Curbstone coaches hall of fame

Here are the inductees to the Curbstone Coaches Hall of Fame. The banquet is May 6 at Mr. Anthony’s. The guest speaker is Bruce Drennan of SportsTime Ohio. Tickets are available for $50 by calling Edd Fowler at 330-506-9829, or visiting the organization’s website at curbstonecoaches.org:

Bill Angle/Football: An All-City Series selection as a senior at Ursuline; played collegiately at Wake Forest and has been a high school coach for the past five decades in Ohio and North Carolina.

Dave Burcham/Sports media: Won more than 25 awards, including Associated Press honors for best high school game story, best news sports story, best feature story, best investigative sports reporting, best series and best enterprise.

Susan (Mineo) Carter/Bowling: An Austintown Fitch graduate, she has been a 200 average bowler for 15 years with a high average of 222. She has four perfect games and over 100 sets of 700 or better. She has been named to the Ohio USBC Women’s Bowling Association All-Star team and the Akron All-Star First Team.

Joe Conroy/Football: Earned three letters at Boardman High School and was named first team All-Steel Valley Conference. Walked on at Toledo and later earned a full scholarship. He was the second-leading tackler all-time (490 career tackles) and sixth leading (39) in tackles for loss in school history.

Greg Cooper/Wrestling: Earned eight letters at Boardman where he was a state champion as a senior with a 26-0 record that include 17 wins by pin. Received an appointment to the United States Naval Academy, earning his B.S. degree in 1997, and placed second twice and fifth in the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association championships at 190 pounds.

Angelo Iannucci/Football: A 1951 graduate of Boardman where he earned six letters, including three in football. Named All-Tri-County and All-Mahoning County as a senior. Played at Rutgers University, earning three letters. Was named All-East as a junior and senior, and honorable mention All-America his final year.

Loren Less/Contributor: A 1953 graduate of Canfield where he starred in football and basketball. Honorable mention All-Ohio in football and second team All-Ohio in basketball. Later served as a head trainer at Warren Western Reserve, Warren Harding and Austintown Fitch. Honored by Ohio High School Track and Field and Cross County Association and Ohio Basketball Coaches.

Chuck Montgomery/Volleyball: Coached at Farrell and Hubbard, where he has an all-time winning percentage of 81.9 percent, winning over 400 matches. At Farrell he earned a national award, finishing second in the state in 1985.

Leonard Nelson, Jr./Basketball: A 1954 Boardman graduate, where is a member of the athletics hall of fame. Later played at Muskingum College, becoming the school’s all-time leading rebounder, which he holds today. He was a first team All-Ohio Conference selection three times and was named Mike Gregory Award winner in 1957.

John Sefcik/Football: Led Chaney High to City Series championships in 1965 and 1966 as a halfback. As a senior, posted over 1,200 all-purpose yards, scoring 13 touchdowns. Played collegiately at Columbia University.

Dave Smercansky/Baseball: A 1975 graduate of Poland, helping the Bulldogs to two league championships in baseball. He struck out 91 batters in 89 2/3 innings, and was named first team all-league as a senior. He broke or tied 15 school records and later played at Youngstown State.

Clifford “Randy” Stephens/Boxing: A LaBrae High graduate who won the 1968 Golden Gloves light heavyweight crown. While in the U.S. Army, became a member of the boxing team and was All-Army heavyweight champion from 1972-74. He won the 1974 Inter-Service crown and was later fought in the 1972 Olympic Trials, losing a hard-fought decision to Duane Bobick. He was 25-9 (with 18 KOs) professionally and fought for the WBA World Cruiserweight title twice.

Jollis “Chick” Welcher/Tennis: Won the Mahoning Valley Open in 1958 and in 1960 and the Mahoning Valley Tennis League men’s singles champion. He was the Northeastern Ohio Tennis Association’s 45-and Under top ranked player in 1975, winning the Leo Mason Men’s 45 singles championship that same year.

Mike “Mickey” Yurco/Bowling: He started league plays in 1959 and is still active. A member of the 2005 Senior Team Champions, the combined four team members rolled 2652 en-route to the title.This March marked his 40th year bowling in the USBC National Tournament. His highest league average was 210, his highest game 300 (he has bowled 299 and 296 as well) and among his numerous 700 sets is his high set of 774.