SCRAPPERS Legends commemorated at Cafaro

Several of the top vote-getters attended the ceremonies.
By BILL ALBRIGHT
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
NILES -- While much of the Mahoning Valley was focused on high school football Friday night, the area took a few moments to honor some of its outstanding sports legends at Cafaro Field.
Prior to their game against Brooklyn, the Scrappers paid tribute to the area's top 25 sports legends, according to the results of a reader poll conducted by The Vindicator.
Among those who returned for the ceremonies were former major league baseball player Andy Kosco and former YSU kicker and broadcaster Dick Hartzell.
Kosco, a Youngstown native, played in the major leagues for Minnesota, New York, Los Angeles and Cincinnati 1965 to 1974. He finished with a career batting average of .236, with 464 hits, 73 home runs, 204 runs and 267 RBIs.
Time to reminisce
"It is real nice to get back on the baseball field," said Kosco. "You reminisce and when you do that, a lot of real good memories come back.
"Even though I am not active in the game, I try to stay close to it, mostly on the major league level, but I do manage to get up here to Cafaro Field to catch about four or five [games] a year."
Prior to the game, Kosco met an old friend and former teammate, Scrappers manager Ted Kubiak.
"The friendships you make are never-ending," said Kosco. "Ted Kubiak and I played together so this gave me a chance to chat with him again. It is nice to see people like him who have the dedication to stay in the game. It is just a wonderful experience to have played and been a part of the game."
Football fame
Hartzell's fame came from football.
From 1960 to 1963, Hartzell scored 87 points as the YSU kicker. Hartzell, a Struthers High graduate, coached for two years at Ursuline before moving on to West Branch, where he compiled a coaching mark of 49-19-1 over seven seasons.
"I was the first specialist in the history of the university and from that time on, I coached every one of the kickers who have come up through there," Hartzell said. "I just had a lot of fun being a part of the program."
After leaving West Branch in 1978, Hartzell developed his Jump Stretch Bands and received a U.S. patent in 1983. Jump Stretch Bands are currently used by YSU student athletes, the New York Yankees, the Los Angeles Lakers and various other teams at the professional, collegiate and high school levels.
An innovation
"[It's] a rubber band strength training system," said Hartzell. "I do about 90 percent of the teams in the NBA, NFL, major league baseball and in colleges all over the country. I can rehab anything from a sprained ankle to a heart transplant, but the most important thing is that I have a lot of fun in what I do."
Hartzell enjoys working with athletes the most.
"It is exciting for me because I get nothing but quality kids," he said. "When I hear people talking about athletes not being what they once were, it upsets me. The kids I get work as hard as any that I have ever crossed paths with."