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June 19, 2012
By Plain Dealer staff
Former Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel heads a list of eight local sports figures who will be inducted into the Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame for 2012.
Established in 1976, the Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame has inducted nearly 500 sports figures, all with ties to Greater Cleveland. The induction ceremony is scheduled for Sept. 19 at Landerhaven.
Ticket information is available at clevelandsportshalloffame.com or by calling 216-682-0141.
The Class of 2012 inductees are:
Larry Chernauskas: Longtime high school boys and girls basketball coach, notably at West Tech, Gilmour and Magnificat. His career record was 508-280, and he was named Coach of the Year four times.
Mary Joe Fernandez Godsick: The current Cleveland resident who was born in the Dominican Republic was a three-time finalist in women’s singles and two-time champion in doubles at Grand Slam tennis tournaments. She won a gold medal in doubles at the 1992 and 1996 Olympics and a bronze in singles in 1992.
Raymont Harris: The Lorain native finished as the eighth-leading rusher in Ohio State history with 2,649 yards. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in 1994 and rushed for a career-best 1,033 yards in 1997.
Clinton Jones: The Cathedral Latin standout was a two-time All-American at Michigan State, then spent six seasons with the Minnesota Vikings. He ran for nine touchdowns in 1970 and gained 452 yards on kickoff returns that year.
Tim Mack: The St. Ignatius graduate won a gold medal in the pole vault at the 2004 Olympics with a jump of 19-6¼, setting an Olympic record. He won the NCAA indoor pole vault title in 1995 for Tennessee and won at the 2001 Goodwill Games and the 2002 U.S. indoor and outdoor championships.
Preston Powell: He returned 16 kickoffs and had five rush attempts for the Browns in 1961, and after time with the Cowboys and Bears, he became a softball legend in the area, being inducted in the Greater Cleveland Softball Hall of Fame in 1985.
Jim Tressel: Won national championships as head coach with Ohio State in 2003 and Youngstown State in 1991, after starring as a quarterback at Berea High School and for his father, coach Lee Tressel, at Baldwin-Wallace College.
Vonda Ward: Twice named to the Parade Magazine All-American team as a basketball player at Trinity High School. Played in the 1995 NCAA women’s basketball championship game for Tennessee and played pro basketball before turning to a pro boxing career.
