The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Ex-Browns, Cavaliers highlight Cleveland sports history night
Former standout players for the Browns and Cavaliers top the lineup for the Cleveland Sports History Night on July 28 at Classic Park when the Captains host the Great Lakes (Mich.) Loons.
First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m..
Always one of the most popular events on the Captains promotion calendar, Cleveland Sports History Night gives fans opportunities to interact with sports notables. Stationed at tables on the concourse, the sports stars sign autographs and pose for photos with fans.
Representing the Browns will be two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Hanford Dixon and wide receiver Reggie Langhorne.
Dixon was the Browns’ first-round draft pick in 1981 out of Southern Mississippi. In nine seasons, he started 128 of 131 games and was a defensive mainstay on some of the best teams in the Browns’ modern history. He had 28 carer interceptions and was a Pro Bowl honoree in 1986 and 1987.
Langhorne, the Browns’ seventh-round pick in the 1985 draft out of Elizabeth City (N.J.) State, spent seven of his nine NFL seasons in Cleveland. For the Browns, he started 81 of 102 games and had 261 receptions for 3,587 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Campy Russell and Jim Chones will represent the Cavaliers. They are best remembered for their contributions to the team’s “Miracle of Richfield” playoff run in 1976.
Taken in the first round of the 1974 NBA draft out of the University of Michigan, Russell averaged 16.1 points per game in seven seasons with the Cavs. He now works in the team’s front office and is the pregame and postgame co-host on Fox Sorts Ohio telecasts of Cavs games.
Chones spent his first two professional seasons in the American Basketball Association after starring at Marquette University. The Cavs obtained his NBA draft rights from the Los Angeles Lakers in May 1974. In five seasons with the Cavs, he averaged 14.3 points and 9.5 rebounds. He now is the analyst on radio broadcasts of Cavs games.
Other scheduled guest are: Hector Marinaro, highscoring forward on Cleveland Crunch indoor soccer teams that won three titles; Butch Reynolds, an Akron native and 1988 Summer Olympics gold medal sprinter; Zoltan Mesko, former NFL punter and longtime Twinsburg resident; John Adams; a fixture at Indians games since 1973 as the drummer in the center field bleachers.