TGFC - Hall of Fame Members - Class of 1982
Class of 1982 - Biographies
Lou Bocci, 1982
Born April 23, 1932 in Cleveland, Ohio…Graduated from KSU with a business degree in 1958…An All-Scholastic selection…Owns six KSU single season and career pitching records…Season marks include Most Strikeouts (75, 1954), and Innings Pitched (802/3, 1954) while career marks that still stand include Most Wins (16, 1952-54, 1956), Most Appearances (39), Strikeouts (216), and Innings Pitched (2472/3)…Named All-MAC Second Team in 1952 and All-MAC First Team in 1953, 1954, and 1956…The first KSU player to be named All-MAC in baseball three times…Hurled two no-hitters…Permitted only 151 hits during career…Prior to moving to San Jose, he coached a Senior Babe Ruth team to state championship in Illinois, 1972-75…Served in the U.S. Army from 1954-56…Civic organization included Rotary Club…Married to the former Barbara Ann Wassick of Homer City, PA…They are the parents of one daughter…He was an outstanding sandlot player in Cleveland and was reputed to throw the “Heaviest Ball” of any pitcher in the area for years…A speedballer who overpowered hitters, he was a burly type and was right-handed.
Russell Kennedy Doan, 1982
Born Sept. 19, 1916 in Woodsfield, Ohio…Graduated from KSU in 1939 after majoring in Industrial Arts…Holds an M.A. degree in Physical Education in 1957…Retired in June 1979, after 40 years in the education field including the last quarter of a century in Elyria…In 1964, he was presented the Award of Merit by KSU in “recognition of outstanding achievement, inspiring leadership and dedicated service” in his chosen profession…Inducted into the Elyria Sports Hall of Fame in 1975…Attended Ravenna and Paris (now Southeast) high schools, graduating in 1935…Participated in wrestling, track, baseball, and basketball and were County champs in 1934-35…At KSU earned four varsity letters in wrestling (1936-39), three in baseball (1937-39), and played freshman basketball (1935-36)…On mats, he was Interstate Champion at 128 pounds in 1937, 1938, and 1939, and served as captain his senior year…Lost only two matches in four year career and was undefeated as a junior…Lettered in baseball three years and was captain as senior…Ohio Conference’s leading hitter in 1938…Began teaching and coaching at Wadsworth where wrestling team was undefeated for four years…His 1942 Wadsworth team won the state wrestling title…Served more than three years in U.S. Navy as an officer and instructed wrestling to pre-fight cadets…Collaborated on Navy wrestling book, Joe Begala was author…Married to the former Eileen Likens of Ravenna…Parents of a son, Terry, and a daughter, Susan…Russ Doan was an extremely highly competitive athlete…His son Terry is football coach at Elyria High and has brought a great deal of recognition to the team and town coming through with championships regularly…Russ was one of Joe Begala’s favorites.
Dr. Marvin E. (Lefty) Garner, 1982
Born Feb. 19, 1916 in Canton, Ohio…Graduated from KSU in 1939 (Pre-med major)…Received D.D.S. in 1943 from Ohio State University…Graduated from Louisville High School in 1933…Lettered in football, basketball, baseball, and track in junior and senior years…At KSU, he received letters in football and baseball as sophomore and junior…Signed professional baseball contract with Detroit Tigers (originally was not permitted by Tigers to play football as a senior)…As a pitcher with the Golden Flashes, he pitched the first no-hitter in KSU history on May 1, 1936 against Ashland College…In that game, he struck out 24 of the 29 batters he faced…On the gridiron, after earning All-Tri-County honors as a halfback in high school, he was the fourth-leading scorer in Ohio as a KSU sophomore…Played minor league baseball in Bluefield, WV, in the Mountain State League…Posted an 11-2 pitching record and batted .427 in 1973…Was assigned to Beaumont, Texas in 1938 where he posted a 6-0 pitching record and batted .323… In 1939 was playing left field in the Texas League when he crashed into a wall, injured his throwing arm and his childhood dreams of becoming a major league baseball player were crushed…Tried baseball again with Canton Terriers in 1949, but re-injured arm…During WWII, he coached the post team at Camp Pendleton, VA…Also had a stint as coach of Ohio State reserve baseball team…Member of the American Legion…Married to the former Genevieve Gettrust of Kent…Parents of two sons, John and Marvin…Garner is probably one of the most versatile athletes ever to attend Kent State…He was a “crafty” lefty who left little to be desired in any of his baseball or for that matter athletic endeavors…He was exceptionally fast and elusive and as a runner was considered by many to be the finest for his size, in the school’s history. His hitting powers went almost unnoticed because of his excellent pitching record but he was equally versatile with the bat as his credentials show.
James Edward (Jimmy) Jones, 1982
Born Jan. 15, 1917, in Kane, PA…Graduated from KSU in 1946 with a degree in business administration…A 1937 graduate of Sharon, PA High School where he lettered three times in football…As a member of the Golden Flash football team, he lettered three years, was named Second Team Little All-American in 1949, and received All-Ohio and All-Conference recognition in 1940…Signed professional contract and had tryout with Detroit Lions in 1941…Played semi-pro ball with El Toro (Calif.) Marines in 1944 and the Cherry Point Marines in 1945...Was a member of the first unit of Marines to hit Gaudalcanal…Member of the Masons…Married to the former Margaret Donna Edison of Ashtabula…Parents of three daughters, Sharon; Colleen; and Maureen…Jimmy Jones was Kent State’s first truly bonifide Little All American “Bulwark”…Jones, along with his running mate Mickey Mittiga, gave Kent State the best punch in Ohio in 1940…Jones, a burly type, bowled over the opposition, caught passes, and with his outstanding speed was devastating and extremely punishing on the opponents…He was a member of Delta Phi Sigma Fraternity…For many years after leaving Kent State he affiliated with the Sears Roebuck Co. in and administrative position.
Frank Mesek, 1982
Born April 19, 1922 Red Oak, OK…Graduated from KSU in 1950 with a degree in speech/physical education…A 1940 graduate of Barberton High School…Returned to College in 1946 following a discharge from the Navy after serving four years…Lettered four years on the gridiron for the Flashes (1946-49) …Was accorded All-Ohio Conference honors in 1946, International News Service (INS) All-Ohio in 1946, 1947, 1948, and 1949…He served as the team captain in 1949…Owns distinction of school-record for most consecutive extra-point conversion kicks (23), including six straight against Connecticut, before goal posts were widened from 18 ½ feet to 23 ½ …Also played linebacker…Since graduation from KSU, has served as coach of football, basketball, and baseball at Boston Township (1950-57), football and baseball coach at Twinsburg (1957-59), and basketball and track coach in the Akron Public Schools (1959-79)…A member of Delta Phi Sigma and Sigma Nu fraternities…Married to the former Barbera Smrekar of Akron…Parents of seven children…Frank “Hoss” Mesek was probably one of the best lineman ever to play for Kent State University, was a guard and a linebacker…He had no fear when it came to stopping ball carriers…he was the “bone jarring”, “teeth chattering” type who relished contact and hard play…He was on every ALL TEAM in 1946 as he led the Flashes both offensively and defensively…Truly one of the greats.
Dominic “Mickey” Mittiga, 1982
Born April 7, 1919 in Kent, OH…Graduated from KSU in 1941…Majored in Industrial Arts…Received master’s in 1950 in Industrial Arts…Retired from teaching in 1975 after 33 ½ years…Graduate of Kent Roosevelt High School in 1937…Lettered twice each in football and basketball in high school…Outstanding collegiate career at KSU while earning three varsity letters…Described as a “145-pound whirling dervish” for Flash teams that posted marks of 7-2 (1938), 5-4 (1939), and 8-1 (1940)…Gained over 450 yards on the ground, tossed 15 yards in total offense…Received All-Ohio recognition as a senior and was selected to play in the 1941 college All-Star game against the Cleveland Rams...Upon graduation, he taught for one year at Strongsville before enlisting in the Air Force where he served 42 months…Following the war, he taught and coached football for two years at Garretsville High School…After five years at Ravenna township School, he moved to Kent Roosevelt…At Roosevelt, he was head coach for eight years and had several Metro championships before ending his coaching career in 1965…Married to the former Francis Sasowski of Akron…Parents of four children; Patricia, David, Albert, and Donald…Mickey Mittiga is the 2nd native-born member of the hall of fame to be inducted… He was considered a phenomenon because of his versatility but even more because he was so quick and efficient despite his size…An avid Kent State supporter, he and Jimmy Jones placed the 1940 squad who had a super 8-1 season under Donald Starn who said of Mittiga…”He is usually the big difference, Mick has been just super”.
Moses Musonda, 1982
Born March 10, 1937 in Kawamba, Zambia…Graduated from KSU in 1967…Majored in Latin and French…Received M.A. degree in French in 1968…Doctoral candidate in French at Bryn Mawr College… Will return to Zambia to take up post as associate professor of French…Graduated from Canisius Secondary School in Chikuni, Zambia in 1960 where he was a First Team soccer player and captain of team…Attended Munali Secondary School in Lusaka where he continued his soccer playing before graduating in 1962…Came to Kent where he played four years of soccer, including the 1965 season when it became an official varsity sport…Received two varsity letters and was named to the All-Ohio Second team as a defensive halfback in 1964…In 1965, he was co-captain of the soccer team and was named the teams Most Valuable Player…Married to the former Lucy Kawandami, also of Kawamba…Parents of two children…He is the first soccer player to bring State recognition to Kent State…He was not a big man but had a great deal of agility and ability and caused all our opponents to consider him first in defending the Flash soccer offense coached by Rudy Bachna.
Don Ray Nottingham, 1982
Born June 28, 1948 in West Virginia…Graduated from KSU in 1971 with a degree in marketing…Lettered three years on the Golden Flash football team and captained the 1970 squad…First Team All-MAC selection as a junior and senior…Team’s Best Offensive Back in 1968-70…”Notts” as he was known by many of his friends and teammates owns the distinction of having scored the final touchdown (a 33-yard run vs. Xavier) in old Memorial Stadium and first TD (a one yard run vs. Dayton, 1969) in new Memorial Stadium…During three-year varsity career at KSU he carried the ball 602 times for 2,515 net yards on seasons of 727 (1968), 990 (1969), and 79 (1970)…His 275 net yard rushing vs. Dayton (10-13-69) still stands as a KSU single game record…He tallied 19 touchdowns on the ground…He was picked in the 17th round of the NFL draft by the Baltimore Colts…He retired from football in the early part of 1979…He gained 2,946 yards in his pro career…He graduated from Ravenna High School in 1967 after an illustrious prep career…He was All-Metro in 1966 and 1967 and named the Akron Beacon Journal’s Player of the Year in 1967…He played professionally eight years, the last six with the Miami Dolphins who acquired him in 1973…He is married to the former Michelle Ann Robb of Shelby, Ohio…They are parents of two children…Don Nottingham was labeled throughout the football world as the “Human Bowling Ball” since he ran so low to the ground.
