September 14, 2009 List of Legends

Jim is a former professional American football safety for five seasons for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League. He graduated in 1958 from St. Clairsville High School and in 1963 from University of Chattanooga, which later became University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He is now a realtor in Columbus, OH.

Tom broke into the Majors with 20 wins for the Reds in 1985, becoming the first rookie to win 20 games since the Yankee’s Bob Grim in ’54.

On September 16, 1988, Tom pitched a perfect game against the Dodgers en route to an 18-5, 3.41 record. In August of 1991, he defeated Montreal’s Dennis Martinez 11-3, the first match-up of perfect game hurlers in 25 years. His major league baseball career first ended in 1995. Then he returned as Manager of the Florence (KY) Freedom (2003-04) of the Frontier League. He has been honored as an member of the Cincinnati Reds All Time Team.

The co-captain and fullback for Ohio State’s 1957 national collegiate football champs, the curve-balling Cisco had little success with Boston then moved to the Mets. In the longest game, by time, in ML history (7 hours, 23 minutes with 23 innings), he worked the last nine innings, shutting out San Francisco the first eight then yielding 2 runs to lose 8-6. In the 3-plus years with the Mets, he was 18-43, later becoming a respected ML pitching coach.

A 14 year Major League pitcher, Ned completed 153 games with a 3.73 ERA. He won 20 games in 1951 and was the Starting Pitcher for the American League in the 1951 All Star game. He holds a career win total of 129 games. His 20 games won in 1951 for the St. Louis Browns makes him the only pitcher to ever win 20 games in a season for a team that lost 100 or more games. He was elected to the Ohio Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987.

As a sports “legend”, Bubba boxed while serving in the Coast Guard. He is credited with winning more Golden Gloves bouts than anyone in Coast Guard history at that time. As an entertainment “legend”, the silver screen beckoned. His credits include the desk clerk Floyd opposite Ryan & Tatum O’Neal in “Paper Moon”. However, he is best known for his unique campfire role in “Blazing Saddles”.

The Minnesota Twins and Cleveland Indians pitcher posted a career 145 wins and 53 saves. In 1965, he led the American League (AL) with 21 wins helping the Twins to an AL Championship. Mudcat made the All Star team in 1965 and won two games of the World Series.

The NL Rookie of the Year in 1966, Helms became one of the best second basemen of the 1960s. This excellent fielder led the NL in fielding percentage and double plays three times and later coached the Reds.

A native of Massillon, Ohio, Jim played 13 seasons at linebacker for the Cleveland Browns. He was a member of the team when it won the World Championship in 1964. In 2006, he was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame, having played at The Ohio State University under Woody Hayes. He was a 3-year starter at end for Woody and twice the Buckeye MVP. Jim’s older brother Lin also played for the Browns. Brother Walt played for the Washington Redskins.

A native of Bridgeport, CT, he graduated from the University of Texas El Paso in 1971. In January 1972, he attended the Al Somers Umpire School. During 1972 to 1975, he gained experience in the Minor Leagues while working as an Instructor at Al Somers School. On April 10, 1976, he began his career with the American League opening in Cleveland. Since then, he’s worked seven Championship Series, two World Series and two All Star games. He retired in 2002 after 26 years in the Major Leagues. In June 2008, Greg was inducted into the Medina County Sports Hall of Fame. Since his retirement, he does Pet Therapy with his Boxers Reni and Dieter in the Skilled Care Nursing Unit at Western Reserve Masonic Community.

Vern was on the Pirates World Championship team in 1960, and won the Cy Young Award that year with a 20-9 record and league high 18 complete games.

Jerry pitched a no-hitter in his first and last games plus led the league in home runs during his professional debut in 1964 in the Rookie league. He was the first player drafted by the Houston Astros in 1965.

A Vietnam War veteran, Mathis officiated high school basketball games from 1967 to 1972, then worked college games in the Big 10, Mid-American and Ohio Valley conferences until 1976. Hired by the NBA that year, his first game in the pro ranks was memorable for involving a fight between the Chicago Bulls and Milwaukee Bucks. Fifteen technical fouls were called and five players ejected.He retired in 2001.

A Dayton, OH native he graduated from the University of Dayton (UD) in 1952, having been an All American in 1951 and 1952. In 1951, he was part of the UD team that was the last one in NCAA history to play in both the NCAA and NIT Championship Games in the same year. He is a member of the University of Dayton Hall of Fame. In 1953, while playing with the Detroit Pistons, he was named the very first NBA Rookie of the Year. In 1992, Don retired after 30+ years in television sales and management. This year, he retired from commercial and residential security sales. He is the holder of a World Record (in the Guiness Book of World Records) for the most disqualifications (fouling out) in one season in the NBA during 1953.

A member of the 1954 AL Champion Cleveland Indians when they won a record 111 games, he caught Hall of Famers Early Wynn, Bob Feller and Bob Lemon. In April of this year, the varsity baseball field of Barberton (OH) High School was named Hal Naragon Field. He caught Jim Perry's first major league start on April 23, 1959.

For 30 years, he served as Head Coach of Wright State University’s baseball program in Dayton, Ohio leading his team to 20 winning records, including a trio of 40-win seasons. Professionally, he played for Detroit in 1962, pitched for Cleveland, and ended his career as a player and coach with the New York Mets. He was Tom Seaver’s pitching coach.

Jim was signed in 1959 as a pitcher with the Cleveland Indians. He won 18 games and was named Cleveland's "Man of the Year". In 1963, he was traded to the Twins where he pitched for 10 years winning the Cy Young Award in 1970.

A Penn State graduate, he was drafted by the Cleveland Browns, playing from 1957 until '65. He then played for the Lions, Rams and Giants, and was named to the Pro Bowl in 1961 and 1962.

A native of Puerto Rico, he was a sparkplug for the White Sox. A smart and fast runner, he ran the bases with abandon, sliding into bases on his belly before it was fashionable, and made many a game-saving catches in right field. He became known as "Jungle Jim" due largely to his unorthodox playing style, and for his highly extroverted personality.

A native of Gaffney, South Carolina, he is a former two-time world kickboxing champion. His record is 68-8 (32 KOs). He is also the Guinness world record holder for the Punch-Bag Marathon with a time of 37 hours and 30 minutes.

Hailing from Chicago, he attended the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. His play at Michigan inspired the popularity of Wolverine basketball causing the school to begin the construction of Crisler Arena. The facility later became known as “The House that Cazzie Built”. His junior year, he helped take his team to the NCAA Championship game. The Wolverines won 3 Big 10 titles and 2 NCAA Final Four appearances during the Russell era. Joining the Knicks, he played a key role in helping them win their first world championship in the NBA. He then played for the Golden State Warriors, LA Lakers and Chicago Bulls. He was called to the ministry in 1989, and presently serves as Associate Pastor at Live Oak Community Church in Savannah, Georgia.

Fred is a 1962 graduate of Fairview High School and attended The Ohio State University. He first signed with the Minnesota Twins in 1964. Then, during eight years in the big leagues, he played for the Detroit Tigers, Houston Astros and Montreal Expos. His best year was 1971 with Detroit accomplishing 20 saves, 11 wins and a 2.71 ERA. He set the team record with 69 appearances and his Honorable Mention on the All Time Detroit Tigers Team.

Chuck is the founder of the Pro-Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. He is the former General Manager of the Sarasota White Sox. Presently, he is Executive Director of the Otto Graham, Carlton Fisk Sports Legends Charity Classic played in Florida.

An eight year veteran of professional baseball, his best year was in 1968 when he was 4-1 with 3 saves for the World Champion Detroit Tigers. He went on to the Kansas City Royals in the expansion draft. Retirement came in 1974. Jon returned to The Ohio State University where he earned a B.S. degree in Education and taught school for 7 years. Since then, he has been seen as a correspondent on ESPN2’s morning “Cold Pizza” show and also as the Pitching Coach of the Long Beach Armada in the Golden Baseball League.

"Big" George Wilson was a member of the Illinois High School Championship teams in 1958 and 1960 and was First Team Parade High School All American in 1960. He is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati, playing on their NCAA Championship Team in 1962. A member of the Championship Olympic Trials Team in 1964, he was a Gold Medal winner in the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo – Basketball. He was inducted into the US Olympic Hall of Fame in 1988, and into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame in 2005. George played in the NBA from 1964 to 1971.

Kip Young is a former right-handed pitcher who played Major League Baseball with the Detroit Tigers in 1978 and 1979. Young attended Bowling Green State University and was named to the all-MAC team each of his last three years at Bowling Green. He compiled a 1.02 ERA in 1974 on his way to second team all-conference honors, and followed that up with a pair of first team appearances as a junior and senior. His 232 strikeouts and 295 innings pitched are Bowling Green records. He was inducted to the Bowling Green Athletic Hall of Fame in 1976. Young was drafted by the Tigers in the 23rd round of the 1976 amateur draft.