George Spiroff – (1998)

Born in Crestline, Ohio, George Spiroff was raised by his grandparents, Matt and Betty Nicoloff, in Lorain when he lost his mother at age 5 and his father while only a sophomore at Southview High School. He began playing baseball as a 10-year-old in the Lorain Little League where he was a perennial All-Star. A catcher, Spiroff batted .420 in addition to proving himself a stellar handler of pitchers. He was a two-time All-Northeast Ohio Conference choice and Associated Press All-Ohio First Team selection as a senior. He also lettered in basketball for the Saints. Upon graduation in 1977, Spiroff received a four-year baseball scholarship to Kent State University where he lettered all four years (1978-81) in baseball. His teammates voted him team captain his junior and senior years, and he was their choice for Most Valuable Player three times. Spiroff was also named All-Mid American Conference first team catcher both as a junior and senior and was an All-Mideast Regional selection twice (1980-81). He won All-American honors as a junior when he set KSU records for home runs, RBIs and total bases while batting an even .400 over his last two years. It was an impressive career and veteran Kent State watchers frequently compared him to another former Kent State catcher, the late Thurman Munson who went on to professional greatness as an American League All-Star catcher with the New York Yankees. Spiroff, who received a degree in physical education in 1984, was enshrined in the KSU Hall of Fame in 1990 along with famed football coach Lou Holtz. A ninth round draft pick of the San Francisco Giants, he played two seasons (1981-82) of minor league baseball. He was assigned to Great Falls, Montana, the Giants’ rookie league team where he batted .300. Spiroff was promoted to San Francisco’s Class A team in Fresno, Calif., where he suffered a career-ending injury to his glove hand. It occurred in the first inning of the first game of the season when Spiroff took a throw from the outfield as a runner was attempting to score. He shattered a knuckle when his glove hit the ground. Now a resident of Elyria with his wife, Michele, and their three children.