2008 Circle of Champions Members:
Bill Willis
Galen Cisco
Susan Nash Sugar
Jim Lachey
Honored posthumously is Bill Willis, a pioneer for
African-American athletes. Bill attended Columbus East High School,
then starred as a football lineman under Paul Brown at both Ohio
State and with the Cleveland Browns. At Ohio State, he was the
Buckeyes' first African-American football All-American in 1943 and
1944 and was on the 1942 National Championship team. He helped break
the professional football color barrier with the Browns, playing for
Cleveland between 1946 and 1953. The team won four All-American
Football Conference championships and the city's first NFL title in
1950, and Willis was named all-league seven times. Bill is a member
of the college and professional football halls of fame. Mr. Willis
died at the age of 86 last November.
A
native of St. Henry, Jim Lachey was all-state in football,
played on the 1979 Redskins basketball team that won an OHSAA state
title and won a state tournament silver medal as a senior and a
bronze as a junior in the shot put. Following high school, Jim
played football at Ohio State and was an All-American and all-Big
Ten guard on the 1984 team that won the conference championship and
played
in the Rose Bowl. Following graduation, he was chosen by the
San Diego Chargers in the first round of the NFL draft. He played 11
years in the NFL for the Chargers and Washington Redskins, was named
All-Pro seven times, was selected to three Pro Bowls and helped the
Redskins win Super Bowl XXVI in 1992. Jim lives in Columbus.
Galen Cisco is a St. Marys native who was a football and
baseball star at Memorial High. Also a two-sport star in college,
Cisco earned All-America and All-Big Ten honors while serving as
captain of Woody Hayes' 1957 Buckeye football team that won the
National Championship and the 1958 Rose Bowl. He played both
fullback and linebacker. On the diamond, Galen was 12-2 with the
Buckeye and earned All-America honors. He then pitched seven years
in Major League Baseball for three different teams, then spent as a
pitching coach with several organizations, including the Toronto
Blue Jays teams that won three straight American League pennants and
were the 1992 and the 1993 World Champions. Cisco currently resides
in Celina.
Susan Nash Sugar won 11 events in the OHSAA State Track and
Field Tournaments between 1981 and 1984, including first place in
the 400 meters four straight years, and she helped her team win
three state championships. Susan also won two state cross country
individual titles and led her team to a state championship. In
basketball, she was a two-time all-Ohio selection and helped Rosecrans win Class A state championships in 1982 and 1983 and
finish as state runner-up in 1984. While at the University of
Florida, Susan won All-America honors during the 1986 indoor season
in the 4x800 championships and at one time held American and World
records. Susan resides in Columbus.
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