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Summit County Sports Hall of Fame: Here are speech highlights from the induction ceremony

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Summit County Sports Hall of Fame: Here are speech highlights from the induction ceremony

Legendary athletes with ties to Greater Akron were honored Tuesday night during the Summit County Sports Hall of Fame’s 66th induction ceremony and banquet.

The following eight inductees form the Class of 2024: Shawn Barber, James Harrison, Joe Heskett, Stevi Large Gruber, LaShauntea Moore, Shawn Porter, Jason Taylor and Antoine Winfield Sr. Additional honorees are Rob Culbertson (Ed Kalail Volunteer Award), Gene Kelly (Phil Dietrich Senior Athlete Award) and Marla Ridenour (Andy Palich Memorial Service Award).

Acceptance speeches began around 7:40 p.m. at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Akron. Here are our updates as they unfolded throughout the event.

Akron native and football legend Antoine Winfield Sr. attended the induction ceremony and summarized his reaction to being honored by saying, “It sure feels good to be celebrated for something you’ve worked so hard to achieve.”

Winfield starred at Garfield High School and Ohio State, where he won the Jim Thorpe Award as the top defensive back in college football, and later made three Pro Bowls as a Minnesota Vikings cornerback.

“I lived my dream for 14 seasons and now have the pleasure to travel and watch my son with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers,” Winfield said. “Life is amazing.”

Pro Football Hall of Famer and University of Akron legend Jason Taylor was not able to attend the induction ceremony, but former Zips coach Lee Owens accepted Taylor’s induction on his behalf.

Owens took the UA job when Taylor was entering his third season with the Zips. When Owens had an initial meeting with Taylor, the player identified making it to the NFL as a goal. Owens said he challenged Taylor to make changes, including a move from outside linebacker to defensive line. Taylor accepted them and eventually became a Miami Dolphins icon.

“He is an unbelievable human being,” Owens said of Taylor, now the University of Miami’s defensive line coach.

Shawn Porter attended the induction ceremony and said he considers the honor “surreal.”

Porter is a Cleveland native who graduated from Stow High School and also attended Cuyahoga Falls High School before compiling a record of 31-4-1 with 17 knockouts as a professional boxer and winning two world welterweight titles (IBF in 2013 and WBC in 2018).

Porter said the induction opened his eyes to how much support he has from his fans in Northeast Ohio.

“I never realized how much it was hitting home,” Porter said of his career. “… So I want to say thank you for this induction.”

LaShauntea Moore is a Firestone High School graduate who also attended Archbishop Hoban High School prior to winning an NCAA title in the 200 meters for University of Arkansas track and competing for the U.S. in the 2004 Athens Olympics.

Moore was not able to attend the induction ceremony, but her mother accepted her induction on her behalf. Moore sent her acceptance speech via video. It can be watched below.

University of Akron track and field legend Stevi Large Gruber is a former four-time All-America thrower who won nine Mid-American Conference championships and captured an NCAA title in the hammer throw.

Large Gruber was not able to attend the induction ceremony, but former Zips coach Dennis Mitchell spoke on her behalf. Large Gruber also gave an acceptance speech via video. It can be seen below.

Sonny Marchette and Clint Musser spoke on behalf of fellow Walsh Jesuit High School wrestling great Joe Heskett, a 2024 Summit County Sports Hall of Fame inductee. Heskett, who suffered a stroke in 2020, was in attendance.

Heskett won an NCAA wrestling title and was a four-time All-American at Iowa State before becoming a five-time U.S. National Team member and a Pan American Games silver medalist.

“It’s an honor to be up here speaking on your behalf, Joe,” Musser said. “… Joe goes down as one of the best wrestlers in Ohio history. He’s in the conversation with the best wrestlers of all time.”

Marchette and Musser also praised Heskett for his character off the mat. Marchette explained Heskett led by example by taking pride in his faith. Musser added Heskett always made people smile.

Legendary Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison was not able to attend the induction ceremony, but the Akron native and Kent State University product delivered an acceptance speech via video. It can be viewed below.

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Steelers legend James Harrison inducted into Summit County Sports HOF

Akron native and Pittsburgh Steelers legend James Harrison gives his Summit County Sports Hall of Fame induction speech.

The late Shawn Barber’s father, George, gave an acceptance speech for Barber’s induction.

Barber is a former University of Akron pole vaulter who won a world championship, a gold medal in the Pan American Games, three NCAA titles and represented Canada in the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Barber died in January at the age of 29.

“Shawn did more in his 29 years than most people do in many lifetimes,” George Barber said. “So he is missed. But thank you to everyone who helped him along the way.”

Gene Kelly received the Phil Dietrich Senior Athlete Award. A Cuyahoga Falls resident, Kelly has been involved with track and field for 70 years as a competitor, coach and official.

Kelly remains a noted athlete in throwing events. Kelly explained he rebounded from a shoulder replacement to win a bronze medal in July during the Pan-American Masters Games in Cleveland.

“I’m humbled,” Kelly said of his Summit County Sports Hall of Fame honor.

Rob Culbertson thanked his family and other people involved in forming his foundation, which ultimately led him to receiving the Ed Kalail Volunteer Award.

Culbertson recently retired from Barberton High School with more than 40 years of service as an educator, athletic trainer, athletic director and faculty manager.

“I wanted our students at Barberton to have a world class education,” Culbertson said. “… When I look out in the crowd tonight, it gives me great pride and joy to see some of my former students.”

A former longtime Akron Beacon Journal sports columnist, Marla Ridenour noted she’s from Kentucky, but she has lived in Summit County longer than anywhere else, so this area has become her home.

Ridenour reflected on writing stories about 2024 Summit County Sports Hall of Fame inductees Shawn Barber and Shawn Porter. Ridenour explained she didn’t view her journalism career as a service to others, but she hopes her willingness to share her story about being a sexual assault survivor helped people.

Summit County Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2024

Here is background information about the Summit County Sports Hall of Fame’s Class of 2024:

  • Shawn Barber is a former University of Akron pole vaulter who won a world championship, a gold medal in the Pan American Games, three NCAA titles and represented Canada in the 2016 Rio Olympics. Barber died in January at the age of 29.
  • James Harrison is an Akron native who played football at Coventry High School and Kent State before becoming a five-time Pro Bowl and two-time first-team All-Pro linebacker, NFL Defensive Player of the Year and two-time Super Bowl champion with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

  • Joe Heskett is a Walsh Jesuit High School graduate who won an NCAA wrestling title and was a four-time All-American at Iowa State before becoming a five-time U.S. National Team member and a Pan American Games silver medalist.
  • Stevi Large Gruber is a former four-time All-America thrower with Akron Zips track and field who won nine Mid-American Conference championships and captured an NCAA title in the hammer throw.

Akron Zips represented in Class of 2024: Former UA star Stevi Large Gruber hopes Summit County Sports Hall of Fame induction inspires her kids

  • LaShauntea Moore is a Firestone High School graduate who also attended Archbishop Hoban High School prior to winning an NCAA title in the 200 meters for University of Arkansas track and competing for the U.S. in the 2004 Athens Olympics.
  • Shawn Porter is a Cleveland native who graduated from Stow High School and also attended Cuyahoga Falls High School before compiling a record of 31-4-1 with 17 knockouts as a professional boxer and winning two world welterweight titles (IBF in 2013 and WBC in 2018).

Shawn Porter news: Stow High School graduate enters Summit County Sports Hall of Fame after thriving with dad as his boxing trainer

  • Jason Taylor is a former Akron Zips football star who earned six Pro Bowl nods, three first-team All-Pro selections and NFL Defensive Player of the Year as a Miami Dolphins defensive end, leading to enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2017, his first year of eligibility.
  • Antoine Winfield Sr. is an Akron native who starred at Garfield High School and Ohio State, where he won the Jim Thorpe Award as the top defensive back in college football, and later made three Pro Bowls as a Minnesota Vikings cornerback.

Summit County Sports Hall of Fame news: Antoine Winfield Sr.’s legacy came back into focus with the creation of the Akron Public Schools Athletics Hall of Fame

Summit County Sports Hall of Fame 2024 award winners

Here is background information about the Summit County Sports Hall of Fame’s award winners:

  • Rob Culbertson is the Ed Kalail Volunteer Award recipient. A member of the Summit County Sports Hall of Fame’s board of directors who recently retired from Barberton High School with more than 40 years of service as an educator, athletic trainer, athletic director and faculty manager, Culbertson has been president of the Barberton Sports HOF since 2016 and held the same position with the Akron Touchdown Club Foundation of Summit County. The Ed Kalail Volunteer Award, first presented in 2019, was established in honor of former Summit County Sports Hall of Fame board member Kalail, who demonstrated a unique dedication to community service and a desire to make a positive impact on those around him.
  • Gene Kelly is the Phil Dietrich Senior Athlete Award recipient. Kelly has been involved with track and field for 70 years as a competitor, coach and official. A Cuyahoga Falls resident, Kelly achieved All-America status last summer in the hammer throw and weight throw with national rankings of 30th and 22nd, respectively. He also ranked 13th in the nation in the weight pentathlon. Since 2001, the Summit County Sports Hall of Fame’s Senior Athlete Award has borne the name of Dietrich, a former Akron Beacon Journal sports writer.
  • Marla Ridenour is the Andy Palich Memorial Service Award recipient. She is a former longtime Akron Beacon Journal sports columnist who remains a freelance writer for the newspaper. The winner of the 2023 Pro Football Writers of America Dave Anderson Column Writing Award, Ridenour is in journalism halls of fame in Ohio and Kentucky. A native of Louisville, Kentucky, Ridenour became the first woman to cover the Browns in 1981. Since 1965, the Summit County Sports Hall of Fame has presented the Andy Palich Memorial Service Award to individuals who have made a major contribution for the betterment of athletics in the county, Ohio or nationally other than as a player, coach or manager. The award is named in memory of Palich, a late longtime Akron-area sports reporter and member of the Summit County Sports Hall of Fame’s committee.

Summit County Sports Hall of Fame recognizes Bruce Buchholzer scholarships to four local student-athletes

The Summit County Sports Hall of Fame is recognizing four local student-athletes who were each awarded a $1,000 Bruce Buchholzer scholarship this past summer. The scholarship recipients graduated from high school in 2024. They are as follows:

  • Kennedy Boal (Manchester)
  • Demetrion Duvall (Buchtel)
  • Samuel Su (Woodridge)
  • Isabelle Ubelhart (St. Vincent-St. Mary)

Buchholzer’s vision for the Summit County Sports Hall of Fame to offer scholarships to high school seniors who exhibit academic excellence came to fruition in 2005, two years after Buchholzer helped the Hall of Fame obtain 501c3 status from the IRS. Buchholzer served on the Summit County Sports Hall of Fame’s board of directors from 1964-2008 and twice held the title of general chairman. He died on Feb. 20, 2012, at the age of 82.

Donations to the Bruce Buchholzer scholarship fund can be made by visiting www.summitcountyshof.org/donations and clicking the link at the bottom of the page to the Akron Community Foundation’s website.

More Summit County Sports HOF coverage: ‘A tear comes to my eye’: 2024 Paris Games remind Akron’s Lester Carney of Olympic power

Nate Ulrich is a member of the Summit County Sports Hall of Fame’s board of directors. He can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich.

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