more wins and four postseason appearances, including the 1974 Finals. Prior to joining the organization, he was instrumental in negotiations that brought former teammate and legendary guard Oscar Robertson to Milwaukee to join forces with Lew Alcindor, the first overall pick in the 1969 NBA Draft. In 1971, the Bucks captured the NBA title, becoming the fastest expansion team in sports history to accomplish that feat.
From 1985-92, Embry served as vice-president and general manager of the Cleveland Cavaliers. He moved to an executive vice-president position with the club from 1992-94, and in 1994 once again made history by becoming the first African American NBA team president and chief operating officer. Under his direction the Cavaliers won 40 or more games 10 times, 50 or more on three occasions and advanced to the Eastern Conference Final in 1992. Embry earned The Sporting News Executive of the Year honors in 1992 and 1998, as well as being named Sports Illustrated’s Executive of the Year in 1998.
The 6-foot-8, 240-pound Embry was known as “The Wall” during his playing days for his ability to set solid picks. He appeared in 831 regular season NBA games, averaging 12.5 points and 9.1 rebounds. He averaged double-figures in points in eight of his 11 seasons. Embry participated in 56 postseason contests where he contributed an average of 10.1 points and 8.0 rebounds, including averages of 16.3 points and 13.5 rebounds in the 1963 playoffs.
Embry began his NBA career in 1958 with the Cincinnati Royals, where he played eight seasons, including the final four as team captain. He earned first-team All-NBA honors for five consecutive seasons (1961-65). Embry joined the Boston Celtics for two campaigns (1966-68) and helped the Celtics capture the 1968 NBA championship with a 4-2 series triumph over the Los Angeles Lakers. He finished his playing career the following year as the first captain in Milwaukee Bucks history.
A native of Springfield, Ohio, Embry was a two-time honorable mention All-America selection at Miami (Ohio) University. He was the team’s leading scorer, team captain and MVP in 1957 and 1958, and is the fourth player in school history to have his jersey (No. 23) retired. Embry earned a bachelor of science degree in education and a minor in business administration from Miami.
Embry has been involved in a number of business ventures, including membership on the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland’s Board of Directors where he plays a large role in shaping monetary and economic policies. He was enshrined in the Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame in 1998, in the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999, and has had his high school and collegiate uniform numbers retired. He also has a road named in his honorin Clark County, Ohio.
Embry and his wife, Terri, are the parents of three children: Debbie, Jill and Wayne Jr.
Slapnik won nine state championships in his 17 years as Collinwood’s girls track coach. He also won the Jesse Owens Cleveland City championship every year he coached. His nine state titles rank third in Ohio history, and is the most by any coach in Cleveland history.
Slapnik—called “coach Slap” by his students—was inducted into the Ohio Association of Track and Cross-Country Coaches Hall of Fame in 2012. In his career, his athletes won 41 individual events in state championship meets. Prior to coaching Collinwood, Slapnik spent nine years coaching at Patrick Henry Middle School, where his teams won eight MS Cleveland City Championships.
Slapnik grew up in Cleveland and went to St. Joseph High School and Ashland University, where he pitched on the baseball team. He spent 32 years teaching physical education in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District. Athletes coached by Slapnik have talked about his emphasis on classwork and team. Collinwood’s Athletic Complex is named after him.
Powell was the second African American to compete on the LPGA Tour, and the first African American woman to become a member of the PGA. In 2022, Powell was honored by the World Golf Hall of Fame as the first recipient of the Charlie Sifford Award. Powell played in more than 250 tournaments from 1967-1980. In 2003, she was honored with the First Lady of Golf Award from the LPGA.
Born in East Canton, Powell attended Central Catholic High School. Renee’s father, Bill, encountered racial discrimination on the golf course after he had served in World War II. That prompted him to design and build a course where all are welcome. Clearview Golf Club in East Canton—the first course in the country designed, built, and owned by an African American—opened its first nine holes in 1948, the second nine in 1978. Renee would eventually work as Clearview’s Head Professional.
“Renee Powell and her family’s remarkable life-long commitment to changing the face of golf cannot be overstated,” LPGA Commissioner, Mollie Marcoux Samaan, said in an LPGA press release. “Renee is a global ambassador and trailblazer within the game and has provided a model for how to use golf as a means of inclusion.”
Kain is the former President and CEO of International Management Group (IMG). His achievements in his 31 years are a testament to the impact of IMG in the sports world.
Kain, who lives in Gates Mills, graduated in 1971 from the University of Virginia where he was a four-year letterman in tennis. He sought to be involved in tennis in some way for his life’s work, and in 1976 he was hired by Cleveland-based IMG to represent professional players and to build IMG’s tennis business. His clients over the years included Rod Laver, John McEnroe, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer, and Rafael Nadal on the men’s side, and Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, and Venus and Serena Williams on the women’s.
In 1984, Kain created and built IMG’s figure skating business. Clients included Dorothy Hamill, Peggy Fleming, and Scott Hamilton. Kain was in charge of the building of IMG Fashion and became CEO of IMG in 2003 after the death of founder Mark McCormack. He retired in 2006.
Kain worked for the Cleveland Browns in 2007 and 2008 and has been a senior advisor to the Creative Artists Agency (CAA). As chairman, he helped build the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission into one of the most respected in the country. He also is an accomplished amateur golfer; he played in four U.S. Senior Amateur Championships and three British Senior Amateurs.
https://www.clevelandsportshall.com/wp-content/uploads/BobKain.jpg11811181adminhttps://www.clevelandsportshall.com/wp-content/uploads/cshof-logo-updated.pngadmin2023-08-30 10:55:282023-08-30 15:08:02Kain, Bob
Cribbs had a sterling career with the Cleveland Browns as a returner, receiver, and occasional quarterback, and at Kent State, where he set several school records as a four-year starter at quarterback. Cribbs’ 11 total punt and kickoff returns for touchdowns are fifth in NFL history, and his eight kickoff returns ranks second.
His success with the Browns came after he went undrafted. He made the team and became an all-purpose standout who could score from anywhere on any play. Cribbs had never returned kicks until he tried it with the Browns. Browns fans especially enjoyed Cribbs’ success against the Pittsburgh Steelers; his kickoff return for a touchdown in ’07 is one of the most memorable in team history, and came after he had 90-yard return earlier in the game.
Cribbs, who played one season with the Raiders and Colts before retiring, now calls the Cleveland area home. He and his wife, Maria, host “Cribbs in the CLE,” providing reports about various aspects of life in Cleveland, on WOIO Channel 19.
2022 marked the 33rd season of calling Cleveland Guardians baseball games on the radio for this Waterloo, WI, native. Since he joined Herb Score in the radio booth in 1990, Tom Hamilton has called all 94 postseason games the Cleveland franchise has played in that span, including three World Series (1995, 1997 and 2016). His 33-year tenure is tied with Rick Manning on TV, and the second longest in franchise history next to Score (34 years). Tom, joined in the radio booth with Jim Rosenhaus, calls the action and commentary for all 162 regular season games and 15 spring training contests on Newsradio WTAM 1100, 100.7 FM WMMS, and the 30-station Cleveland Clinic Guardians Radio Network.
Tom arrived in Cleveland after three seasons calling AAA Columbus Clippers action, the top farm club of the New York Yankees (1987-89). He started his broadcasting career calling minor league games across Wisconsin, as well as University of Wisconsin football games and University of Colorado basketball games. Tom called Big Ten basketball on television for 25 years. He is a member of the Press Club of Cleveland’s Hall of Fame and is a seven-time recipient of the Ohio Sportscaster of the Year Award (1997, 2000, ’01, ’04, ’06, ’13, and ’16).
https://www.clevelandsportshall.com/wp-content/uploads/cshof-logo-updated.png00adminhttps://www.clevelandsportshall.com/wp-content/uploads/cshof-logo-updated.pngadmin2022-09-20 15:27:172022-09-20 15:27:17Hamilton, Tom
Thanks to Carol Russo’s passion, dedication and commitment, volleyball was Elyria High School’s most consistently successful sport over a two-decade period. It was her coaching and organizational prowess that boosted the Pioneers among the state’s most elite and respected programs. In 1996, the Pioneers posted a 28-1 record and became the first Elyria volleyball team to win a state semi-final game and play for the state championship. It was Russo’s third team to reach the state tournament. In addition to the state tournament runs, Russo’s teams won the district championships 14 times, and 18 conference titles across four leagues (Buckeye, Erie Shore, Lake Erie, and Pioneer).
In 27 years as a head volleyball coach, beginning her career at Mayfield and ending at Elyria Catholic, Russo posted a career record of 575-126. She won 20 or more games 20 times during her career. She was inducted into the Volleyball Coaches Hall of Fame in 1998 and the Elyria Sports Hall of Fame in 1999, and was selected to the prestigious AVCA (American Volleyball Coaches Association) Hall of Fame in 2012. Russo played volleyball for her mother, Sue, at Oberlin High School as well at The Ohio State University. Carol and her mother, Sue, were the first mother-daughter combination to coach teams in the Ohio state tournament.
https://www.clevelandsportshall.com/wp-content/uploads/cshof-logo-updated.png00adminhttps://www.clevelandsportshall.com/wp-content/uploads/cshof-logo-updated.pngadmin2022-09-20 15:20:582022-09-20 15:20:58Russo, Carol
Katie Nageotte is the reigning Olympic gold medalist in the pole vault and only the third woman to win pole vault gold for the United States. She grew up in Olmsted Falls and attended Olmsted Falls High School and Ashland University (after spending her first two years at Dayton). Nageotte won the Gold in her first Olympics with a vault of 16 feet, 0-3/4 inches (4.9 meters) at the COVID-delayed games in 2021 in Tokyo. This year she won the World Championships with a vault of 15-11, and last year finished first in the Olympic Trials at 16-3. With hopes of competing in the Paris Olympics in 2024, she would have the chance to become the second woman ever to win consecutive gold medals in the pole vault.
Nageotte started competing in the pole vault in the seventh grade as Olympic sports always intrigued her, especially those involving adrenaline and upper body strength. She competed in gymnastics and thought that may be her path, but grew to love the pole vault when she competed for her middle school track team. As a high school senior, she was the 2009 OHSAA Division I champion. Nageotte won two NCAA Division II titles and was a three-time Division II All-American. She won gold at the 2018 U.S. Indoor Championships, silver at the 2019 U.S. Outdoor, gold at the ’19 U.S. Indoors and silver at the ’19 Indoor Championships. COVID knocked her back in 2020, but she persevered to break an Olympic Trials record in July of 2021 before going to capture gold in Tokyo.
Bernie Kosar remains one of the most beloved sports figures in Cleveland history. Raised in Boardman, Ohio, where he was a standout high school player, Kosar considered himself a “Cleveland guy” and worked with then-owner Art Modell to make his dream come true to play in a Cleveland Browns uniform. Graduating a year early from the University of Miami, Kosar and Modell used the NFL’s Supplemental Draft to bring him home and lead the Browns on the field at old Municipal Stadium. Kosar guided the Browns to three AFC Championship Games in nine seasons as quarterback. He ranks second in Browns history with 21,904 passing yards, completing 58.8 percent of his passes with 116 touchdowns and 81 interceptions.
Three times during his tenure with the Browns Kosar set records for most consecutive passes without an interception (286, 308 and 308). He took the franchise to the playoffs five times and threw for 489 yards in an overtime win over the NY Jets in 1987. He won a NCAA National Championship in his first season as the Miami Hurricanes’ starting QB, a thrilling Orange Bowl win over unbeaten and top-ranked Nebraska. Kosar won a Super Bowl ring as a member of the Dalles Cowboys in 1993.
Levine was the self-proclaimed “Voice of Truth & Reason;” a trailblazing multimedia talent who spent five decades with his pulse on the Cleveland sports scene.
He would broadcast more than 2,500 sporting events as lead play-by-play voice for the Cleveland Crusaders, Kent State University basketball and football, Cleveland State University basketball, Cleveland Thunderbolts, and various high school and collegiate games. Levine’s signature sports talk show “More Sports and Les Levine” was a fixture on radio and television virtually every weekday beginning in 1991 until his passing. He wrote a weekly sports column for The News Herald and was an Award-Winning columnist for the Cleveland JewishNews. Levine hosted the playoff postgame show on Sports Radio 92.3 The Fan during the Cleveland Cavaliers 2016 NBA Championship run, and he covered the victory parade celebrating Cleveland’s first professional sports title in 52 years.
Levine left behind an unparalleled media legacy in Ohio sports.
https://www.clevelandsportshall.com/wp-content/uploads/cshof-logo-updated.png00adminhttps://www.clevelandsportshall.com/wp-content/uploads/cshof-logo-updated.pngadmin2021-07-20 14:34:502024-09-19 11:28:52Levine, Les
Wayne Embry
Wayne Embry
Induction Year : 2024
Sport: Basketball
Wayne Embry embodies and lives by “P” words: preparation, perception, perseverance, persistence, pride and passion. Others will use another “P” word—pioneer—to describe a man who has made his mark during a long and storied basketball career.
Embry joined the Raptors on June 7, 2004, as senior basketball advisor and continues to serve in that capacity. He took charge of the basketball operations area as Interim GM from January 26, 2006 – February 28, 2006. Over the course of that time, Embry engineered two trades (Aaron Williams to New Orleans/Oklahoma City and Jalen Rose to New York) to create significant salary cap space for his successor, Bryan Colangelo, to rebuild the roster in the offseason.
Embry’s career in the NBA spans more than 45 years as a player and front office executive. While Embry enjoyed a successful 11-year career as a player, he will be forever remembered in professional sports circles for being the first African American to be general manager and a president of an NBA club.
Embry became the first NBA African American general manager in 1972 when he was named to the post by the Milwaukee Bucks. He served in that capacity for eight years leading the Bucks to two seasons of 59 or more wins and four postseason appearances, including the 1974 Finals. Prior to joining the organization, he was instrumental in negotiations that brought former teammate and legendary guard Oscar Robertson to Milwaukee to join forces with Lew Alcindor, the first overall pick in the 1969 NBA Draft. In 1971, the Bucks captured the NBA title, becoming the fastest expansion team in sports history to accomplish that feat.
From 1985-92, Embry served as vice-president and general manager of the Cleveland Cavaliers. He moved to an executive vice-president position with the club from 1992-94, and in 1994 once again made history by becoming the first African American NBA team president and chief operating officer. Under his direction the Cavaliers won 40 or more games 10 times, 50 or more on three occasions and advanced to the Eastern Conference Final in 1992. Embry earned The Sporting News Executive of the Year honors in 1992 and 1998, as well as being named Sports Illustrated’s Executive of the Year in 1998.
The 6-foot-8, 240-pound Embry was known as “The Wall” during his playing days for his ability to set solid picks. He appeared in 831 regular season NBA games, averaging 12.5 points and 9.1 rebounds. He averaged double-figures in points in eight of his 11 seasons. Embry participated in 56 postseason contests where he contributed an average of 10.1 points and 8.0 rebounds, including averages of 16.3 points and 13.5 rebounds in the 1963 playoffs.
Embry began his NBA career in 1958 with the Cincinnati Royals, where he played eight seasons, including the final four as team captain. He earned first-team All-NBA honors for five consecutive seasons (1961-65). Embry joined the Boston Celtics for two campaigns (1966-68) and helped the Celtics capture the 1968 NBA championship with a 4-2 series triumph over the Los Angeles Lakers. He finished his playing career the following year as the first captain in Milwaukee Bucks history.
A native of Springfield, Ohio, Embry was a two-time honorable mention All-America selection at Miami (Ohio) University. He was the team’s leading scorer, team captain and MVP in 1957 and 1958, and is the fourth player in school history to have his jersey (No. 23) retired. Embry earned a bachelor of science degree in education and a minor in business administration from Miami.
Embry has been involved in a number of business ventures, including membership on the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland’s Board of Directors where he plays a large role in shaping monetary and economic policies. He was enshrined in the Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame in 1998, in the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999, and has had his high school and collegiate uniform numbers retired. He also has a road named in his honorin Clark County, Ohio.
Embry and his wife, Terri, are the parents of three children: Debbie, Jill and Wayne Jr.
Slapnik, Lou
Lou Slapnik
Induction Year : 2023
Sport: Track & Field
Slapnik won nine state championships in his 17 years as Collinwood’s girls track coach. He also won the Jesse Owens Cleveland City championship every year he coached. His nine state titles rank third in Ohio history, and is the most by any coach in Cleveland history.
Slapnik—called “coach Slap” by his students—was inducted into the Ohio Association of Track and Cross-Country Coaches Hall of Fame in 2012. In his career, his athletes won 41 individual events in state championship meets. Prior to coaching Collinwood, Slapnik spent nine years coaching at Patrick Henry Middle School, where his teams won eight MS Cleveland City Championships.
Slapnik grew up in Cleveland and went to St. Joseph High School and Ashland University, where he pitched on the baseball team. He spent 32 years teaching physical education in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District. Athletes coached by Slapnik have talked about his emphasis on classwork and team. Collinwood’s Athletic Complex is named after him.
Powell, Renee
Renee Powell
Induction Year : 2023
Sport: Golf
Powell was the second African American to compete on the LPGA Tour, and the first African American woman to become a member of the PGA. In 2022, Powell was honored by the World Golf Hall of Fame as the first recipient of the Charlie Sifford Award. Powell played in more than 250 tournaments from 1967-1980. In 2003, she was honored with the First Lady of Golf Award from the LPGA.
Born in East Canton, Powell attended Central Catholic High School. Renee’s father, Bill, encountered racial discrimination on the golf course after he had served in World War II. That prompted him to design and build a course where all are welcome. Clearview Golf Club in East Canton—the first course in the country designed, built, and owned by an African American—opened its first nine holes in 1948, the second nine in 1978. Renee would eventually work as Clearview’s Head Professional.
“Renee Powell and her family’s remarkable life-long commitment to changing the face of golf cannot be overstated,” LPGA Commissioner, Mollie Marcoux Samaan, said in an LPGA press release. “Renee is a global ambassador and trailblazer within the game and has provided a model for how to use golf as a means of inclusion.”
Kain, Bob
Bob Kain
Induction Year : 2023
Sport: Meritorious Service
Kain is the former President and CEO of International Management Group (IMG). His achievements in his 31 years are a testament to the impact of IMG in the sports world.
Kain, who lives in Gates Mills, graduated in 1971 from the University of Virginia where he was a four-year letterman in tennis. He sought to be involved in tennis in some way for his life’s work, and in 1976 he was hired by Cleveland-based IMG to represent professional players and to build IMG’s tennis business. His clients over the years included Rod Laver, John McEnroe, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer, and Rafael Nadal on the men’s side, and Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, and Venus and Serena Williams on the women’s.
In 1984, Kain created and built IMG’s figure skating business. Clients included Dorothy Hamill, Peggy Fleming, and Scott Hamilton. Kain was in charge of the building of IMG Fashion and became CEO of IMG in 2003 after the death of founder Mark McCormack. He retired in 2006.
Kain worked for the Cleveland Browns in 2007 and 2008 and has been a senior advisor to the Creative Artists Agency (CAA). As chairman, he helped build the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission into one of the most respected in the country. He also is an accomplished amateur golfer; he played in four U.S. Senior Amateur Championships and three British Senior Amateurs.
Cribbs, Josh
Josh Cribbs
Induction Year : 2023
Sport: Football
Cribbs had a sterling career with the Cleveland Browns as a returner, receiver, and occasional quarterback, and at Kent State, where he set several school records as a four-year starter at quarterback. Cribbs’ 11 total punt and kickoff returns for touchdowns are fifth in NFL history, and his eight kickoff returns ranks second.
His success with the Browns came after he went undrafted. He made the team and became an all-purpose standout who could score from anywhere on any play. Cribbs had never returned kicks until he tried it with the Browns. Browns fans especially enjoyed Cribbs’ success against the Pittsburgh Steelers; his kickoff return for a touchdown in ’07 is one of the most memorable in team history, and came after he had 90-yard return earlier in the game.
Cribbs, who played one season with the Raiders and Colts before retiring, now calls the Cleveland area home. He and his wife, Maria, host “Cribbs in the CLE,” providing reports about various aspects of life in Cleveland, on WOIO Channel 19.
Hamilton, Tom
Tom Hamilton
Induction Year : 2022
Sport: Media
2022 marked the 33rd season of calling Cleveland Guardians baseball games on the radio for this Waterloo, WI, native. Since he joined Herb Score in the radio booth in 1990, Tom Hamilton has called all 94 postseason games the Cleveland franchise has played in that span, including three World Series (1995, 1997 and 2016). His 33-year tenure is tied with Rick Manning on TV, and the second longest in franchise history next to Score (34 years). Tom, joined in the radio booth with Jim Rosenhaus, calls the action and commentary for all 162 regular season games and 15 spring training contests on Newsradio WTAM 1100, 100.7 FM WMMS, and the 30-station Cleveland Clinic Guardians Radio Network.
Tom arrived in Cleveland after three seasons calling AAA Columbus Clippers action, the top farm club of the New York Yankees (1987-89). He started his broadcasting career calling minor league games across Wisconsin, as well as University of Wisconsin football games and University of Colorado basketball games. Tom called Big Ten basketball on television for 25 years. He is a member of the Press Club of Cleveland’s Hall of Fame and is a seven-time recipient of the Ohio Sportscaster of the Year Award (1997, 2000, ’01, ’04, ’06, ’13, and ’16).
Russo, Carol
Carol Russo
Induction Year : 2022
Sport: Volleyball
Thanks to Carol Russo’s passion, dedication and commitment, volleyball was Elyria High School’s most consistently successful sport over a two-decade period. It was her coaching and organizational prowess that boosted the Pioneers among the state’s most elite and respected programs. In 1996, the Pioneers posted a 28-1 record and became the first Elyria volleyball team to win a state semi-final game and play for the state championship. It was Russo’s third team to reach the state tournament. In addition to the state tournament runs, Russo’s teams won the district championships 14 times, and 18 conference titles across four leagues (Buckeye, Erie Shore, Lake Erie, and Pioneer).
In 27 years as a head volleyball coach, beginning her career at Mayfield and ending at Elyria Catholic, Russo posted a career record of 575-126. She won 20 or more games 20 times during her career. She was inducted into the Volleyball Coaches Hall of Fame in 1998 and the Elyria Sports Hall of Fame in 1999, and was selected to the prestigious AVCA (American Volleyball Coaches Association) Hall of Fame in 2012. Russo played volleyball for her mother, Sue, at Oberlin High School as well at The Ohio State University. Carol and her mother, Sue, were the first mother-daughter combination to coach teams in the Ohio state tournament.
Nageotte, Katie
Katie Nageotte
Induction Year : 2022
Sport: Track & Field
Katie Nageotte is the reigning Olympic gold medalist in the pole vault and only the third woman to win pole vault gold for the United States. She grew up in Olmsted Falls and attended Olmsted Falls High School and Ashland University (after spending her first two years at Dayton). Nageotte won the Gold in her first Olympics with a vault of 16 feet, 0-3/4 inches (4.9 meters) at the COVID-delayed games in 2021 in Tokyo. This year she won the World Championships with a vault of 15-11, and last year finished first in the Olympic Trials at 16-3. With hopes of competing in the Paris Olympics in 2024, she would have the chance to become the second woman ever to win consecutive gold medals in the pole vault.
Nageotte started competing in the pole vault in the seventh grade as Olympic sports always intrigued her, especially those involving adrenaline and upper body strength. She competed in gymnastics and thought that may be her path, but grew to love the pole vault when she competed for her middle school track team. As a high school senior, she was the 2009 OHSAA Division I champion. Nageotte won two NCAA Division II titles and was a three-time Division II All-American. She won gold at the 2018 U.S. Indoor Championships, silver at the 2019 U.S. Outdoor, gold at the ’19 U.S. Indoors and silver at the ’19 Indoor Championships. COVID knocked her back in 2020, but she persevered to break an Olympic Trials record in July of 2021 before going to capture gold in Tokyo.
Kosar, Bernie
Bernie Kosar
Induction Year : 2022
Sport: Football
Bernie Kosar remains one of the most beloved sports figures in Cleveland history. Raised in Boardman, Ohio, where he was a standout high school player, Kosar considered himself a “Cleveland guy” and worked with then-owner Art Modell to make his dream come true to play in a Cleveland Browns uniform. Graduating a year early from the University of Miami, Kosar and Modell used the NFL’s Supplemental Draft to bring him home and lead the Browns on the field at old Municipal Stadium. Kosar guided the Browns to three AFC Championship Games in nine seasons as quarterback. He ranks second in Browns history with 21,904 passing yards, completing 58.8 percent of his passes with 116 touchdowns and 81 interceptions.
Three times during his tenure with the Browns Kosar set records for most consecutive passes without an interception (286, 308 and 308). He took the franchise to the playoffs five times and threw for 489 yards in an overtime win over the NY Jets in 1987. He won a NCAA National Championship in his first season as the Miami Hurricanes’ starting QB, a thrilling Orange Bowl win over unbeaten and top-ranked Nebraska. Kosar won a Super Bowl ring as a member of the Dalles Cowboys in 1993.
Levine, Les
Les Levine
Induction Year : 2021
Sport: Media
Levine was the self-proclaimed “Voice of Truth & Reason;” a trailblazing multimedia talent who spent five decades with his pulse on the Cleveland sports scene.
He would broadcast more than 2,500 sporting events as lead play-by-play voice for the Cleveland Crusaders, Kent State University basketball and football, Cleveland State University basketball, Cleveland Thunderbolts, and various high school and collegiate games. Levine’s signature sports talk show “More Sports and Les Levine” was a fixture on radio and television virtually every weekday beginning in 1991 until his passing. He wrote a weekly sports column for The News Herald and was an Award-Winning columnist for the Cleveland Jewish News. Levine hosted the playoff postgame show on Sports Radio 92.3 The Fan during the Cleveland Cavaliers 2016 NBA Championship run, and he covered the victory parade celebrating Cleveland’s first professional sports title in 52 years.
Levine left behind an unparalleled media legacy in Ohio sports.
Deceased 2021