Joe Jurevicius knew about winning.
At all levels, from Lake Catholic High to Penn State University to the National Football League, the strong armed wide receiver made his presence felt with his standout play. More often than not, Jurevicius used his strength and skills to outfight defenders and make the reception.
He did just that during the 2002 NFC Championship Game in Philadelphia as he turned a short crossing pattern into a 71-yard gain that proved pivotal in Tampa Bay’s victory. In Super Bowl XXXVII, he had four catches for 78 yards in Tampa Bay’s world championship win against Oakland.
Drafted by the New York Giants in the second round of the 1998 NFL Draft, No. 55 overall, he played four seasons in New York. He did not have a reception in New York’s loss to the Baltimore Ravens in Super Bowl XXV in 2000.
After signing with the Seahawks as a free agent, he had a team-high five catches for 93 yards in Seattle’s loss to Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XL in 2005. He finished that season with a career-high 10 touchdowns.
He finished his pro career with the Cleveland Browns, retiring in 2009 after seven knee operations. He totaled 323 receptions for 4,119 yards and 29 touchdowns during his pro career.
During his collegiate career, he had 94 receptions for 1,905 yards and 15 touchdowns. As a sophomore, he helped the Nittany Lions go 12-0 and defeat Oregon in the 1995 Rose Bowl. Penn State finished No.2 in the national polls.
He earned all-state honors three times at Lake Catholic as a wide receiver and punter, with the Cougars winning state championships in 1991and 1992. He also played basketball.
An avid outdoorsman, he pursued those interests in business.
Jurevicius lives in Gates Mills with his wife, Meagan, and their two daughters, Caroline and Ava. A son, Michael William, died in infancy.
Perry, A.J.
A.J. Perry
Induction Year : 2014
Sport: Martial Arts
AJ Perry’s road to international acclaim during his 40 years as a Martial Artist began in front of the television set in his W. 162nd St. home in Cleveland’s West Park neighborhood. “The first time I saw the Green Hornet™ television show,” AJ said, “I was interested. And then I saw ‘Marlowe,’ the detective show, with James Garner and Bruce Lee—I was definitely hooked!”
AJ attended classes at St. Edward High School where he wrestled under Howard Ferguson. By age 15, he was practicing karate moves in a friend’s garage. That led to classes with Master Kim. AJ went on to teach Martial Arts at St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland. As his career as a Martial Artist started to take off, he began earning trophies and championships at local and regional competitions. He won several U.S. Open championships and in 2002 he took the bronze medal at the World Championships in Panama-third in the world. That, he says, was his highlight.
He was inducted into the World Traditional Martial Arts Hall of Fame in 2006. Master Perry was also inducted into the World Sokieship Council Hall of Fame in 2005.
Now 53 years old, AJ is an 8th degree Grand Master who lives in Vermilion and runs two Martial Arts schools, one in Amherst and the other in Lorain Community College . His son Aaron (3rd degree Black Belt), once his star protege, is now his assistant instructor.
Master Perry says among the great role models who touched his life are previous Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame inductees Phil Bova, Ken McBride, Rich Rollins and Garry Roggenburk.
AJ’s full-time job is with Dominion East Ohio Gas (30 years) where he is a tech services specialist involved with fueling vehicles powered by natural gas. AJ is President of The Three Deuce Five Foundation located in Brookpark, Ohio. He is a tireless volunteer for Marines in need, such as those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder after service in Middle East war zones. His Martial Arts demonstrations have raised thousands of dollars for Marine support groups. One demonstration included completing 2,200 pushups in 90 minutes.
The word Samurai translated means to serve. Master Perry as a Martial Artist has chosen to serve Marines in need as well as instilling this same spirit into his students.
Morton, Wally
Wally Morton
Induction Year : 2014
Sport: Swimming & Diving
Dedicated commitment.
Wally Morton was the epitome of that quality during his 39-year tenure in the Physical Education Department at Cleveland State University as the men’s and women’s swimming coach. He coached the Vikings to 20 conference titles during 46 winning seasons, totaling a school-record 387 dual meet victories.
After graduation from Miami University (Ohio) in 1970, where he was a member of two Mid-American Conference championship swimming teams, Morton came to CSU in 1974 and served seven years under legendary CSU coach Bob Busbey. He was named head men’s coach in 1981 and women’s head coach in 2007.
His teams won 14 Penn-Ohio, two Midwestern Collegiate Conference and two Horizon League championships. He was named conference coach of the year nine times. At the time of his retirement in June 2014, his swimmers held 11 men and six women league titles.
He guided five swimmers and one diver to the NCAA championships and three to Olympic qualifiers, with Nedim Nisic representing Bosnia at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China.
The men’s team earned 47 Mid-Major All-American Awards from the College Swimming Coaches Association. Â He women’s team received 17 Mid-Major honors.
Both teams have received the Scholar All-American Award a combined 57 times, with 27 earning Academic All-American laurels.
But all those numbers pale in comparison to Morton’s tireless hours spent helping Northeast Ohio’s high school and club swimming teams. As Aquatics Director, he was always generous in making the quality CSU facilities available to athletes and coaches for practices and high-caliber meets.
He lives in Strongsville with his wife, Carol. They have a son, Rob.
Jurevicius, Joe
Joe Jurevicius
Induction Year : 2014
Sport: Football
Joe Jurevicius knew about winning.
At all levels, from Lake Catholic High to Penn State University to the National Football League, the strong armed wide receiver made his presence felt with his standout play. More often than not, Jurevicius used his strength and skills to outfight defenders and make the reception.
He did just that during the 2002 NFC Championship Game in Philadelphia as he turned a short crossing pattern into a 71-yard gain that proved pivotal in Tampa Bay’s victory. In Super Bowl XXXVII, he had four catches for 78 yards in Tampa Bay’s world championship win against Oakland.
Drafted by the New York Giants in the second round of the 1998 NFL Draft, No. 55 overall, he played four seasons in New York. He did not have a reception in New York’s loss to the Baltimore Ravens in Super Bowl XXV in 2000.
After signing with the Seahawks as a free agent, he had a team-high five catches for 93 yards in Seattle’s loss to Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XL in 2005. He finished that season with a career-high 10 touchdowns.
He finished his pro career with the Cleveland Browns, retiring in 2009 after seven knee operations. He totaled 323 receptions for 4,119 yards and 29 touchdowns during his pro career.
During his collegiate career, he had 94 receptions for 1,905 yards and 15 touchdowns. As a sophomore, he helped the Nittany Lions go 12-0 and defeat Oregon in the 1995 Rose Bowl. Penn State finished No.2 in the national polls.
He earned all-state honors three times at Lake Catholic as a wide receiver and punter, with the Cougars winning state championships in 1991and 1992. He also played basketball.
An avid outdoorsman, he pursued those interests in business.
Jurevicius lives in Gates Mills with his wife, Meagan, and their two daughters, Caroline and Ava. A son, Michael William, died in infancy.
Dolan, Larry
Larry Dolan
Induction Year : 2014
Sport: Baseball
A lifelong baseball fan, Larry Dolan bought the Cleveland Indians in February, 2000, and proceeded to make his mark not only in his hometown but within baseball. A lawyer by profession with special skills in the field of labor relations, he was largely credited with negotiating long-term labor peace between the owners and players’ union when he served on the Major League Baseball Ownership Committee and Executive Council. He also served on the MLB Diversity Committee.
His exploits as an athlete also should not be overlooked. Son of an inventor, Larry grew up in Cleveland Heights and attended St. Ignatius High School, where he played both football and baseball. He threw a touchdown pass in the Wildcats’ 13-0 victory over East Tech in the 1949 Charity Game before 30,227 at the Stadium. He was the catcher on the baseball team which also won the Senate championship in 1950.
He went on to the University of Notre Dame where he played on the freshman football team. After graduating in 1955 he remained at Notre Dame for law school. He then served as an officer in the United States Marine Corps for two years before returning home in 1958 to become an assistant prosecutor in Geauga County.
He also joined a law firm now known as Thrasher, Dinsmore and Dolan. He soon became a partner in the firm and later was named president and managing partner.
For nearly 25 years Larry managed the firm’s practice and professional development, building a reputation of excellence in general, civil and business law.
Now 83, Larry has retired from active management of the Indians. The club is now run by his son, Paul. Larry and his wife, Eva, have six children and seventeen grandchildren.
Beutel, Bob
Bob Beutel
Induction Year : 2014
Sport: Basketball
Bob Beutel is the quintessential triple threat. He was an outstanding high school athlete. He was an outstanding collegiate athlete. Today, he is an outstanding scholastic coach.
His treble of excellence spans nearly 50 years and includes performances that earned Beutel national recognition on the football field as well as a place in the Ohio High School Athletic Association’s girls’ basketball  recordbook.
A native of Willowick, Beutel attended Eastlake North High School (Class of 1968) where he excelled in football and basketball, earning All-Ohio honors in both sports. He was recruited to play basketball at Ohio State University, but decided to play football at Big Ten rival Northwestern.
The decision worked out quite well. Beutel earned Big Ten honors as well as being named an ABC- TV National Player of the Week. He led the Wildcats in tackles in 1972 and ranked third in The Big Ten in that category in the same season.
When his playing days were over, Beutel took his bachelor’s degree in education and returned to his alma mater where he coached North’s girls basketball team for 25 years. His Lady Rangers compiled a record of 461-134 with 12 district titles and two trips to the state tournament’s final four.
Beutel considers coaching his daughters, Britt and Brooke, as one of the highlights of his career.
After spending a combined 40 years as student and a teacher in the Willoughby-Eastlake school system, Beutel retired in 2005. But not for long. A year later, he was approached and accepted the head coaching job of the girls’ basketball team at Gilmour Academy. In eight years, he has led the Lady Lancers to a record of 144-47.
Beutel’s second bite of the apple has lifted his career coaching victory total to 605, which ranks him seventh on the all-time list of Ohio girls’ basketball coaches.
Beutel and his wife Claudia live in Chardon.
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Weltman, Harry
Harry Weltman
Induction Year : 2013
Sport: Basketball
Harry Weltman was many and most things.
The graduate of Glenville High (1950) and Baldwin-Wallace College (1954) earned playing honors in basketball, baseball and football. But that athletic prowess was just the prelude for a life in sports.
He will always be remembered in Cleveland for masterminding the turnaround of the Cavaliers after taking over as general manager of the downtrodden franchise in 1982. The Cavaliers reached the playoffs for the first time in seven years when Weltman’s moves paid off in 1985.
During that time he coined “Cavs” as the most-often used moniker for the team, citing it because he considered the nickname “punchy and strong.”
His reign in Cleveland ended after the 1985-86 season. He was general manager of the New Jersey Nets from 1987 to 1990.
Before returning to his hometown, Weltman guided the Spirits of St. Louis of the American Basketball Association from 1973 to 1976.
He was instrumental in sports television programming before that.
After a two-year tour in the Army, he honed his marketing skills in advertising positions in New York. He was on the ground floor in helping fledgling NFL Films establish itself from 1965 to 1970, lending expertise in creating the format for “This Week in Pro Football” and other NFL properties.
He went on to develop film projects for the National Hockey League, Major League Baseball, network television and numerous advertising agencies.
After leaving professional basketball, he worked as an investment adviser and became president of Caliper Sports Inc., a psychological profiler for professional and college sports teams. Weltman and wife, Rosemary, live in Pepper Pike.
Deceased 2014
Morin, Pat
Pat Morin
Induction Year : 2013
Sport: Squash
At Bexley High School in Columbus he was chosen “Athlete of the Year” his senior year and set the school’s scoring record in basketball, 42 points. He went on to Ohio State starting on Fred Taylor’s freshman basketball squad. Teammates Larry Siegfried and Richie Hoyt were team members who later played on the only Buckeye team to win the NCAA National Championship. Unfortunately an injury ended Patrick’s collegiate career at the end of his freshman season.
At age 35, Patrick was asked to play squash at the first public squash courts ever built in New York. Eureka! It was the greatest sport he had ever experienced. Within two years he had moved up to the A ranks in New York.
In 1978 business brought Patrick to Cleveland. The 13th Street Racquet Club was just opening. He entered his first Nationals the next year in Detroit and was thrashed in the first round. Things changed from then on.
He won 6 state titles, two in Ohio and four in Michigan, and 13 Cleveland championships. At 49 in the National Championships he beat the number 1 seed.
In 1995 he reached the National Singles 55 plus finals and lost a one point tiebreaker in the fifth and final game but he struck gold in 1996 sweeping to victory in Denver without the loss of a game to win the US 55 plus National Championship. He won his second National Championship, 60 and over, in 1999 beating the leading player in North America who had won 13 US Championships, 6 Canadian Championships, and several world titles.
The following year in Boston he picked up his third National Championship coming back from almost being down and out to win the crown.
Patrick has been in the advertising agency business as his “day job.” He started in New York and now owns his own agency, PJ Morin Inc., in Cleveland. He keeps his interest in squash alive today by assisting Urban Squash Cleveland with their marketing efforts.
Patrick, and his wife Debbie, live in Bratenahl. Debbie is Director of the Center for Educational Leadership at Cleveland State University.