2025 APS Athletics Hall of Fame Announced

AKRON, OH – July 17, 2025 – The Akron Public Schools Athletic Department is proud to continue the tradition of the APS Athletics Hall of Fame by naming our inductees for the Class of 2025. Those new members will be:

Shirley Fry - Class of 1944 Central - Tennis

Ernie Kusnyer II - Class of 1969 Firestone - Basketball

Whitney Mercilus - Class of 2008 Garfield - Football

Joe Plouse - Class of 1991 North - Wrestling

Larry Poole - Class of 1971 Garfield - Football

George Sisler - Class of 1911 Akron High School - Baseball

John Tillman - Class of 1964 North - Track and Cross Country

Frank Williams - Class of 1962 East - Track

Mike Buckner - Coach Buchtel Football (1971-1978)

Chuck Shuman - Coach Ellet Softball (1985-2023)

These inductees will be recognized at a banquet in their honor on Saturday, October 18, 2025 at Guy’s Party Center. The event will be open to the public and all tickets will be sold through HomeTown Ticketing found via the Akronschools.com website on the Athletics page.

Tickets to the event are $45 and will be available August 1, 2025. They are on a first come, first serve basis. We look forward to honoring these outstanding inductees and hope you will join us at this event.

As a prelude to our induction banquet, we will honor our inductees (list above) this summer at an Akron RubberDucks game. Please access the link below for ticket information regarding the game on Sunday, August 10 (1:05 p.m. first pitch). Prior to the game, our 2025 APS Athletics Hall of Fame class will be recognized on the field. A portion of each ticket’s cost will be donated to our Hall of Fame banquet fund. Click here to purchase tickets.

Please contact the Akron Public Schools Athletics office at 330-761-2813 with any questions.