, ,

Mack, Kevin

Kevin Mack

Induction Year : 2016

Sport: Football

Kevin Mack is a Cleveland Brown, through and through. His entire nine-year career as a National Football League running back was in the orange and brown, and today he continues in the team’s front office as the Alumni Relations manager.

Mack played in 99 games for the Browns, rushing for 5,123 yards and scoring 46 touchdowns. He also caught 197 passes for 1,602 yards and eight touchdowns.

If the Browns needed a tough yard, Mack usually got the ball.

He ranks ninth on Cleveland’s all-time scoring ledger with 324 points. He is also the franchise’s fifth all-time leading rusher and joined the Cleveland Browns Legends in 2007.

Nicknamed “Mack Truck,” he was named to two Pro Bowls in 1985 and 1987 and was considered not only an all-star runner but an exceptional blocker.

A native of Kings Mountain, N.C., Mack played at Clemson University and then one year for the Los Angeles Express of the United States Football League before the Browns made him the 11th overall selection in the 1984 NFL Supplemental Draft of USFL and Canadian Football League players.

During his rookie year in 1985, Mack ran for 1,104 yards, seven touchdowns and 5 yards per carry. He combined with Earnest Byner (1,002 yards) to become just the sixth running back tandem in NFL history to each rush for 1,000 yards.

One of Mack’s most significant runs came in the final game of the 1989 season when, with 39 seconds on the clock, he dragged defenders over the goal line for a four-yard touchdown that earned the Browns a 24-20 victory over the Houston Oilers and the AFC Central Division title.

Earlier this year Mack received the Dino Lucarelli Lifetime Achievement Award at the National Football Foundation and Cleveland Touchdown Club Charities Athlete-Scholarship Awards banquet.

/by
Read more
, ,

Palumbo, Sam

Sam Palumbo

Induction Year : 2016

Sport: Football

It was all about football and family for Sam Palumbo.

Growing up in Cleveland’s Collinwood neighborhood, he made a name for himself playing football and basketball for the Railroaders. He captained both teams into his senior season in 1951. As a defensive lineman, he earned All-East Side Senate, All-Scholastic and All-Ohio honors. He could have played in the City Championship basketball game, but as a mid-year graduate, he was already enrolled at the University of Notre Dame.

Earning a role as a defensive tackle, he was on the Fighting Irish varsity as a freshman under legendary coach Frank Leahy. He was an All-Midwest selection as a sophomore and on the once-tied 1953 team. After earning four letters, he was a first team All-Catholic pick and played in the North-South game in Miami.

The 195-pounder caught the eye of another legendary coach as he was selected by Paul Brown to play linebacker for the Browns as a fourth-round draft pick (No. 49 overall) in 1955. In the self-proclaimed highlight of his career, he replaced an injured Chuck Noll and helped the Browns defeated the Los Angeles Rams, 38-14, for the NFL title that year. Palumbo contributed an interception to the victory.

After another year with the Browns, he was traded to the Green Bay Packers for his final season of pro ball in 1957.

But football remained in his blood for the next 40 years as he became a dean of Northeast Ohio’s officiating ranks, retiring from both the gridiron and his insurance business in 2001. He was always helpful lending wisdom to young officials learning their way through the rules and regulations of the high school game.

He was honored with the Cleveland Touchdown Club Bobby Brown service award in 2002 and a member of the first class in the Greater Cleveland Football Officials Hall of Fame in 2009. He had been in the Collinwood HOF since 1992.

Through it all, he was with his high school sweetheart, Catherine,for more than 60 years of marriage. The couple raised five sons and a daughter, residing in Lyndhurst.

/by
Read more
, ,

Bartley, Mike

Mike Bartley

Induction Year : 2016

Sport: Hockey

Mike Bartley was born to be an ice guy. He had the perfect makeup to coach winning hockey games.

No high school coach in Ohio has ever won more games than Bartley, who retired from coaching Shaker Heights High after winning the school’s fourth state title in 2013. Bartley’s final victory gave him 640, all of them with the Red Raiders for 37 seasons.

Beginning in 1976, he compiled a record of 640-346-36. His teams won state championships in four decades: 1981, 1993, 2001 and 2013. He took 10 teams to the state finals, with three of them as runner-ups in 1979, 1998 and 2005.

The Red Raiders won nine Baron Cup Tournament titles during his tenure, more than any other coach can claim for Northeast Ohio bragging rights.

But bragging rights would not be how the low-keyed Bartley would ever approach the accomplishment. It was not in his nature to put his wins above victories for the team. In his cramped office at Thornton Park, all of the Red Raiders’ team trophies and photos took the high-profile spots.

For Bartley, cozy Thornton Park was more of a classroom than rink. Throughout all the seasons, in both summer and fall outside the high school schedule, coaching younger players also played a part in the program’s success.

From mites and squirts to pee-wees and bantams, Bartley could be found going about his patient way teaching the game he loved. You could call him the minister of Thornton Park.

“It’s been sort of a ministry I’ve had in my life,” he said.

Growing up in Sarnia, Ontario, Bartley learned the game at the grass roots level like many Canadians in the junior ranks. He took his lessons to Bowling Green State University, and then played in the minor leagues.

Settling on his teaching role in elementary physical education, he took over the Shaker Heights High program during the disco era. With his trade-mark Maple Leaf tie, he weathered all the tough times and the good ones in the dedicated fashion he wanted – that of a teacher.

/by
Read more
, ,

Friedel, Brad

Brad Friedel

Induction Year : 2016

Sport: Soccer

Brad Friedel epitomized both saving grace and stamina on the soccer field.

For more than a quarter century he staked his claim as one of the top goalkeepers in the collegiate, professional and international ranks. The 6-3 keeper, who switched from forward to the goalmouth growing up in Bay Village, holds the record for playing in 310 consecutive games in England’s highly-competitive Premier League with teams Blackburn, Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur from 1998 to 2015.

Beginning with an NCAA national championship at UCLA in 1990, he earned collegiate honors through 1992 as he won the Hermann Trophy as a junior before opting for a professional career. After stints in Scotland, Denmark and Ireland, he was Major League Soccer’s Goalkeeper of the Year with the Columbus Crew in 1997. That opened the opportunity to play in England, initially with Liverpool and eventually as a starter with Blackburn in 2000 to begin his Premier League reign.

In his first season with Blackburn, he helped the Rovers return to the top division Premier League. He was Blackburn’s player of the year when he had 15 shutouts during the 2002-03 season.

He also played for the United States national team in the 1992 Olympics and in three World Cups. He was dubbed “the human wall” for his outstanding work during the 2002 World Cup as the U.S. reached the quarterfinals with stirring wins against Portugal and Mexico along the way.

He totaled 82 games for the national team from 1992 to 2005.

Before concentrating on soccer, Friedel was an all-state basketball selection at Bay, where he also played tennis. He was the school’s athlete of the year as a senior in 1990. Later that year he was invited to walk-on the UCLA basketball team as freshman.

Hoping to further establish the game at home, he founded the non-profit Premier Soccer Academy in Lorain for youth from 2007-2011. In 2016, he was named head coach of the United States Under-19 team.

 

/by
Read more
, ,

Milkovich, Jamie

Jamie Milkovich

Induction Year : 2015

Sport: Wrestling

It was just a few years ago when a young student was anxious to engage Jamie Milkovich in conversation. He asked how it felt to be a millionaire, the result of “owning” the Maple Heights school that the teen assumed was named in Milkovich’s honor. He was quickly corrected. Milkovich Middle School in Maple Heights is not named for Jamie, but for Mike Milkovich, Jamie’s uncle and the founding father of the city’s scholastic wrestling dynasty that includes 10 state championships.

Jamie Milkovich may not be a millionaire, but he’s rich, very rich, in qualities such as dedication, respect for tradition and accomplishment.

What Uncle Mike started in the 1950’s, Jamie has carried forth for more than three decades inside and outside the Mustangs wrestling room. Milkovich, a Buckeye state champion in his senior year at Maple Heights High at 145 pounds in 1977, eclipsed his personal mat triumphs by taking the reins of the school’s wrestling program in 1981. He’s yet to let them go. This winter, Milkovich will mark his 35th year as head coach of the Mustangs.

Jamie has made the most of his time in charge. He has won 434 dual matches, making him Ohio’s all-time winningest Division I head coach. Milkovich has qualified 94 wrestlers for the annual state tournament, coached 50 of them to state placings, including 21 semi-finalists and nine champions. He joins three other members of the Milkovich family in the Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame, former head coach Mike Milkovich and cousins and fellow Mustang mat standouts Patrick and Tom Milkovich.

Jamie has spent his entire life involved in Maple Heights wrestling, with the exception of his four years at Auburn where he was a two-time All-American (1980-81) and set the university’s record for career victories with 98.

Milkovich returned home to become Maple Heights’ head wrestling coach at the age of 22 in 1981. His accomplishments have not been overlooked by city officials. In 2013, June 19 was proclaimed “Jamie Milkovich Day” in Maple Heights. Also in 2013, he was named Maple Heights Citizen of the Year.

/by
Read more
, ,

Hafner, Travis

Travis Hafner

Induction Year : 2015

Sport: Baseball

Travis Hafner enjoyed a 12-year career in Major League Baseball, the best of the seasons (10 in all) spent wearing a Cleveland Indians’ jersey.

In a four-year stretch from 2004 through 2007, Hafner was one of the most feared batters in the game, hitting 127 home runs and collecting 434 RBI. The 2006 campaign was Hafner’s finest as he smacked 42 homers and drove in 117 runs. He led the American League in slugging percentage (.659) and was so hot in August that he was not only voted a player of the week honor, but player of the month, as well.

Baseball is a game of numbers, and Hafner, who split time between first base and being a designated hitter, has them by the bushel basket.

He was the first player in MLB history to hit five grand slam home runs before the All-Star Game (2006), and remains tied for the most grand slams in a season by hitting six, again in 2006.

Hafner twice finished in the Top 10 for MVP voting, polling fifth in 2005.

In 2002, his first year in the majors as a Texas Ranger, eventual teammate Bill Selby (then a member of the Indians) gave Hafner his nickname. It was “Pronk,” a combination of him being a project as well as a critique of the way he rambled around the bases. “He just looked like a Pronk,” said Selby.

Tribe fans will fondly remember Hafner driving in the winning run in the 11th inning of Game 2 of the 2007 ALDS, also known as the “bug game.” It featured a 10-minute swarming invasion of midges that may have contributed to New York Yankee reliever Joba Chamberlain uncorking two wild pitches, one that lead to the Indians tying the game before Hafner’s heroics.

Hafner ranks eighth on the Indians all-time home run list with 200 blasts. Another of his greatest nights with the Tribe came on Aug. 13, 2003 when he hit for the cycle against the Minnesota Twins.

Hafner and his wife, Amy, and their three children, Blake, Trip and Knox, live in Avon Lake.

/by
Read more
, ,

Anderson, Brian

Brian Anderson

Induction Year : 2015

Sport: Baseball

Brian Anderson was born in Portsmouth, Virginia, on April 26, 1972, and was raised in Geneva, Ohio, where he played baseball, basketball and golf for the Geneva Eagles. Continuing to Wright State University, he blossomed into the most coveted left-handed pitcher in college baseball. The California Angels made him the third player selected in the 1993 Major League draft, and he made his Major League debut in September of that year.

Brian went on to enjoy 13 seasons in the Major Leagues with the California Angels (1993-95), Cleveland Indians (1996-97), Arizona Diamondbacks (1998-2002), Indians again (2003) and Kansas City Royals (2003-2005). His career essentially was ended by Tommy John surgery in 2005. He attempted a comeback the following year, but it was cut short again due to a second Tommy John surgery.

His career record was 82-83, including 12 complete games and four shutouts, with a 4.74 earned run average. His combined record for three seasons with the Indians was 16-13.

Brian was especially valuable to the Indians during their World Series season of 1997 when he made eight starts with a 4-2 record. He returned to the Indians in 2003 and made 24 starts with a 9-10 record.

His effervescent personality propelled him into a career in broadcasting with the Tampa Bay Rays. He has been the Rays’ television analyst since 2011.

Brian, 43, has two children, Rylyn Mae, 10, and Jackson James, 8. He and his wife, Jessica Marie, were married on Nov. 1, 2014, and live in St. Petersburg, Florida.

/by
Read more
, ,

Bentley, LeCharles

LeCharles Bentley

Induction Year : 2015

Sport: Football

LeCharles Bentley always left a big impression. The standout lineman was a force throughout his playing days, from St. Ignatius High School to Ohio State to the National Football League. At 6-2 and 313 pounds as a professional, he was a true force at the highest level of the game.

Under veteran coach, Chuck Kyle (2013 Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame) at St. Ignatius, he was a two-year starter and All-Ohio selection as a senior in 1997.

At Ohio State under coaches John Cooper and Jim Tressel ( 2012 GCSHOF), he anchored the offensive Line and solidified his presence throughout the country. He was a first team All-Big Ten pick in 2000 and 2001, a consensus first team All-American as a senior. He was named the Dave Rimington Trophy winner as the best center in the country in 2001.

Drafted in the second round of the 2002 NFL Draft (No. 44 overall) by the New Orleans Saints, he started all 57 games, at guard and then center, for the team during the next four seasons. He was named by Sports Illustrated as the league’s offensive rookie of the year in 2002 and was on the Pro Football Weekly the all-rookie team.

He was signed by the Cleveland Browns as a free agent in 2006. However, the high hopes for the return to his hometown team were shattered when he tore the left patellar tendon in his left leg at the start of training camp. A subsequent staph infection and numerous knee surgeries put an end to his career, and he officially retired in January 2009.

Bentley worked in the Cleveland media and established a football training school.

/by
Read more
, ,

Dickenson, Frances

Frances Dickenson

Induction Year : 2015

Sport: Tennis

Frances became enchanted with tennis at the age of 10 while living in South Florida. She achieved a national junior ranking of seven and won the prestigious International Junior Orange Bowl Tennis Tournament in singles and doubles. Frances was the recipient of the Florida State Sportsmanship Award. She practiced with and competed against Billie Jean King and Karen Hantze Susman, who both went on to win major tournaments.

Marriage and children took Frances away from competing in tennis, but in her mid forties she returned to Florida to the top of the rankings. She was Florida State Champion in the 45 Singles and ranked number one for two years in a row. Still as a Floridian, she won both the 35 and 45 Western Singles Titles in Indianapolis.

Frances began bringing family members into tennis competition. She and her daughter, Farrar, finished third in the Mother and Daughter Division of the 2002 Nationals in Newport, Rhode Island. In 2012, she competed in the National Senior Games in Cleveland and won the Ladies Doubles and Mixed Doubles, the latter with her husband, David. It seems Frances found a good partner in David. They were the number one ranked Senior Husband and Wife team in the United States for both 2013 and 2014. During those years, they won four National Titles.

Frances serves on the Executive Board of the International Tennis Club of the United States and is the Women’s Captain. She has always given back to the game, helping many players and inner city children. She helped start the Eugene Scott Scholarship Fund that benefits junior players, one being Lauren Davis from Gates Mills, Ohio, ranked as high as 55 in the world.

Frances and David, who was inducted into the Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame in 1992, Reside in Gates Mills, Ohio.

 

/by
Read more
, ,

Rupp, Mike

Mike Rupp

Induction Year : 2015

Sport: Hockey

St. Edward High School has turned out countless all-scholastic hockey players, many college stars and several professionals, but Mike Rupp certainly raised the bar when he broke into the National Hockey League in 2003.

He played his first NHL game for the New Jersey Devils on Jan. 13, 2003—his 23rd birthday—and scored two goals. Five months later he scored the winning goal in the seventh game of the Stanley Cup finals as the Devils defeated the Anaheim Ducks, 3-0. It was his first playoff goal. He also assisted on the other two goals. It was heralded as the greatest performance by a rookie in the history of the Stanley Cup.

When he had his “day” with the Cup, Mike and his family chartered a bus to take the massive silver trophy to all their old haunts, including the Honey Hut ice cream stand on State Road where Mike and his wife, Christi, spent many summer nights, and St. Edward High School, where he won his first trophies.

Mike was on the St. Edward state championship teams of 1995 and ’96, and the Eagles’ state runnerup team of 1997.

Mike played 12 seasons in the National Hockey League with New Jersey, Phoenix Coyotes, Columbus Blue Jackets, Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Rangers, and the Minnesota Wild. While playing with Pittsburgh, he scored a hat trick against the Rangers in Madison Square Garden.

In 610 NHL games, he scored 54 goals, had 45 assists and 855 penalty minutes.

/by
Read more