McCurdy: Who should be the next Marion Harding hall of famers?

MARION — With more than 100 years of sports to celebrate, the Marion Harding High School Athletic Hall of Fame will be inducting its 30th class in April.

To get to that banquet there is a process that the hall of fame committee follows, and that process will begin later this month.

On behalf of the committee, of which I'm a member, I'd like to solicit nominees for the 30th class.

There are parameters. Coaches must be out of coaching in the district for at least five years. Athletes aren't eligible until they are out of school for 10 years from the nomination period. Since the last induction in 2019, first-time eligible athletes will come from the classes of 2009 to 2012. The class of 2013 is not eligible for this enshrinement.

In looking through the list of honorees over the years, athletes and coaches from the 1920s through the 1990s have been accounted for pretty well, but is there someone who has been overlooked?

This is especially true of pioneers of sports at Harding. Information is sparse from the early 1900s. As for female athletes who competed interscholastically for the first time in the 1970s, they simply didn't have the number of games and opportunities that later generations enjoy, so their accomplishments might be muted by comparison.

There are minimum requirements for athletes to gain enshrinement. They must have earned at least two letters in one sport from Harding. Nominees must have demonstrated good citizenship in school and after leaving the Marion City Schools, according to the Hall's constitution.

Special consideration is given to athletes named All-Ohio, all-district and all-league. Athletes in sports like cross country, tennis, swimming, wrestling and track that made state meets and tournaments, and athletes that performed "extraordinary feats or record-setting performances" deserve consideration, too.

The committee will meet later this month to start the process. In October, the list of those considered will be pared down and nominations formally introduced with the committee voting for the newest class coming in November.

If someone in the community has an athlete in mind, please reach out to me before Sept. 23. My email information is below.

If you are nominating an athlete, we need more than just a name and the year of graduation. We need to know the sports played and lettered in, plus evidence of honors earned and records achieved through documentation in yearbooks, newspaper articles or other sources deemed legitimate.

Nomination does not guarantee enshrinement as the class is limited to just five members.

Athletes who already earned induction are Clarence Mendenhall (1925 graduation), Dick McAnninch (1929), Wayne Short (1939), Al Beach (1945), Bob Middleton (1959), Dave Merchant (1969), Don Kay (1943), Dick Mulvaine (1943), Tom Prichard (1960), Maury Whitcum (1934), Punky Williams (1950), Merle Daum (1950), Gary Huber (1956), Paul Geissler (1952), Alan Rowley (1963), George Kirk (1960), Pete Porietis (1960), Chuck Fazio (1944), Martin Lewis (1942), Jerry Harbin (1958), George Jonsson (1926), Harry Fry (1969), Jim Showers (1963), Bill Haviland (1969), Russ Hamilton (1963), Kenneth Kunkler (1925) and Vaughn Williams (1958).

More athletes include Bud Creasap (1941), Harry "Hap" Dowler (1917), Ned Porter (1961), Russell Reichardt (1940), Bob Lister (1959), King Keller (1941), Jack Waddell (1961), Ken Halbert (1967), Leo Harvey (1943), Ted Cunningham (1926), Jeff Glass (1979), Donice West (1976), Paul Ludwig (1951), Mike Chamberlain (1959), Clarence Smith (1949), Jay McWhorter (1926), Gene Shellhorn (1942), Jack Daum (1951), Rich Ishida (1963), Bob Hamor (1954), John Lawson (1960), Jack Link (1932), Bill Huckaba (1960), Robert Holmes (1962), John Creasap (1968), Amy Ashworth (1979), John Ashworth (1952), Robin Rife (1981), Larry Imbody (1962) and Jim Turner (1942).

Other athletes inducted are Rick Huddle (1971), Ed Schoonmaker (1960), John Roberts (1949), Zoraba Ross (1983), Robert Pittman (1983), Stewart Young (1944), Dan Roseberry (1963), Lamar Ross (1979), Jed Middleton (1957), Gary Warner (1961), Pete Bascos (1941), Frank Green (1953), Larry Merchant (1961), John Brady (1979), King Mayse (1983), Mark Fleming (1984), Warren Ferguson (1941), Jim Benjamin (1962), Armin "Pete" Riesen (1963), Bob Cofer (1970), John Beach (1973), Warren McGinnis (1940), Garry Massie (1959), Larry Sims (1961), David Sprague (1984), Meladee Hopkins (1986) and Kyle Mayse (1987).

More athletes enshrined are Bob Stroble (1945), Bob Prater (1955), Mel Rentschler (1985), Suzanne Row (1988), John Courtright (1988), Dean Ludwig (1951), Dave Trent (1963), Greg Brokaw (1971), Tej Purewal (1987), Geoff Young (1990), Gary Curren (1980), Ernie Robinson (1962), Marion DeLaney (1957), Sandra Green (1991), David Jones (1984), Lamont Thurston (1987), Andrew Todd (1990), Bob Cyders (1969), Jill Bolander (1991), Robert Holmes (1992), Rocky Ratliff (1993), Randy Gipson (1975), Chris Wallace (1994), Jeff Williamson (1992), Craig Rizor (1994), Shelly Aldrich (1996), Tara Hines-Davis (1997), Lamar Harris (1996), Kerri Cramer-Karvich (1992) and Paul Purewal (1993).

Other athletes include Chuck Bowers (1942), Julie Green (1996), Tony Orcena (1999), Jeff Ratliff (1999), Jackie Dexter (2000), Brecian Faggs (1999), Patrick Reese (1999), Cory Smith (1999), Dean Stewart (1977), Ryen Valentine (2001), Bill Beechem Jr. (2002), Jeremy Clark (2000), Kim Cramer (1992), Pete Heizer (1991), Ralph Hill III (1981), Rischia Phinisee (2004), Brett Evans (1989), Adam Huddle (2002), Derick Ross (2001), Jennifer Vansickle (2006), John Williams (1975), Thaddeus Carter (2004), Jessica Jenkins (2008), Taylor McCurdy (2007), Dominic Ross (2002) and Da'Vell Winters (2007).

Coaches who have been enshrined are Ken Somerlot, Pete Howison, Dewey Bohyer, Dan Baker, Gordon Larson, Bill Williams, Tim Hinton and Ed Henning.

Contributors who have gained special recognition are Richard Myers, Dan Reams, John Short, Richard "Doc" Creager, Jack Hecker, Don Swanger, Greg Swepston, Dan Shirk, Dick Brown, Cheryl Huffman, Nickie Rubcich, Butch Aldrich, Dick Gherman and Matt Rock.

Teams that have been recognized are the football teams of 1941 and 1958, the 1952 boys cross country team and the 1963 boys basketball team.

Rob McCurdy is the sports writer at the Marion Star and can be reached at rmccurdy@gannett.com, 419-610-0998, Twitter @McMotorsport and Instagram @rob_mccurdy_star.

This article originally appeared on Marion Star: McCurdy: Who should be the next Marion Harding hall of famers?