November 2nd, 2019, was a special day at the Museum as we officially unveiled our newest exhibit, entitled "Knox County Sports History and Hall of Fame." The idea was suggested nearly a year ago by KCHS Trustee, Phillip Houbler, who has been a longtime supporter of area sports teams as well as a personal friend of many of Ohio's outstanding athletes.
Our Museum collections include both stories and artifacts about a wide variety of area athletic achievements in public and private schools and colleges as well as little league baseball, semi-pro basketball, golf championships, cycling, etc. Photographs and printed material provided the basis for creating an exhibit that would pay tribute to more than a century of noteworthy achievements in these and other sports.
In addition, we have been aware of several Knox County athletes whose achievements deserved special recognition in our exhibit. So after due consideration, seven persons were selected to be the first to be admitted into our new Knox County Sports Hall of Fame. These included
- Fredericktown and OSU football star, Ollie Cline,
- Mount Vernon, OSU and professional football and basketball star, Harold "Cookie" Cunningham,
- Centerburg, U. of Kentucky and Minnesota Vikings football star, Doug Davis,
- Mount Vernon and OSU football, basketball and baseball star, Richie Hoyt,
- Danville and Otterbein football and basketball star, Dick Mavis,
- Mount Vernon football, basketball and track star, Dick Shuff,
- Mount Vernon, OSU and professional football star, Jim Stillwagon.
About 100 persons attended the special Saturday gathering at the Museum to hear specially selected presenters give detailed, personal accounts of the athletic achievements of each inductee.
Our thanks go to Phil Houbler and his committee for their considerable work in planning this elaborate new exhibit which will grow in future years and will continue to be appreciated by sports enthusiasts from Knox County, Ohio and beyond.
Serving as Presenters for the seven Hall of Fame Inductees were (l to r) Dr. Donald Swegan, Dr. Rod Beckett, J.D. Graham, Phillip Houbler, David Culbertson, Richard Mavis (Inductee), James Gibson, Grant Pepper, and David Greer.