Lorain sports HOF welcomes in new class

The man in the grey suit strode with purpose and the grace of a former athlete as he headed toward the entrance of German’s Villa on Sept. 4 in Vermilion.

It was inside that building that the Lorain Sports Hall of Fame would enshrine its class of 2020 and 2021 and it turned out the man in the grey suit was one of those inductees. His name was Otis Jenkins and back in the fall of 1972, there may not have been a better high school running back in the state of Ohio than Jenkins. That fall he shredded defenses as the No. 1-running back for a Clearview Clippers team that advanced all the way to the first Class A state championship game in Ohio history. The 1972 team is also inducted in the hall, by the way.

Jenkins was one of eight athletes, two coaches, and one team that were enshrined during the gala event, which was attended by a little more than 200, according to event organizers.

Jenkins, who was also a track star and played basketball, is arguably one of the best track athletes the city of Lorain has ever produced, say those who watched him run in high school.

But back to that football season of 1972. Jenkins was at his best when it counted most. He rushed for 195 yards in a seasonending win over Amherst and then rushed for 160 yards in Clearview’s win over Middletown Fenwick in the state semi. In the final, he churned out another 147 yards in a painful loss to Marion Pleasant.

That loss still stings Jenkins, who went to Louisville to play college football, where he hurt his knee.

Clearview had the ball and the lead with the game down to the final play. One short run and the clock would run out and Clearview would have a state football title.

But disaster struck and Clearview fumbled and Marion Pleasant ran it back for the winning score.

“We had two fumbles and they scored on them,” Jenkins recalled before the enshrinement ceremony. “Matter of fact the last play of the game, that’s how we lost that game. We were up, the last play of the game we fumbled and they picked it up and ran it in. Oh man, I still think about that sometimes,” said Jenkins.

Jenkins is now retired, he said and delivers meals for Meals on Wheels to homebound seniors.

“God called me,” Jenkins said.

Stories like Jenkins and the Clearview team of 1972 would be forgotten if not for the Lorain Sports Hall of Fame, which was started in 1969 and now numbers 395 individual inductees and 39 teams after this most recent enshrinement.

That was the messaging from Ron Feldkamp, who was the hall’s president in 2003 and was honored with the Distinguished Service Award for all of his work with the organization.

“I believe these stories can inspire the next generation of athletes,” Feldkamp said in explaining why he believes keeping the hall of fame is an important institution to the city.

During a somber part of the evening the hall-offame jacket of the late Lebron Gladden, a 2017 inductee, who played on the great 1985-86 Admiral King basketball team, was gifted back to the hall-offame. Gladden’s family and his former teammates arranged for the return of the jacket, according to a hall spokesman. Two of Gladden’s former teammates presented the jacket, which had been framed, during a presentation.

Gladden is one of a trio of brothers (Jamie, Byron); all of who had legendary basketball careers at Admiral King and are all in the Lorain Sports Hall of Fame.

Joining Jenkins in this year’s class were:

Regular: Brad Balmert, sailing, Lorain, 1977; Anjie Chet-Caffarel, volleyball, basketball, Lorain Catholic, 1995; Lisa Nockoloff-Lindberg, volleyball, basketball, Admiral King, 1992l Mary Lou Rebman-Poli, bowling, Lorain Catholic, 1977; Barry Rush, football, track, Lorain 1981; Vince Villanucci, football, wrestling, Lorain, 1982;

Senior: Chris Gregg, Football, Track, Admiral King, 1964; Special: Karen Boyle, track, lacrosse, coaching, Lorain, 1975; William Reagan, football, coaching, Lorain Catholic, 1970;

Team: 1984 Admiral Kings boys tennis