Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 1983
- Class:
- 1957
Geno Geffery "Jungle" Gioia - Born October 20, 1932 in Cleveland, Ohio…Graduated from John Adams High School in 1951…Lettered in three sports in high school, football, baseball, and basketball…Played on state championship team in basketball…Was also a member of the 1951 decathlon team…Received his degree in health, physical education and recreation from KSU in 1957…Earned his masters degree in health education from Western Reserve University in 1964…At Kent he lettered three times each in football and baseball…Was named All-MAC in both sports, football in 1956 and baseball in 1955 and 1956…He was the first player in KSU history to be selected first team All-MAC and the first player to earn conference honors in two different positions in baseball, second base and centerfield…In football, he captained the Flashes in 1956 squad and was named the All-Ohio honorary captain of the year…Earned All-Ohio honors in both ‘55 and ‘56…Following a spectacular collegiate career he was named the MVP in the Cleveland Muny Football League in 1958…In 1960 he was signed by the Boston Patriots but soon returned home and signed with the Cleveland Bulldogs…Married to the former Sharon Finnigan, of Seven Hills…They are the parents of four boys; Geffery, Tim, Michael, and Scott…He was a member of the Varsity “K” and Phi Epsilon Kappa…Also captained the All-University Intramural Basketball Champs in 1955-56 and as the All-University doubles handball champ in 1955.
