
2002 inductees
-
Carl Tsaloff
Football 2002
With the induction of Carl Tsaloff, another historical first takes place in the SCSHOF. He becomes the first honoree to be inducted after previously receiving the Andy Palich Award for meritorious service to athletics. Tsaloff fits that mold of a rare individual to a "T." He has well served the Akron area community as a 49-year member of the executive board of the Akron Touchdown Club and as a 41-year member of the SCSHOF Committee. However, "Moose," his nickname, was an outstanding all-around athlete at both Akron Garfield High School and at The University of Akron. Although born in Granite City, IL on April 8, 1916, Tsaloff came to Akron at an early age. At Garfield he lettered three years each in football, basketball and track. He would go onto achieve the same letters at UA. Yet, before he ever set foot on the UA campus, his world took a drastic change when his father died during his senior year at Garfield. With America in the "Great Depression," his family needed another breadwinner and Carl filled the role by getting a job at the Miller Rubber Company. Some 45 years later Tsaloff would retire from B.F. Goodrich, which had purchased Miller in 1936. Thanks to a sympathetic boss and Tsaloff's ability to budget his time efficiently, he maintained his grades and athletic activities through his college years. It was a time when fountain drinks were three cents and hot beef and pork sandwiches were 14 cents at Nick "The Greek" Yanko's place on Center Street and tuition at UA was only $40. A strapping 6-1, 195 pound fullback and end, Tsaloff played for Howard "Red" Blair in 1935 and two seasons with Jim Aiken as the Zippers compiled winning records of 6-3, 6-2-1 and 7-2, respectively. During the 1937 season Carl was on the receiving end of several touchdown passes from Hall of Fame halfback-quarterback Frank Zazula and they both were voted on the All-Ohio team. That '37 season also brought Tsaloff his biggest thrill in college athletics, a 21-7 victory on the road over the highly touted Toledo. He went on to help UA have three winning seasons in basketball and he was a weight man and long jumper in track. Tsaloff was inducted into the UA Hall of Fame in 1979 and has also been honored by the Touchdown Club and the Dapper Dan Club.​
-
Robert Wallace
Football 2002
Hall of Fame coach Ara Parseghian was one of the first to recognize and capitalize on Bob Wallace's abilities on a football field. In 1951, his first year as head football coach at Miami in Oxford, OH, Parseghian recruited Wallace. Parseghian was partial to players who showed their worth on defense. "One who readily comes to mind is Bobby Wallace from Akron North High," Parseghian said in a 1956 Akron Beacon Journal story. "At 170 pounds, he was a bearcat. They didn't come too big or too tough for him to tackle. It was amazing." Wallace, who began playing football in the Northeast Ohio Junior Bantam League, played on both sides of the ball at Miami, earning three letters as a starting running back, return man and defensive back under Parseghian. Wallace recalled his days under Parseghian. "He loved to recruit Akron area players," Wallace said. "When he recruited me, he must have had about seven players from the Akron area. In fact at one time, we had six starters from Akron." With Wallace in a lineup Miami set school standards that stand to this day. The 1953 Redskins set school records for most points (81) and most touchdowns (12) in a game. Miami's 1954 team owns the school record for the lowest offensive yards allowed average in a season (165.8). Wallace had a banner senior season earning All-Mid-American Conference first-team honors in 1954 when he scored 36 points and led Miami with a 23.3 yard punt return average, a kickoff return average of 22.3 yards, a 5.8 yard rushing average and all-purpose yardage with 757 yards. In one of his career highlights that season, the Akron product gathered in a Dick Hunter pass in the flat and took it 25 yards for the game's only score as Miami beat Big Ten opponent Indiana, 6-0. After graduating Wallace spent five seasons as an assistant football coach to Ed Kirkpatrick and Tom Pagna, a Miami teammate, at Akron North. Then in 1962 Wallace was selected to guide the football fortunes of the new Firestone High School, where he remained until 1972 when he retired from coaching.
-
Frank M. Stams
Football 2002
His accomplishments on the prep, college and professional athletic fields, stamps Frank Stams as one of the best athletes to come out of Summit County. He lettered in three-sports at St.Vincent-St. Mary High School, leading the Fighting Irish to state championships in both football and basketball. He also played center field for the Irish baseball team. But, he excelled at football! Playing both ways, the rugged 6'2", 220 pound Stams dominated the football field. Playing linebacker and tailback he led the Irish to an undefeated season and a state championship in his junior year. In his senior year, the Irish basketball team won a state crown with Stams at center. Although the football team failed to win another state title in his final year, Stams was named to the All-City; All-District; All-State and All-American teams. He then took his talents to Notre Dame where he focused on his favorite sport, playing under Gerry Faust for one season and Lou Holtz for three seasons. Stams played fullback during the 1985 and '86 seasons before breaking his leg during spring practice in 1987 that led to his move to linebacker and defensive end. In his final two years he blossomed at the defensive positions and in 1988, the Fighting Irish went 13-0, winning the national championship. In a key 31-30 victory over Miami, Stams earned the ABC-TV defensive player of the game. By having eight solo tackles and two quarterback sacks Stams repeated that honor when the Fighting Irish defeated West Virginia, 34-12, in the Fiesta Bowl. He went on to be named to the 1988 AP and UPI All-America teams as a linebacker. The Los Angeles Rams drafted him in the second round, where he played nearly 3-1/2 years at linebacker before being traded to the Cleveland Browns in 1992. After being released by the Browns in 1994, Stams went to the Carolina Panthers as a free agent, then to the Kansas City Chiefs before completing his pro career back with the Browns in 1995. He is currently an assistant football coach at his alma mater, St.Vincent-St. Mary.
-
Earl Raymond Shaw
Football, Basketball 2002
He has displayed exceptional competitiveness in many sports, but perhaps his finest moments came as a basketball player for legendary basketball coach Mose Hole at the College of Wooster Scots and with the Goodyear Wingfoots. A 1944 graduate of Cuyahoga Falls High, Shaw saw duty in the military service until 1946 when he enrolled at Wooster. Shaw was Wooster's first cager to score 400 points in a season and 1,000 or more points in a career that saw him earn All-Ohio Conference honors four times and All-Ohio honors three times. Currently, he stands fourth with 1,491career points in Wooster's record book. He played only one season of football at Wooster, as a senior, but it was a good one. He set school records for pass attempts (126) and completions (67) that stood for 32 years. After graduating in 1950, Shaw joined Goodyear, playing for the Wingfoots from 1950-54. That first season Shaw warmed the bench until the last game when he came off the bench to net 14 points in the second half to spark the Wingfoots to victory. The MVP for the 1951-52 season, Shaw served as captain and earned AAU National Industrial Basketball League first-team honors during the 1953-54 season. Shaw maintained a hectic extra-curricular sports schedule during his college days and beyond. He was an all-star shortstop for the Canton Road Furniture softball team that featured ace pitcher Hank Vaughn, a 1968 Hall of Fame inductee. In golf, he has three holes in one, including an ace on the 285-yard par four 10th hole at Mayfair Country Club. Shaw also has another claim to fame. As a 13-year old in 1940 he won the Beacon Journal Greater Akron Marbles Tournament and he went on to finish third in his division at the national championship in Wildwood, NJ. Shaw has previously been inducted into the College of Wooster and the Wayne County Sports Halls of Fame.
-
Randy Berentz
Official, Basketball 2002
These days most people know Randy Berentz as a retired Barberton High School science teacher and as an outstanding sports official. He is a long-time official in volleyball, softball and, this coming winter, the 60-year old Berentz will enter his 38th year as basketball official- 15 on the college level. However, it is on the other side of the whistle where the 6 foot-6 Berentz excelled. A walk-on at The University of Akron under Head Coach Tony Laterza, Berentz earned three letters. He saw limited action in 29 games as UA captured 18 of 24 contests in 1961-62 and 22 of 25 games in '62-63. Berentz began his senior season by coming off the bench in the first two games to score 13 points versus Dayton and 14 points against Denison. That got Laterza's attention! Thrust into a lineup that included Don Williams, Frank Thompson and Billy Stevens, all in the Hall of Fame, Berentz became the Zips' zone-breaker with his long, high-arching outside shots. On a roll, Berentz hit for double figures, including a career high 26 points versus nationally-ranked Youngstown, in the next nine games to become the team's leading scorer. Eventually, the season came down to the Ohio Conference Championship against arch nemesis Wittenberg, who had downed UA in 13 consecutive games. Before a packed house in Akron's Memorial Hall, Berentz played brilliantly, netting a team-high 14 points and slapped away a last second shot as UA prevailed, 52-51. That triumph seemed to inspire Berentz and company to greater heights as UA captured its first NCAA Mideast Regional before eventually dropping the college division national championship to number one ranked Evansville, 72-59. With Berentz leading the way with 432 points, the 1963-64 team had compiled the most wins in UA history on its way to a 24-7 record. He went on to play one season with the Cleveland Airmatic Valves and three seasons with the Goodyear Wingfoots, where he earned AAU All-America honors in 1969. Berentz was inducted into UA's Sports Hall of Fame in 1995.
-
J. David Jamerson
Basketball 2002
Stow High School has had many good basketball players in its history, but the one who stands out head and shoulders above the rest is Dave Jamerson. A prolific scorer, in his senior year he led the Bulldogs to a perfect 20-0 record, averaging 33.5 points per game. Stow eventually lost to Central-Hower in the playoffs, but was ranked third in the final state poll. After graduation in 1985, he entered Ohio University and went on to earn four letters in basketball. As a freshman, he didn't start but was instant offense off the bench, averaging better than 14 points a game. Invited to the National Invitational Tournament (NIT), the Bobcats lost to eventual NIT Champion, Ohio State, by three points. Prior to the next season, Jamerson suffered an unfortunate accident, tearing the medial ligament in his right knee. He was red-shirted by the Bobcats but returned to the hardwood in 1987 and was a starter for the next three years. Not only did Jamerson average 17 points per game in 1987-88, but also he was on the winning North squad, earning a gold medal in the Olympic festival games at the University of North Carolina. In his junior year he improved to average 19 points a game. However, he saved his finest performance for his senior year of 1989-90. He set an NCAA I record for the most three-point field goals in one game-14 and established new Mid-American Conference (MAC) records of 60 points in a single game and 877 points in a season for 31 points per game to finish as the third leading scorer in the nation. His effort earned him Player of the Year in the MAC and he was voted first team CoSIDA Academic All-America. In the process the 6-5 scoring machine became OU's all-time leading scorer, racking up 2,336 points. And to top off that senior campaign the Miami Heat selected Jamerson as the 15th player in the NBA draft. He was traded to the Houston Rockets and for the next four years played with the Rockets, Utah and New Jersey. In his final pro season, 1995, he won a silver medal in the Pan American games.
-
Renee Vance Richardson
Softball 2002
The Vance name, more specifically the Vance sisters, are synonymous with winning softball at Manchester High School and The University of Akron. First there was Cheryl, a catcher, then pitchers Dani, a 2000 SCSHOF inductee, and Renee. All three lettered four years at UA and contributed greatly to the success of the Zip softball program under Head Coach Joey Arrietta. It is said that records are made to be broken. Dani broke most of UA's pitching records during her four seasons (1981-84) and then during her four years (1983-86) Renee re-broke all 16 pitching records that UA maintains. A southpaw, Renee started slow as freshman compiling a 6-3 win-loss record that included a, 9-0, no-hit pitching performance against Ashland. She improved to 12-1 with a .19 era, third best in the nation in 1984 as the Lady Zips compiled a 48- 6 record while finishing runner-up in the NCAA II Softball Championship. A big career win for Renee came when she pitched the Zips to a 3-1 NCAA II semifinal victory over Sam Houston State. Renee's most impressive season came in 1985 when she pitched Akron to 25 of its 51 wins on the way to another second place finish in the NCAA II Tournament. Her performance, which included a record-breaking 144 strikeouts, a .51 era and a .292 batting average, earned her an All-America second team slot. In addition, Vance was named the team's MVP and was voted onto the NCAA II All-Tournament squad. Although compiling a 13-7 win-loss mark as a senior did not compare favorably to her 25-6 record in 1985, her value to the team was considerable as she batted a career high .375 average that included nine triples and three homeruns. That effort earned her UA's Caroline Pardee Female Athlete of the Year Award for 1986. During her four-year career in which Akron put together a win-loss record of 164-37-3, Vance accumulated 56 wins, 341 strikeouts in 522 2/3 innings, a .79 era and a .325 batting average. Now Renee joins Dani Vance Crookston as the only sisters inducted into the SCSHOF.
-
Mark Murphy
Football 2002
This inductee, a football product of Canton Glen Oak High School, came out of small West Liberty State in West Virginia to play his entire 11-year NFL career with the Green Bay Packers. Mark Murphy, a strong safety, proved outstanding enough to be enshrined in the Packer's Hall of Fame in 1998 by accumulating 900 tackles, 20 interceptions and 11 quarterback sacks during his career. One of those interceptions he returned 50 yards for a touchdown against archrival Minnesota. A "Where Are They Now" Packers' feature two years ago said of Murphy, "He wasn't flashy, he didn't crave the spotlight, but Murphy was a solid contributor to the Packers' defensive backfield." Murphy, who played from 1980-92, missed the entire 1986 season with a stress fracture of the left foot. However, he came back in 1987 to lead the defensive backs with 63 solo tackles and received the Ed Block Courage Award which honors NFL players "who exemplify commitment to the principles of sportsmanship and courage." Recipients are selected by teammates for team effort as well as individual performance. In 1988 Murphy was voted the Packers' Man of the Year. The storied rivalry between the Packers and the Chicago Bears is Murphy's fondest memory of his playing days in the NFL. "It was always intense, always close and always a good game. It was fun!" Bears running back Walter Payton remains Murphy's favorite opponent. "It was just his work ethic, the way he handled himself. He'd lay a good hit on you, jump up, slap you on the butt, and run off to the huddle before you got up." Murphy rates the top three receivers he had to face as teammate James Lofton, the 49ers' Jerry Rice and Steve Largent of the Seahawks. Murphy, who suffers from a form of alopecia, an immune system condition causing permanent hair loss, led West Liberty to the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship in 1979, earning all-conference and honorable mention All-America accolades in the process. Currently, Murphy is Dean of Men and assistant football coach at Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary High School.
-
Vicki Montgomery
Bowling 2002
Life on the road can be trying, as a lot of professional athletes have expressed. But it can be good, too. Vicki Montgomery found it so in the four years she spent traveling on the Ladies Professional Bowling Association (LPBA) tour from 1987 through 1990. She and her husband, Larry, who is also her coach and mentor, traveled in a motor home from one tour stop to the next. She said it was like home, no unpacking, lots of free time for relaxing, and they even had their dog with them. Vicki, an LPBA member for a total of six years, cashed in half the events she competed in over a four- year period. Her best finish was fourth in Las Vegas! "It was probably my most memorable bowling achievement because I was on ESPN television." She must have liked the southwest because she finished sixth in Tempe, AZ, seventh in Albuquerque, NM and she wound up 10th in DeSoto, TX. "You've come a long way, baby," certainly applies to Montgomery, who started bowling at the age of seven to being featured in the premier edition of the LPBA "Strike Force" trading cards and being nominated for the LPBA "Rookie of the Year" award. Becoming a tour player was a natural step for Vicki following her wins at the first Ohio Women's Bowling Association Queens Tournament for high average bowlers in 1986 and the Akron Women's Bowling Association (AWBA) team championship that same year. Later, Montgomery repeated as singles champion of the Queens Tournament in 1990, were on the 1993 and the '94 AWBA championship teams and captured the '93 AWBA doubles title with Theresa Morris when she was named to the Akron WBA All-Star team. In addition, the Ravenna native has won several team, singles, doubles and all-event titles in various Portage County leagues and is a member of the Portage County Hall of Fame. Vicki, who now resides in Florida, is also a Tri-County Bowling Hall of Fame inductee.
-
William McGee·
Coach 2002
Following in the footsteps of a legend is not an easy task, but Bill McGee did it successfully and he went on to create a legend of his own at his alma mater Garfield High School. McGee took over the football reins from his former coach, the legendary Dan "Babe" Flossie, who retired in 1976. For the next 26 years, McGee-coached teams became the scourge of the City Series with the Rams winning 16 city titles while compiling an enviable record of 191 wins, 83 losses and four ties. Actually, his coaching experience at Garfield encompassed 36 years, going back to 1966 when he was a volunteer assistant defensive coach under Flossie. In addition to the city championships, McGee's teams at Garfield reached the state playoffs in 1983 and '89, with the '83 team a Division I runner-up. Through the years, McGee coached city and county all-star teams six times. As head coach he directed the Ohio North All-Stars to a 26-0 victory over the Ohio South All-Stars in the classic's 50th Anniversary in 1995. Three years stand out on McGee's resume---1983, 1994 and 2001. In 1983 he was named Ohio Co-Coach of the Year for Triple A schools by UPI and the AP named him Co-Coach of the Year for Northeast Ohio Inland. Then his peers honored him as Summit County Coach of the Year. He was again named Summit County Coach of the Year in '94, as well as Akron City Series Coach of the Year and the Cleveland Plain Dealer selected McGee as Coach of the Year for Summit, Portage and Medina counties. In 2001 he was presented the Caraboolad Coach of the Year Award. The award is named after the late Hoban football coach, Clem Caraboolad, who was known for his dedication to his work and family, kindness to others and for his ability to motivate students in both the classroom and athletics. The Beacon Journal presents the award each year to a coach in Summit, Stark, Medina, Portage or Wayne counties who exemplifies these characteristics. McGee retired from the coaching ranks as well as his teaching duties in English at Garfield this past spring.​
-
Jack H. Gibson·
Football, Track & Field 2002
The late Jack Holt Gibson was a guy who liked to be around people. And he was the sort of fellow who could make a difficult task seem easy. That's the way his brother, Richard Gibson, remembers the former Garfield High and North Carolina A&T football star. Jack led all scorers in City Series football, earning All-City honors in 1945 and 1946 when he shared the Beacon Journal Player of the Year award with Tom Conti of Akron East High. Gibson also was the fastest schoolboy runner in the city as a senior, setting records in the 100-yard dash and ran the 440-yard run in 47 seconds, a record that last until 1960. A 1947 Garfield graduate who attended the University of Toledo before transferring to North Carolina A&T and earning four letters in football, Jack Gibson was a 5-10, 175-pound three-way terror on a football field. Gibson guided the Aggies, located in Greensboro, NC, to a berth opposite Florida A&M in the 1951 Orange Blossom Football Classic and he still holds the A&T record for most points in a football game with 30 against Shaw in 1949. Gibson earned All- Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) honors his senior season, when he led the Aggies in kickoff return yardage, punt return yardage and point-after conversions. He was also the team's second leading rusher and scorer that year. Jack Gibson's entry into the Summit County Sports Hall of Fame marks the third such tribute to his athletic prowess. He was a member of Garfield High's inaugural Hall of Fame class, and was in North Carolina A&T's first group of hall of fame honorees in 1978. In the A&T Hall of Fame induction ceremony program, Gibson is remembered as possessing "outstanding quickness; and although most of his notoriety was gained as an offensive player, he was equally respected around the CIAA as a safety and as a kicker." A product of the U.S. Army ROTC program at A&T, Gibson was commissioned a second Lieutenant after his June, 1952 graduation. On the day of his discharge, some two years later, Gibson died in a swimming accident and was buried with military honors at Akron's Glendale Cemetery.
-
Gerald Hollendorfer·
Horse Racing 2002
This native born Akronite, the seventh leading all-time trainer of thoroughbred racehorses in the country, is nearing 3600 winners. These days Jerry Hollendorfer splits his time between northern California and Arlington Park near Chicago. Hollendorfer has a stable of 140 horses, three-fourths in which he has a share, but some he owns outright. "I like to build partnerships," he says. If you wagered on Hollendorfer entries, odds are you would get a return 54 percent of the time, according to the National Thoroughbred Racing Association. In 1997 his horses won $5,208,149, in '98 $6.4 million and in '99 $5.3 million. Last year he had 263 winners with earnings of $5,497,046. In 2001, Hollendorfer won his 23rd consecutive Bay Meadows (CA) trainers title with 35 winners. He also won the Arlington Park title with 41 winners. However, racing luck is fickle as Hollendorfer can attest. In 1998 he had a Kentucky Derby entry in Event of the Year, which had to be scratched because of injury. Event of the Year had won four starts, including the $600,000 Jim Beam Stakes. Two years later, Globalize had to be scratched after being kicked by a stable pony. "Every trainer would like to win that race," he says. Hollendorfer visited California after graduating from the University of Akron and decided to stay. He started in racing as a hot walker and groom, took his first trainer’s license in 1979. Five years later, he and two partners claimed a three-year-old filly named Novel Sprite for $15,000. She ended up winning $467,586 and was sold for $100,000 as a broodmare. It was the turning point in his career. Named the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association Trainer of the Year in 1995, Hollendorfer has won 13 straight training titles at Golden Gate Fields and 15 straight training titles at Bay Meadows. Hollendorfer came back to Ohio in 1989 to win the $300,000 Ohio Derby at Thistledown with King Glorious and in 1995 when he won the training title at Thistledown. King Glorious won eight of nine races before being sold in 1989 to Japanese breeders.