| WILLIAM "BIG BILL" BARNES This strapping 6'3", 200-pounder made himself known as one of the best catchers on the Akron sandlots in the 1940's. "Big Bill" played in the East Akron youth leagues and continued his career as a receiver for the outstanding Post #209 and East High teams in 1939-40. During a three-year stint in the service, Bill played service ball and was recruited by the Boston Braves. However, the Braves' offer was not enough to keep Bill on a pro course so he returned home to the A League and had outstanding seasons with Mains Post VFW 1070, Army-Navy Club, Lakemore Nite Club and Tiny's Orphans. Leg injuries curtailed his career in 1950 but he returned to Hot Stove League action as a coach for seven more years, including two championship seasons. |
| ROY BICKLEY After an outstanding career at Monton High in his native Tallassee, Alabama, where his team compiled an 80-0 three-year record, Roy played in the Black Negro League for the Tallassee Indians. During his four seasons, the Indians captured back-to-back championships in 1956-57. Roy came to Akron in 1957 and began a 10-year career with various leagues. First with Paparella Construction and then the Akron Pirates, this classy third baseman helped with the Tri-County League Championships in 1961 through 1963. He batted .520 in '62 to win the League's MVP award. Roy finished his playing days with the Akron Tigers and Akron Pioneers in the AA League where he made the 1964 All-Star team. Since then, Bickley has enjoyed success coaching several championship teams in the Mason Park and Goodyear Heights youth leagues. |
| JIM DENNISON This Hall of Famer excelled in football and baseball at both Wadsworth High School and the College of Wooster. An outstanding second baseman and outfielder, Dennison showed leadership traits early in his career. As player/manager, he led the Wadsworth Merchants to the 1960 Tri-County League title. While coaching baseball at Wadsworth and Elyria High Schools (1960-64), Jim played for Lorain Wolf Dry Goods and Elyrian Mustangs in the Lakewood League. In Akron, Dennison played for AA League Champion Krispy Kremes, P.O.C. Beer, Airmatic Valve, Weather Seal, and was player/manager for the champion Red Peppers from 1970-72. Dennison's amateur career was cut short when he was named head football coach at Akron U in 1973. However, he did enjoy a 17-year AA League career in which he was an All-Star in all three leagues. He played and hit over .300 in 14 of those seasons. |
| ELDON DICE From his youth days in the Old South Akron League through the tough Class AA action, Eldon did the job for the teams he played for and helped them win many championships. A 6'3", 180-pounder who was an outstanding outfielder as well as a clutch hitter. Eldon's first title team was in 1936 with the Akron Yankee Juniors squad and he followed that achievement by helping South High win the City title in 1937. After a couple of years with Mansfield in the Ohio State League, the Ravenna VFW, and a stint in the Army, Eldon returned to championship action with Seiberling Tire, Goodrich Local #5, and the 1945 National NABF champion Akron Orphans. Eldon then closed out his playing days with the champion Borden Auto and Smith Sheriffs teams. Following his playing days, Eldon managed Red Pepper and Clark Excavating teams and then stayed close to the action as an umpire for 15 years. A consistent .300-plus hitter, Eldon was named to four All-Star teams. |
| CHARLES "MIM" DILAURO Where would an Italian baseball-playing family from Providence, RI move to in Akron? North Hill of course! Charles "Mim" DiLauro joins his son, Jack, in the Hall of Fame. Ironically, both were pitchers. Mim's first team was Weeks Lumber Nine. He then twirled for such teams as Kent Twin Coach, Black and Deckers, Buxbaum Salvage and Atlantic Foundry, which he helped lead to the League title. Using an assortment of junk pitches, Mim helped Mayflower Hotel reach the NABF finals in Washington, D.C., and did the same thing for West Chevrolet in 1936, and the Killian Celtics in 1940. He finally got his first and only no-hitter while pitching for the Celtics against Carrollton. Mim closed out his outstanding career with Rube Terry and his Goodrich Local 5 team. |
| CHARLES "CHARLEY" DRUMM After a successful youth baseball career with National A.C., GABF Class D Champion Borden Autos, and at Central High, Drumm moved into the City A League with the Borden Autos. An infielder for the most part, Drumm was forced into pitching by manager Frank Garcia and responded with four victories in as many starts. He toiled for five more years, including winning 11 of 13 games in 1947. Besides doing well on the mound, Drumm was an excellent fielder and productive batter as his lifetime average of .308 can attest to. In later years he played in the outfield and even caught for such teams as Old Dutch Beer and Canton Road Furniture. |
| GEORGE "LEFTY" GRAY "Lefty's" pitching career got its start in the early 1930's in the East Akron Little League and was nurtured at East High and while hurling during the summers with the Goodyear Squad teams. The Killian Celtics, considered by many old-timers as the best amateur team Akron ever had, used Lefty's talented arm, as did Seiberling Tire and the Slovene Center teams. After compiling a 12-2 record with Penn Drake Oil, Gray moved into the pro ranks with Sandusky, a Boston Braves affiliate in the Ohio State League. From there, Gray pitched for the Akron Yankees and South Boston, Virginia. After serving in WWII, Lefty coached youth teams for 20 years in the south Akron area, developing many excellent players. He retired from baseball in 1973. |
| HULBERT "HUB" HICKMAN His nickname says it all--"Hub"--the center of activity on the baseball diamond around which all the action takes place. A native of Parkersburg, West Virginia, where he played along with his Hall of Famer brother, Sam, for American Legion teams. Hub hit Akron and immediately became a fixture at second base on the area sandlots. A solid singles hitter who produced in the clutch, Hub first played in Akron with the North Akron Merchants and Cuyahoga Falls Majestics before moving to the newly formed and soon to be dominant champions, the Killian Celtics in 1934. In all the years that Frank Killian sponsored a baseball team, Hub was the only regular second sacker that Killian called upon. An All-League selection numerous times, Hub's defensive play helped the Celtics to championships in the Northern Ohio and Akron-Barberton Leagues, the NABF State Tournaments, and strong showings in the NABF National Tournaments. |
| PETE JOYCE He was an outstanding outfielder, pitcher, and later a manager on the Akron sandlots for better than 30 years. Strong and demanding, but fair as well to his players in his later years as a manager, Pete was a tough competitor throughout his career. On the mound as a strong-armed pitcher and as a hard-hitting outfielder, Pete displayed outstanding leadership qualities by his actions and winning production. He helped teams such as the Akron Yankee Juniors, Goodrich Local #5, Killian Celtics, and Akron Orphans to numerous City and State championships, highlighted by the NABF National Championship Akron Orphans in 1945. As a manager, Pete led the Smith Sheriffs and Souvenir Beer teams to City and District titles. Pete becomes the third member of his family to be selected to the Greater Akron Baseball Hall of Fame, joining brothers John (1983) and George (1984). |
| ART "ARTIE" KUSNYER He made himself known early on in the Akron Sandlots as an outstanding hitter and catcher in the youth leagues that carried on through high school, college, and the pro ranks. Art was the main man of several WABL championship teams, the Champion Akron Blues, Class D Champion Triner Sports, and at Buchtel High. Art wielded a strong bat while averaging a .400-plus average most of his amateur career. As a receiver, Art excelled in defense and possessed a radar arm that baserunners eventually did not dare run on. Art made a solid impact at Kent State U and in the AA League with Tiny's Orphans, Triner Sports, Joe's All-Stars and the 1966 champion, Airmatic Valve. In 1965 he was the League's prestigious Frank Garcia Outstanding Player Award recipient. An All-Star performer each year of his amateur career, Art moved into pro ball and got his best shot with the California Angels during which time he was on the receiving end of a Nolan Ryan no-hitter. Art also played for Kansas City, Milwaukee and the White Sox, where he is currently the bullpen coach. |
| ED "VINCENT" LUKACIK Playing with assumed names was prevalent in Eddie Lukacik's day, so when his father objected to him playing baseball, Eddie took the name Vincent. Being a member of a family of 14 children, Eddie Vincent was able to escape the house and play the game he so dearly loved without his father ever suspecting. A tough defensive receiver, Eddie became the catcher because as he says, "No one else wanted to." Besides handling mound staffs with efficiency, Eddie got his hits in the clutch for such teams as the Cuyahoga Falls Majestics, the Killian Celtics, Atlantic Foundry and Goodrich Local 5--all Champions with Eddie Vincent behind the plate from 1930-40. |
| JOHN MILETICH His generosity helped put many a young baseball player in uniform on the Akron area sandlots. A top-flight sponsor of baseball teams on all levels in the area. John's most prominent teams were his tough Norka Plating squads of the Akron AA League in the 1940's. |
| ED "STEADY EDDIE" MILLHOFF Ed proved throughout his career that he could handle a position where and when needed, be it as catcher, in the infield, or at any of the outfield spots. Although not hitting for the extreme high averages, Ed contributed in the clutch at a steady .280-.300 clip during his career. From his youth days in Firestone Park and a championship high school season in 1946 for Garfield High, Ed served in the U.S. Navy for two years and had the opportunity to play with the Bainbridge, Maryland East Coast Championship team before returning home for an 11-year Class AA career. "Steady Eddie" returned to diamond action with Norka Plating from 1947-50, Krumroy Markets in 1950, and then joined the champion Borden Auto teams of 1951-52. In 1953 he helped Canton Road Furniture on the championship trail and returned with a revived Borden team in 1954 for another title season. Ed moved on to Clark Excavating in 1955 and closed out his brilliant career with Krispy Kreme in 1956-57. |
| JIM "BUZZ" PEROLI His career began as an outfielder in the North Akron Hot Stove League where he played on two championship teams. From there "Buzz," as his teammates called him, sharpened his skills in the shortstop position at North High, and in Class D ball with the Portage County All-Stars and Wadsworth Beach Sohio teams. While playing for Akron U, Jim moved into AA League play with Azar-Denholm, played with the champion Tramonte Black Labels, champion Red Peppers, champion Akron Insulating and closed out his playing days with the always contending Pfeifle Undertakers. Although not hitting for the extreme high averages, Jim specialized in dropping the Texas-Leaguer fly balls between the defense. He also became very adept at bunting, especially on the suicide squeeze which he and his Red Pepper mates fully mastered. Jim's best hitting seasons came during the Pepper's 1971 pennant drive when he pounded out a .354 average. Jim was named to five Akron-Canton All-Star teams. |
| STANWOOD "STAN" PARTENHEIMER He rode into the Akron C League behind his Hall of Fame brother, Hal, on the Gordon Drug Aces team that was coached and financed by his father in 1934. In 1936 he moved with Hal into B League action as an outfielder with the Akron Jays and in 1937 for Sohio A.C. in the A League. As a freshman at Buchtel High in '38, Coach Chuck Kenney made Stan "the only left-handed shortstop in captivity" because of his strong arm and defensive range. In the summer of '39, Joe Winkler put Stan on the mound and he responded with a 10-1 record as the Killian Celtics won the pennant and reached the NABF finals in Washington. A year later, Stan had a complete championship season, leading Buchtel to the City school boy title with a 7-1 record and going 12-3 for the Champion Celtics, who again got to the NABF finals, where Stan was chosen for the national NABF Tournament All-Star team. In 1941 he posted back-to-back no-hitters against Central and Hower, and struck out 112 in 49 innings while allowing only 17 hits and four earned runs. Following high school, Stan joined the Canton Terriers for an All-Star 17-5 record, was 3-1 at Wooster College and 13-2 for Fort Hayes before moving to pro ball. In eight years traveling on the pro circuit, Stan had a couple of short stints in the major leagues with the Red Sox in 1944, and the Cardinals in 1945-46. |
| EARL RIEDER This Hall of Famer enjoyed 42 years of umpiring on the Akron area sandlots. Getting his start from the legendary Chet Foltz, Rieder worked many championship tournament games with his partner for many years, 1984 inductee Nick Frascella. From 1928-1969, Earl worked the sandlots with confidence and class. Earl enjoyed his work and at the same time earned the respect of many players who have said, "There never was a good reason or a bad call to argue with Earl." He did the job well, without controversy, and has fond memories of many players who passed through the Akron sandlots which he still cherishes to this day. |
| PAUL RIFE He spent more than 50 years on the Akron sandlots, playing, managing and providing opportunities for the young players to get a good start in baseball. As a shortstop/third baseman, Rife proved to be an outstanding player in the Goodyear Heights youth leagues and with Goodyear Local in A League ball. After a few years of softball, he moved into managing baseball. His Post# 209 teams replaced the Akron Yankees as the top Legion team in the area, winning four League titles and three Legion tournament championships. From Legion ball, Paul started to bring in his former players to the tough AA League with Bittinger Tire, Three Steps Cafe and Krispy Kreme teams. Although not winning any titles, Rife's teams were always a contender for the crown and played the "spoiler" role on numerous occasions against the established veteran teams. Following AA League action, Paul returned to coaching youth leagues in the Ellet area and was rewarded when his Class D team captured two championships. |
| ART SMITH A compact 5'11", 185-pounder, Art patrolled the outfield and became a fine hitter and extremely dangerous long ball threat for the North Akron Merchants, the Cuyahoga Falls Majestics, champion Killian Celtics, and champion Atlantic Foundry teams in a career that spanned 15 years, during and after his North High days. Art's power hitting caught the attention of the Pittsburgh Pirates, who invited him to spring training in 1935. However, a knee injury suffered in basketball action that winter ended what many thought would be a good pro career for Smith. Although he hit many a homerun and won a lot of games on the local level, old-timers recollect that the best blast he ever hit came in Atlantic Foundry's 3-2 loss to the Cleveland Rosenblooms in 1936. The winning pitcher who gave up that homerun was Bob Feller--later of Cleveland Indians fame. |