The 2014 Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame included 7 inductees, of which two were from the world of swimming: Erica Rose and Wally Morton.
Rose was a long-time member of team USA, specifically in open water, where she is a member of 7 U.S. World Championship Teams – including four times a captain. She is also a 10-time Open Water National Champion, a four-time Pan Ams gold medalist, and the 1998 World Champion in the 5k.
She grew up swimming with the Lake Erie Silver Dolphins and won three state championships at the Gates Mills school. She attended Northwestern University in Chicago, whose head women’s coach Jimmy Tierney made the trip over for the induction ceremony on Thursday night.
The other inductee with Cleveland ties is Wally Morton, the recently-retired head coach of men’s and women’s swimming at Cleveland State. In 46 seasons in charge of the Vikins, he won 20 conference championships and amassed 387 dual-meet victories.
Individually, he took 5 different swimmers to the NCAA Championships and put 3 on Olympic teams for their respective countries.
The total count for the Hall of Fame now rises to 21 swimmers and/or divers and/or coaches of the above in the Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame. Among the other highlights include former National Record holder Glenn Mills, a former National Record holder, and three-time Olympic medalist Diana Munz.
- Red Abrams, 1976
- Edward Bettendorf, 1978
- Betsy Blake, 1984
- Rose Boczek Burke, 1976
- Robert Busbey, 1976
- Erica Rose, 2014
- Allard Hardy, 1976
- Jerry Holtrey, 2011
- Kris W. Kirchner, 1992
- Christine Kluter, 1976
- Glenn D. Mills, 1992
- Diana Munz, 2009
- Barbara Schaeffer Nejman, 1978
- Judy Norton, 1976
- Helen Perry, 1976
- Louis “L.B.” Schaefer, 1976
- Robert J. Schaefer, 1978
- Ted Stevens, 1976
- Wally Morton, 2015
- Pat Young, 1980
Congratulations, Coach Morton. A well-deserved honor!