Sports Hall of Fame announces second class for induction
James Black is a 1980 Dover High School graduate and a multisport athlete excelling in football, wrestling and track who earned football All-American honors at the University of Akron and eventually played in the NFL.
The Tuscarawas County Sports Hall of Fame announced its second class for induction.
Four teams, one foundation and 20 individuals were selected for induction and will be honored when the ceremony is held on June 22 at Buckeye Career Center.
The TCSHOF inducted its first class in 2022, and nominations are being accepted for future inductions. Nomination forms may be accessed by visiting the Tuscarawas County Sports Hall of Fame website at www.doverlibrary.org. Look under the About tab and scroll down to the Tuscarawas County Sports Hall of Fame header.
Teams
—1933 Dover boys state championship basketball team. Led by Hall of Fame coach Doc Kelker, they concluded a 20-4 season, beating Marietta in the championship game 34-23.
—1965 Dover St. Joseph Class A state championship football team. Coached by HOFer Art Teynor, the 9-0 Ramblers became the first small school to win the Class A division championship by receiving five more Associated Press votes than Marion Catholic.
—1987-89 Strasburg softball Class A state championship teams. The 1987 team record of 23-0, 1988 team record of 29-2 and 1989 team record of 20-0 were all coached by HOFer Bud Weisgarber, Tim Stevanus and Curt Kuecher.
—1992 Claymont state wrestling team. The Division II state champions were coached by 2022 TCSHOF inductee Eric Toukonen and led by 140-pound state champion Ryin McDaniel.
Dover individuals
—James Black, a 1980 Dover graduate and multisport athlete excelling in football, wrestling and track who earned football All-American honors at the University of Akron and eventually played in the NFL.
—Mickey Mamarella, a first-team All-Ohio in football and baseball and honorable mention All-Ohio in basketball during his 1983 senior year, making him the only male athlete to achieve this distinction in school history.
—Paul Mowrey, a 20-year Dover High School wrestling coaching career with a record of 228-56-3 that included six undefeated seasons.
Dennison St. Marys
—Tom Crosswhite, an All-Ohio basketball player who led Tuscarawas County in scoring in 1967 with 503 points and later attended the University of Dayton averaging 18.1 ppg and 10.2 rebounds and was drafted by the NBA’s Baltimore Bullets.
Indian Valley
—Larry Laisure II, a 1988 graduate and three-sport star at Indian Valley South earning All-Ohio honors in football, basketball and baseball before excelling for the Otterbein College basketball team.
Uhrichsville/Claymont
—Lloyd Albert “Whitey” Moore (deceased), who played professional baseball with the Cincinnati Reds and the St. Louis Cardinals from 1934-41 and pitched in four Reds’ World Series games in 1939 and 1940.
—Nick Mourouzis (deceased), a 1955 Uhrichsville graduate who quarterbacked the Miami of Ohio football team, is a member of the Miami of Ohio Cradle of Coaches and the Indiana Football Hall of Fame. DePauw University’s football field — Mourouzis Field — is named in his honor.
—Gary Watkins, a 1988 Claymont graduate, a two-time All-Ohioan and the 1987-88 Ohio Basketball Player of the Year who averaged 31.6 ppg his senior year and later started four years at Ashland University.
Newcomerstown
—Ernie Art, a 19-year track coach at Newcomerstown High School leading four undefeated teams and earning seven district championships, two regional championships and 13 IVC championships.
Garaway
—Bill Andreas, a 1971 graduate of Garaway lettering four years in basketball before attending the Ohio State University and scoring 517 points and grabbing 220 rebounds during his senior year.
—Dan Andreas, a 1966 graduate of Garaway lettering four years in basketball and baseball and attended the Ohio State University and lettered four years in basketball from 1966-70.
—Geoff Stevanus (deceased), the girls varsity basketball coach at Garaway for 22 seasons who compiled a career overall record of 379-134 and made two state appearances while topping the 20-win plateau seven times.
New Philadelphia/Stone Creek
—Russell J. Beichley (deceased), a 1922 graduate of NPHS who earned 14 letters in football, basketball, baseball, and track and field and coached Akron West to city titles in football, basketball, wrestling, golf and tennis.
—Brande Lamb, a 1992 graduate of NPHS who lettered in basketball, track and field, and tennis and attended University of Akron and was named captain of the women’s basketball team and MVP her senior year.
—Mel McAfee, graduated from Stone Creek High School in 1957, served 27 years as a registered basketball official in Ohio and was inducted into the Ohio High School Athletic Association Officials Hall of Fame in 1991.
—Steve Shade, a 1981 graduate of NPHS who lettered in football, basketball and baseball and compiled a 17-4-1 record as starting quarterback for the Quakers.
—Jerry Wampfler, a 1950 graduate of NPHS who played football for Woody Hayes at Miami University and was an assistant coach for the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1980 Super Bowl game.
Strasburg
—Arthur “Butch” Haswell, graduated from Strasburg in 1969, was a member of the 1967 Strasburg boys basketball state championship team, and attended Fairmont State University and coached basketball at Fairmont State from 1993-2004, winning the West Virginia Intercollegiate Conference title in 1995 and 1996.
Tuscarawas Valley
—Paul D. Gibson (deceased), a graduate of NPHS in 1966 who lettered in track and field four years, coached boys and girls cross country teams at TV, and had five boys team state appearances and five state-qualifying athletes.
—Dr. Miriam Merrill, a 1997 graduate of TV who lettered in volleyball, basketball, and track and field; was the first women’s track and field Div. I All-American at the University of Cincinnati; and received the Helen Norman Smith Award, given to the top female student athlete at U.C. in 2001.
Organization
—The Reeves Foundation, founded in 1966 by businessman Samuel J. Reeves Jr. with funding in part from sisters Helen and Jane and wife Margaret, established the first family fund in Tuscarawas County with grants totaling more than $40.9 million.
Tickets can be purchased online at www.eventbrite.com. Search for Tuscarawas County Sports Hall of Fame.
To avoid paying the online convenience fee, tickets can be purchased at the Dover Library beginning March 1.