NORTHWOOD – It’s been over 50 years since Bob Kimball became one of Wood County’s first high school
athletes to be named first-team All-Ohio.
Five decades years later, Kimball and 60 other athletes will become the newest members of the Northwood
High School Athletic Hall of Fame Saturday in a ceremony held at the high school.
The event, sponsored by the NHS athletic boosters and the athletic department, will be from 2-4 p.m.
"It caught me by surprise," said Kimball, now retired from owning a wholesale business in
California. "It’s been a long time and it was the furthest thing from my mind that I’d be inducted,
but it means a lot to me and brings back a lot of good memories."
Northwood will be inducting 15 football players, seven basketball players, one softball player, five
baseball players, two cross country athletes, 11 track and field athletes, two volleyball players, 14
wrestlers, a baseball team, a track and field relay team, and a wrestling team.
What shocked Kimball and the other inductees, unlike most high schools, the Hall of Fame inductions will
be the first for any Ranger athlete in over 20 years.
"We don’t have a Hall of Fame to speak of," said NHS athletic booster president Pat McGaharan.
"There were seven kids inducted back in 1970 and then two more in the early 1980s, but there were
no plaques on the wall … so this is all new for the school."
Northwood, formerly Olney High School, was formed in 1964.
To become a member of the NHS Hall of Fame, inductees had to meet the criteria set by former athletics
director and current Otsego football coach Erik Johnson.
For consideration, athletes had to be an All-Ohio athlete in their respective sports or be part of a
state qualifying team, such as the 1987 1,600-meter relay team or the 1984 wrestling team that took
sixth place at state.
"Everyone that is being inducted will have a plaque on the wall with their picture on it with a list
of their accolades in the hallway outside the gymnasium," said McGaharan.
Most accolades bring up distant memories for the athletes, as Kimball remembered a great athletic moment
he had at Olney.
"The thing that was really neat was the (basketball) tournaments that we had in Bowling Green at
Anderson Arena," said Kimball. "We had close to 30 teams play there it was always a thrill.
Every year, though, it seemed like we drew Troy-Luckey (now Eastwood High School) and they beat
us."
Jerry Gladieux, another Hall of Fame inductee, says the memories for him have also meant more over the
years.
"The individual award is nice," said Gladieux, an inductee for football and a first-team
All-Ohio selection at safety in 1989.
"To me, though, it was all about the guys I played ball with and still have contact with
today," Gladieux said.
Athletes like Gladieux and Kimball will be the last of a line who had to wait so long for being
recognized by their high school for their achievements.
"There will never be 61 kids being inducted at once again," said McGaharan. "This is will
be something carried on by the school and the athletic director from this point forward."
"Our next big project to go along with the Hall of Fame will be record boards for each sport in the
hallway," McGaharan continued. "We’re looking to get those up starting next spring."
In addition to the Hall of Fame ceremony, former Notre Dame football player Daniel "Rudy"
Ruettiger, will speak following the event in the high school gym at 5 p.m. Tickets for the talk are $10
for adults and $5 for students.