WOOSTER – This is an exciting time for the Wayne County Sports Hall of Fame board of trustees.
Not only will they be voting on the 2018 induction class in February and holding the organization’s 22nd biennial induction banquet on June 23, but they’re also reorganizing the group’s museum.
The WCSHOF was founded in 1975 and a year later inducted its first class, which included all-time greats such as Dean Chance, Dick Schafrath and Bob Knight.
In 2003, the WCSHOF opened a museum on the campus of the Wayne County Historical Society, 546 E. Bowman St. The museum is located in an upstairs room above the old general store.
In conjunction with the historical society’s project to expand its permanent collection exhibition space, the WCSHOF is also working to upgrade its museum and the trustees are asking for assistance from area sports fans.
"We already have a lot of good items in our museum, but our board of trustees is making it a point of emphasis to increase the number of display items from prominent teams and athletes," said WCSHOF president Jeff Souers, who himself was inducted into the WCSHOF in 2004 after leading highly successful football teams at Waynedale and Triway. "We are in the process of reorganizing the museum and planning a grand reopening sometime in 2019."
Souers pointed out that there are no items representing recent state championship teams from Norwayne (2011 football), Waynedale (2012 wrestling) and Dalton (softball 2006-07).
The trustees are also looking for unique or noteworthy items, like a No. 32 football jersey from Triway High School’s first football team that was recently donated by Steve Zarlengo.
Zarlengo, who will be inducted into the Ohio High School Wrestling Officials Hall of Fame during the State Individual Wrestling Tournament March 8-10, approached Souers about giving the WCSHOF the jersey.
"I’m humbled (the WCSHOF) would want it," Zarlengo said. "It’s pretty cool to be able to donate a jersey from Triway’s very first football team.
"Jim McMichael wore it on Triway’s first two teams in 1964-65 and after he graduated he ‘willed’ it to me. I wore the jersey in 1966 and ’67. That was a big deal to wear No. 32 back then – it was Jim Brown’s number. The school finally bought new jerseys after my senior year and I kept it."
A more stunning find that will eventually be displayed was a treasure trove of around a dozen team photos, which are more than 100 years old. The photos were discovered during the historical society’s search of its documents vault located on the campus.
WCSHOF trustee Bill McMillan, who’s also a member of the historical society board of trustees, shared a sample of some of the photos. They are believed to have been in storage for more than a half century.
"There is a big team picture that was taken in a photo gallery of Wooster High School’s 1902 football team," said McMillan, a 2004 WCSHOF inductee who was a standout athlete at Wooster High and The College of Wooster and then coached the Orrville football team for many years, including the 1998 Division IV state championship team. "There’s also a collage with photos of the players and coaches from Wooster’s undefeated 1938 football team.
"There are basketball team photos from the 1910-11 and 1912-13 seasons and an old baseball team photo from around that same time period that’s not dated. They are really something to look at. We are working with the historical society to eventually display them."
Souers is looking forward to seeing what other memorabilia might be donated, but cautioned that there’s limited space.
Examples of memorabilia the WCSHOF is seeking are uniforms, equipment, pictures, letter jackets, scrapbooks, programs, pennants and plaques. The more successful the athletes or teams, the more the trustees would like to see them recognized in the museum.
"We are looking for items that are really unique or special to the history of sports in Wayne County," Souers said, "and we greatly appreciate the Wayne County Historical Society for allowing our museum to be included on their campus.
"Our ultimate goal is to create a museum display that enables visitors to truly get a sense of the rich sports history here in Wayne County."
The WCSHOF museum can be viewed during guided tours that are given by the society on Fridays and Saturdays from 1 to 4 p.m. from March through October, or by special appointment by calling 330-264-8856. The historical society is closed November through February.
To donate or for more information contact one of the WCSHOF trustees. Email Souers at tribester49@hotmail.com, McMillan at cwmacjr@hotmail.com, AaronDorksen24@gmail.com, or call the Historical Society at 330-264-8856. Check out the WCSHOF on Facebook or visit the website at waynecountysportshof.com.