Inaugural class named for sports hall

“This will be a tribute to the great athletes that Knox County has had,” Houbler said. “This event will be a way to show our respect and thanks to those great athletes.”

Houbler, on the KCHS board, put together a committee of sports’ veterans and fans — J.D. Graham, Jim Spicer, Dr. Don Swegan, Dr. Rod Beckett and himself — that waded through the long list of Knox County’s top athletes to come up with the inaugural class.

The first class will include some of the top names in Knox County sports history, including some who went on to great things at the national level. It will include Cookie Cunningham, Ollie Cline, Doug Davis, Richie Hoyt, Dick Mavis, Dick Shuff and Jim Stillwagon.

A program will be held Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Knox County Historical Society honoring these gentlemen.

“We’ve got some big time sports guys — some with national honors,” Houbler said. “It’s an honor. ... Some of them have never received their dues. This will stand forever.”

Cunningham is considered one of the top football players to ever step foot on the gridiron at Mount Vernon. He played on the championship team of 1922 before heading off to Ohio State. From there, he played five years in the NFL for the Cleveland Bulldogs, Chicago Bears and Staten Island Stapletons.

Cline is well-respected as the top athlete and football player to come from Fredericktown. He scored seven touchdowns and kicked two extra points in the Freddies 79-6 victory over Mount Gilead in 1942.

Cline went on to play fullback at Ohio State University where he was named MVP of the Big Ten in 1946. He set OSU records for most yards rushing in a game (229 vs. Pittsburgh) and season (936).

He then played for the Cleveland Browns and Buffalo Bills of the All-America Football Conference before playing for the NFL’s Detroit Lions for four years. He was part of two NFL championship teams with Detroit.

Davis was a standout offensive tackle and basketball star at Centerburg before graduating in 1962. He set the record for most rebounds in a basketball game and led the Trojans to the district title in 1961. But, it was football where he really stood out.

He was a high school All-American, playing in an all-star game in Dallas, Texas, before playing at the University of Kentucky. Davis was a fifth-round draft pick of the Minnesota Vikings, playing for them for eight years.

Hoyt was the top basketball player at Mount Vernon High School during the 1950s. He scored 50 points in a high school game before moving on to Ohio State. There, Hoyt was a valuable member of the 1960 national championship team, averaging 5 points per game.

Mavis was a star athlete at Danville, especially on the basketball court. He set the Blue Devil record for points in a career before heading to Kent State and then Otterbein College, where he graduated.

Shuff was honored as one of the best football players to ever play at Mount Vernon. He was also a standout basketball player and track star for the Yellow Jackets.

Stillwagon was a legend around the playing fields of Mount Vernon in the early 1960s. He went to St. Vincent, then the Augusta Military Academy in Virginia before becoming a star at Ohio State University. Stillwagon was a two-time All-American and won both the Outland Trophy (best interior lineman) and Lombardi Award (best lineman or linebacker). He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers, but opted to play in Canada for the Toronto Argonauts. He was inducted into the college football hall of fame.