• Richard "Rick" Forzano
  Football 1981

In 25 years as a football coach, Rick Forzano's career spanned the scholastic, collegiate and professional ranks. A graduate of Garfield High and Kent State, '51, Rick has served as head coach at Hower High, University of Connecticut, the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis and the Detroit Lions. In between these assignments, he had assistant coaching duties at Navy, Wooster College, Kent State, the St. Louis Cardinals and the Cincinnati Bengals. While backfield coach at Navy (1959-63), he tutored two Heisman Trophy winners, quarterbacks, Joe Belino (1960) and Roger Staubach (1963). He was Yankee Conference Coach of the Year in 1964 while at Connecticut and guided the Huskies to their first win over Yale in 90 years in 1965. He piloted the Detroit Lions to a pair of second-place finishes with identical 7-7 records in 1974-75. Forzano then spent several seasons serving as an expert color commentator on ABC's "NCAA Football" series.

• William H. Knowlton
  Basketball 1981

He was the youngest of the Knowlton boys who all attended and were star athletes at The University of Akron. His brother, Art, was a 1970 Hall of Famer inductee. During his three years of playing basketball under Hall of Fame coach, Fred Sefton, the Hilltop cages, which included the great Eddie Wentz, captured back-to-back Ohio Conference Championships with 14-0 record in 1918-19 and a 12-2 mark in 1919-20. Those two squads put together 22 straight victories over two seasons - a record that remains intact to this day. Unlike his brother, Art, who was a scorer and player on both teams, Bill made his mark as a scrappy and determined defensive player.

• Howard L. Ginaven
  Football, Basketball 1981

 This native of Springfield, Ohio excelled in three sports at Ohio Wesleyan University in the years 1928-32. He played fullback in football and forward in basketball and served as captain of both teams his senior campaign. Ginaven earned All-Buckeye Conference honors in 1931 in football and repeated those honors in basketball as a senior. A fine tribute was paid to this talented athlete when his coach at OWU, George Gauthier, who in 20 years coached the Battling Bishops to victories over Michigan and Syracuse, as well as Wittenberg, Miami, Cincinnati and Ohio U of the Buckeye Conference, called Ginaven the best fullback he ever coached. He was one of the first 20 athletes to be voted into OWU Athletic Hall of Fame. Came to Akron in 1934 where he played for the Goodyear Wingfoots through 1938 with such players as Johnny Miner and Bob Cope and for Coaches Cliff "Lefty" Byers and Edgar "Smiley" Weltner - all previous inductees in the Hall of Fame.

• Rudy A. Sharkey
  Coach 1981

After graduating from Marietta College in 1957, where he had started and lettered four years on the gridiron, Sharkey became an assistant coach at Bucyrus High School in the fall of '57. With the exception of the two years at Bucyrus and one year at Midwestern College (Texas), he was a head coach 23 years. Throughout his career he had the reputation of taking over faltering grid programs and rebuilding them into winners. Included in those rebuilding jobs was a seven-year stay at Maysville High School and four at Bellaire High School. He put in 12 years at Barberton High School, where he became the all-time winningest football coach in history. Sharkey was an immediate winner - guiding the Magics to an 8-1-1 record in his first season. Through 1982 Sharkey had directed the Magics to a 79-37-3 record. His 1972 unit went 9-1 and earned his Summit County Coach of the Year honors and again in 1978, Sharkey guided BHS to another 9-1 mark. His overall head coaching record reads: 136-83-7.

• Donald F. Williams
  Basketball 1981

From 1963-67 he was known as "Big D," "Captain Stuff" and "Captain Hook" at Akron U, where he was an outstanding basketball and track athlete. As a freshman, Williams became a starter on the 1963-64 team, which gained national prominence by finishing as national college division runner-up to Evansville. That season began a string of three consecutive Ohio Conference titles and Mideast Regional crowns. The 1965-66 team finished third in the national finals. And if the 1966-67 team had not run into Earl "The Pearl" Monroe in the Mideast Regional championship, Don and company probably would have grabbed the only title which evaded them in his four seasons - the national championship. As a senior the 6-5 talent was voted the Athlete of the Year while scoring 450 points and grabbing 315 rebounds to give him career totals of 1,445 points, 1,218 rebounds. As a four-year letterman, Don helped the Zip thinclads capture 32 of 37 meets including the OC Championships in 1965 and '66.

• Mary "Jo" Chionchio
  Coach 1981

Mary Jo became the first women's varsity athletic coach to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. A 1964 graduate of The University of Akron, Chionchio returned to her high school alma mater, St. Vincent, where she remained for 17 years. She was head coach of three sports - basketball, track and volleyball. In track her teams won 40 of 46 meets from 1966-71 and her volleyball squads captured 93 of 100 matches from 1971-78. However, it is in basketball where Chionchio achieved her greatest success. In 17 years on the job, her Irish girls had 10 undefeated seasons and her record was a phenomenal 234 wins and only 22 losses. From 1969-75 her St. Vincent teams strung together a 72-game win streak - a state record. Mary Jo also guided the Irish girls to back-to-back Ohio AAA titles in 1978-80, including an unbeaten mark of 26-0 in 1979-80.

• Irving "Rip" Terjesen
  Basketball 1981

A Brooklyn, N.Y. native, "Rip" Terjesen played four years of basketball at New York University before joining the Firestone Non-Skids in 1938-39. At NYU he was the Violets' leading scorer two seasons. However, it was while playing three seasons for the Non-Skids that "Rip" gained the most fame. Considered by long-time sports writers and fans alike to be the greatest Firestone teams ever, the 1938-39 and 1939-40 squads captured the National Basketball League championships both seasons. A 6-4 forward-center, Terjesen's forte was his quickness and defensive prowess. His most memorable action, while playing along with Hall of Famers Howard "Soup" Cable, Johnny Moir and Jack Ozburn was in the championship series with the Oshkosh All-Stars in 1939-40. Oshkosh took the first two games of the best of five series, but miraculously, the Non-Skids battled back for victories by the score of 35-32, 41-40 and 61-60.

• Emil Moldea
  Football, Track & Field 1981

This Akron native was a football, baseball and track star at Garfield High. A promising professional baseball career was cut short by a spiked left knee. However, 1939 found him playing football for the undefeated South Akron Awnings. Moldea's enrollment in 1940 at Ohio State was cut short by being drafted into the U.S. Army but, not before establishing an OSU record in the shot put of 50'6". His effort helped the Buckeyes capture the 1941 Big 10 track championship. While in the European Theater in 1945, Moldea finished first in the shot put, second in the discus and third in the hammer at the United Kingdom track and field championships in London. He returned to Ohio State and earned letters in track during the 1946, '47, and '48 seasons. As a senior Moldea tried one more season of football - lettering as a kicking specialist on Wes Fesler's 1947 squad.

• J. Thomas Adolph
  Baseball, Football 1981

As a prep athlete, Adolph was an integral part of the legendary Ned Novell (SCSHOF '80) football teams at Mogadore - teams that won 30 straight games over 4 years. His accomplishments on the hard court were equally impressive being that he once held the school's basketball single-game scoring record.

• Artie Pappa
  Bowling 1981

In 1940, while a pinsetter at Ace Mitchell's Main Bowling Center, Artie Pappa bowled his first game - a 76. Two years later, at age 16, Pappa bowled a 290. Soon this Akron native would be known nationwide for his bowling prowess. He won doubles championships with Steve Galati in 1949, bowled his first sanctioned 300 game in 1950 and in 1951 turned professional. In 1951, he became a member of the World Champion five-man team, Stroh's Beer of Detroit, which included another Hall of Famer, Buzz Fazio. Dubbed the "Little Professor" by the late Pindy Wagner, Pappa became Akron's first full-time teaching pro - serving Eastgate, Northgate and Magic City Lanes. In 1955 he teamed with Harry Smith to win the Ohio doubles championship, was on the state 5-man championship team and was all-events champion in 1956. Pappa, who became a charter member of the Professional Bowlers' Association in 1958, retired from the sport of bowling in 1972.

• Bruce Falb

Coach 1981

He is one of those rare individuals who found a place, liked it and stayed. That is an apt description of Bruce Falb. He was born in Copley and attended Copley High School where he earned three letters in both football and basketball. The only he left was during an 18-month tour of duty in the Navy right out of high school and the four years he spent at Bowling Green University, where he graduated in 1952. Falb taught and coached at Copley for 39 years. He took over the basketball reins in 1956 and over 28 seasons compiled 371 victories and 228 defeats. Twice during Falb's career he was honored as Summit County Coach of the Year (1965-66 and 1978-79). On 12 occasions, including his last six seasons, his Indian cagers captured the Suburban League title and three times his squads were undefeated in regular season play: 18-0 in 1965-66 and 1978-79 and 19-0 in 1980-81.

• Leonard S. Paul

Basketball 1981

Over four seasons, all as a starter, Paul netted 2,028 points, surpassing the previous all-time career scoring mark of 1620 points. When he scored 5634 points in 1971-72, Paul shattered the existing high school mark, 574 points, set by Frizz Nagy back in the 1944-45 season, becoming on the cager in 72 years of basketball at UA to top the 500 figure in a single season and the first to do it twice. Paul led Akron U to three invitations to 20-6, 26-5, and 22-5 records, as well as three invitations to the NCAA post-season tournaments. In 1971-72, the Zips finished as a national runner-up to Roanoke College. He was named All-Mideast Regional three straight years, voted to the United States Basketball Writers All-District team three years and the Associated Press All-America first team in 1971-72.