Ben Curtis, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Larry Nance & Les Levine In CLE Sports HOF

Ben Curtis graduated from Kent State University and was a three-time All-American. He won the 2002 British Open Championship in 2003 in his first major appearance. After winning The Open, he jumped from being the 396th ranked player to the 35th, the highest jump in PGA history. Curtis was also on the 2008 USA Ryder Cup team and he defeated Le Westwood 2-1 to help bring the cup back to U.S soil. Curtis and his wife, Candace run the Ben Curtis Family Foundation which was founded in 2013 and helps fight childhood hunger in Portage and Summit counties.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas was drafted by the Cavaliers with the 20th overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft. His number “11” hangs in the rafters at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. He’s the Cavs all-time leader ion offensive rebounds (2,336) and blocked shots (1,269).He’s also the only Cavalier to have more than 10,000 points, 5,000 rebounds and 1,000 blocks.

Larry Nance came to the Cavs in a trade with the Phoenix Suns and is the only Cavalier to make the NBA’s All-Defensive teams three times. Known as “Leaping Larry” for his dunking and shot blocking, Nance was a three time All-Star. His number “22” is retired and hangs in the rafters at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

Les Levine died earlier this year. He was known as the self-proclaimed “Voice of Truth and Reason” and his show “More Sports and Les Levine” was a fixture on both radio and TV. Levine did play by play for Kent State and Cleveland State. He also wrote a weekly sports column for the News Herald and was an award winning columnist for the Cleveland Jewish News.

Visit the Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame: HERE