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The Buddy LaRosa high school Sports Hall of Fame was established
in 1975 to recognize outstanding athletes from area high schools.
Each year, nominees are considered based solely upon high school
accomplishments. Collegiate, professional, or other amateur achievements
have no bearing on the selection process. The nominee must have
graduated high school 10 years before eligibility may begin.
View the 2012 Hall of Fame Inductees.
View the 2011 Hall of Fame Inductees.
View the 2010 Hall of Fame Inductees.
View the 2009 Hall of Fame Inductees.
View the 2008 Hall of Fame Inductees.
View the 2007 Hall of Fame Inductees.
View the 2006 Hall of Fame Inductees.
View the 2005 Hall of Fame Inductees.
View the 2004 Hall of Fame Inductees.
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| 5 former Cincinnati-area high school athletes and 2 coaches will
be inducted into the Buddy LaRosa's high school Sports Hall of
Fame in June, 2005. The Hall of Fame athlete inductees for 2004
are: |
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One of the more accomplished women's college basketball
coaches in Ohio, Mark Ehlen can trace his success to his
brief, but remarkably successful start in Cincinnati as the
head coach of the Forest Park Lady Chargers.
In just five seasons, Ehlen compiled an amazing 100-18 overall
record (.847) and led Forest Park to the 1984 Ohio Class
AAA state championship. The victory � a dramatic 48-47 overtime
win over Canton McKinley � gave Greater Cincinnati its first
ever big school girls state title. The team went 28-0 that
season and it proved to be the school's only state basketball
title. (Forest Park later merged with Greenhills to become
Winton Woods High School).
Ehlen's high school accomplishments were duly recognized
for their magnitude. He was named Ohio Girls Basketball Coach
of the Year in both 1983 and 1984, Cincinnati Girls Basketball
Coach of the Year twice by The Cincinnati Enquirer (1983
and 1984) and Hamilton County American League Coach of the
Year four times (1982-85).
He was inducted in the Cincinnati Women's Sports Hall of
Fame in 1986, and was inducted into the Cincinnati Basketball
Hall of Fame in 2001.
The state title � which Mark still ranks as his greatest
coaching memory � catapulted him to a successful collegiate
career. Ehlen went from Forest Park to the University of
Dayton as an assistant coach for one season, then moved on
to become the head coach at Xavier University (1986-1995).
He assumed his current position as head coach at the University
of Toledo in 1995.
Going into this season, Mark had compiled a 312-211 collegiate
coaching record. He was 122-130 at Xavier, and compiled a
190-81 at Toledo going into the 2004-05 season. His teams
have gone to the Women's NCAA Tournament five times (once
with XU in 1992-93), and has participated twice in the Women's
NIT. The Rockets have won three regular season Mid-American
Conference championships, four West Division titles and four
MAC Tournament Championships during Ehlen's career.
Ehlen's teams excel in the classroom as well. The Rockets
have ranked in the Top 10 in the nation four times for Team
GPA by the Women's National Basketball Coaches Association.
Mark has been named MAC Coach of the Year four times and
was named NCAA District 4 Coach of the Year twice.
Mark lives in Sylvania, Oh with his wife, Mimi, and seven-year
old daughter, Eliza Jane.
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Without question, Don Hasselbeck is the finest all-around
athlete in La Salle High School history. He earned 13 varsity
letters with the Lancers and was inducted in 1995 as a charter
member of the school's Hall of Fame.
Don, who graduated from grade school at 6-foot-4, went on
to become a Parade High School All-American in football,
a collegiate All-American at the University of Colorado,
and enjoyed nine seasons in the National Football League
with New England, the Super Bowl champion Oakland Raiders,
Minnesota and the New York Giants.
Hasselbeck was a two-way starter as tight end and defensive
tackle at La Salle where he started for four straight seasons.
Only partial statistics could be discovered on Hasselbeck,
but he was an all-city selection in both football and basketball
as both as junior and senior. He set a school record for
32 receptions for 416 yards as a junior at La Salle. Don
was also a four-year starter in track. As an indication of
his outstanding athletic ability, as a 6-foot-7 sophomore,
he actually won the Greater Cincinnati League high jump title!
Heavily recruited in football, Hasselbeck selected the University
of Colorado where he became a full-time starter at tight
end with two games left in his freshman season. He finished
his collegiate career with 50 receptions for 612 yards and
three touchdowns. He was first team all Big Eight as a junior
and senior, and was Sporting News First Team All-America
as a senior, second team All-America by United Press International,
Associated Press and the Newspaper Enterprise Association.
He played in the Orange Bowl, the Hula Bowl and the College
Bowl (in Tokyo).
Selected in the second round of the NFL draft by New England,
Don played seven years with the Patriots before being traded
to Oakland in 1983, where he went on to be a member of the
Super Bowl Championship team. Overall, he played in 123 games
and had 107 receptions for 1,542 yards and 18 touchdowns.
Currently, Don, Senior Director-Footwork for Reebok International,
lives in Norfolk, MA with his wife Betsy. They have three
sons � Matthew (29) � Pro Bowl QB for Seattle Seahawks, Tim
(26) � backup QB for Washington Redskins, and Nathanael (23).
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In Ohio's hallowed high school football annals � there
is simply no one better than Terry Malone. That says it all.
Upon his retirement after 45 years of coaching at Hamilton
Catholic and Badin High Schools, Terry amassed a career record
of 360-177-8 � the most victories in Ohio high school history,
and 10 th all-time in the nation.
During his career, Malone's team captured the 1990 Division
III state championship and was runnerup in both 1978 and
1980. Along with his 16-6 victory over Richfield Revere for
the state title, Malone achievements have included triumphs
over two of Ohio's greatest coaching legends and LaRosa Hall
of Famers � Roger Bacon's Bron Bacevich (1972) and Princeton's
Pat Mancuso (1969).
Malone was a 1952 graduate of Hamilton Catholic, and went
on to star in football at Xavier University where he was
All-Irish/All-Catholic All-American in 1956. He holds XU's
record for longest kickoff return of 98 yards vs. the University
of Cincinnati in 1956. Upon graduating from XU, Malone actually
signed a contract with North College Hill High School, but
when the opening arose at Hamilton Catholic, he asked out
and was granted his release to return to his alma mater.
Ironically, it was a 45-7 victory over NCH that was the final
game of his career. (Interestingly enough, NCH was also the
final foe for Bacon's Bacevich.)
One of Malone's favorite stories was the third game of his
career � his first home game � when he recalled an older
female fan deriding his coaching and insisting he would not
be back for a second season! �I guess I fooled her a little
bit,� he says, chuckling.
Terry went on to post a 63-12-1 record at Catholic which
merged with Notre Dame High School to form Badin in 1966-67.
In 38 years with Badin, the Rams were 280-90-7 in regular
season play, and 17-15 in postseason. Malone posted seven
unbeaten/untied seasons, one 8-0-2 mark, and 14 teams that
lost just one game. The Rams reached the playoffs 16 times.
In addition to being head football coach, Malone was also
Dean of Boys, Athletic Director and taught American History
for 47 years at Badin.
He has been inducted into numerous Halls of Fame, including
the Ohio High School Football Coaches Association Hall of
Fame; and he has received a four Lifetime Achievement Awards,
including from the National Football Foundation and the Ohio
High School Athletic Association.
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In the spring of 1981, not many people in Kentucky paid
much attention to Simon Kenton High School out of Northern
Kentucky. After all, why should they? No team out of the
Ninth Region had ever won the Kentucky State basketball tournament.
Surely, very few fans had heard of Troy McKinley.
Over the course of the next four days, Troy McKinley and
the Pioneers would re-write Sweet Sixteen history and to
this day the 1980-81 Simon Kenton team is the only team from
Northern Kentucky to win the state tournament. McKinley,
who would be named tournament MVP, willed the No. 12 seeded
Pioneers to the title, which culminated in a 70-63 triumph
over Mason County High School. The other three victories
were decided by two points or less! McKinley scored 117 points
in the tourney and, recently, was picked for the Sweet Sixteen
all-time "Fabulous 50" team.
The historic accomplishment was the crowning achievement
of what was an outstanding high school basketball career.
McKinley, who wound up with a Simon Kenton career record
1,840 point (before the 3-point goal), was named First Team
All-State by the Associated Press and United Press International.
He was named Player of the Year in 1981 by both the Kentucky
Enquirer and the Kentucky Post, and was Famous Recipe Player
of the Year. He was also a member of the Kentucky squad for
the prestigious Kentucky-Indians All-Star games.
In addition to being Simon Kenton's all-time leading scorer,
McKinley owns the school's single season Free Throw Percentage
mark � 85% for three straight years (1979-81) and holds the
school's Highest Field Goal percentage record (62%) in 1981.
McKinley was also a stellar tennis player and played No.
1 singles for three years at Simon Kenton.
McKinley went on to play for the University of Kentucky,
where he was a member of the three-time Southeastern Conference
Tournament champions, and 1984 Final Four team.
Troy has been inducted into the Kentucky State Tournament
Hall of Fame, the Northern Kentucky Basketball Hall of Fame,
and Greater Cincinnati Basketball Hall of Fame where he was
named the 1980's Player of the Decade.
After serving 14 years as a police officer in Lexington,
McKinley, currently is attending class at NKU to become a
teacher. He lives in Florence with his wife, Donna, and children
Brittany (16), Victoria (6) and Abbigail (2).
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Quite possibly one of the finest pitchers to come out of
Cincinnati in the last 50 years, Claude Osteen went from
Reading High School to enjoy an 18-year career in the major
leagues.
Osteen, who moved to Reading from Tennessee as a sophomore,
totally dominated high school baseball during his three-year
varsity career. Osteen also played basketball for two seasons
for the Blue Devils, but concentrated solely on baseball
as a senior. And it proved to be a magic year for him.
The 1957 season will go down in Reading and Ohio High School
history as one of the finest pitching seasons ever recorded.
The Blue Devils captured its first state championship in
any team sport, largely behind Osteen, who did the unthinkable
in today's prep game. The left-hander pitched back-to-back
shutouts in the regional tournament � on the same day!
Osteen, 23-1 overall in his prep career, went 16-0 as a senior.
He pitched 103 2/3 innings with an incredible 221 strikeouts.
He allowed just two earned runs for a 0.13 Earned-run-average
(based upon 7 innings pitched per game). He walked just 20
batters and gave up only 32 hits.
Going into the 2005 prep baseball season, both his ERA and
his strikeouts rank No. 1 in Ohio history, while his 20-strikeout
game is tied for fifth best ever.
Osteen still holds five Reading single-season school records � most
hits (41), innings pitched, most wins, most strikeouts and
lowest ERA. He ranks 1-2-3 in single game strikeouts (20-17-17),
and second in single-season runs scored (31).
With such success, it was easy to understand how he would
sign with the Cincinnati Reds right out of high school. And
while most people in Cincinnati remember Joe Nuxhall pitching
for the Cincinnati Reds as a high school student, Osteen
actually pitched for the Reds following his graduation � throwing
4 innings in three games in 1957!
Osteen went on to pitch for six different teams in the major
leagues over an 18-year career. He posted a 196-195 record
with 3,460 1/3 innings pitched for a 3.30 career ERA. His
finest years came with the Los Angeles Dodgers (1964-1973)
where he won 152 games, including 20-win seasons in 1969
and 1972. He won 15 games as part of the 1965 World Championship
Dodgers' team. A four-time All-Star in his career, Claude
went on to become a minor league and major league pitching
coach through 2003.
Claude Osteen, currently living in Arlington, TX with his
wife Jackie, is a consultant for the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Claude has five children � David, Brian, Erick, Gavin and
Jennifer.
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A dominant force in Class A athletics in Northern Kentucky
during the early 1980s, Maureen Shea Kaiser earned 11 varsity
letters, won two state championships in track, and garnered
numerous honors in volleyball and basketball during her storied
career at St. Henry High School. As a testament to her athletic
talents, Maureen was one of only four prep females in the
nation to be honored with the Milky Way/Women's Sports Foundation
Award in 1985.
As a sophomore she won the state title in the high jump � still
one of her most favorable memories, was state runner-up as
a junior in both the high jump and 1600-meter relay, then
came back to win the long jump state title as a senior.
A three-year letterman in basketball, Maureen was an All-State
honorable mention as a junior and was named recipient of
the U.S. Army Reserves National Scholar/Athletic Award. She
was named to the Ninth Region All-Star team as a senior and
was picked for the East/West All-Star game.
Clearly, however, her greatest sport was volleyball. Twice
she was named Northern Kentucky Athletic Conference Player
of the Year and the Northern Kentucky Girls' Coaches Association
All-Region team. NAMED KENTUCKY POST/ENQUIRER POY? She earned
a full scholarship to the University of Notre Dame, where
she was a four-year letterman. Maureen was named ND's Team
Captain and MVP in 1988 and still ranks in the top ten in
three Single Season records and eight Career records, including
#2 all-time in Solo Blocks (129).
Inducted into the Northern Kentucky Athletic Directors Hall
of Fame in 1996, and St. Henry High School's Hall of Fame
(2002), Maureen returned to coach her alma mater in volleyball
in 1991. Named NKAC Coach of the Year three times, Maureen � whose
career record is 337-195 � guided St. Henry to its first
Ninth Region championship this past fall. Maureen and her
husband, Marty, currently live in Florence, along with sons
Blake (6), Tyler (2/3 in June), Ethan (6 months in June).
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When Willie Wineberg walked off the mat at St. John's Arena
in 1994, having defeated St. Xavier's Shawn Rockey for the
125-pound state wrestling title, he had accomplished what
no other Southwestern Ohio wrestler had achieved. Four straight
state championships! In the 10 years since, no one from the
Cincinnati area has come close.
Wineberg, who at the time was the first Division I wrestler
to win four straight championships, is the first wrestler
to be inducted into the LaRosa's Hall of Fame, and a rare
first-ballot inductee. He was named LaRosa's Male Athlete
of the Year in 1994. In four seasons at Fairfield, Wineberg
compiled an incredible 144-2 record and won his last 118
matches in a row.
The honors that poured in demonstrated the magnitude of his
accomplishment.
Willie was named a member of the High School All-America
Dream Team; he was selected for the Ronald L. Garrison Award,
emblematic of the USA High School Wrestler of the Year. He
was named Wrestler of the Year by the Cincinnati Enquirer,
Cincinnati Post and Hamilton Journal four straight years.
As an amateur, he competed throughout the world. He was USA
Cadet National Champion, placed 10 th in the Cadet World
Championships and finished 7 th in the Junior Nationals All-American
meet.
Willie, who also ran cross-country for the Indians for three
years and compiled a 3.87 GPA, wrestled collegiately at Purdue
University where he ranks third all-time in career winning
percentage. A two-time NCAA qualifier, Wineberg was a four-time
Big Ten and NCAA All-Academic All-American as well. He went
on to be Pan Pacific Game champion and USA Espoir National
champion.
Wineberg, currently living in Miamisburg, teaches and is
the head wrestling coach at Miamisburg High School.
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