Memorabilia from two of Alliance High School’s greatest football teams will be on display during the Carnation Festival at the Mabel Hartzell Home’s Mini Museum at 840 N. Park Ave.
A display featuring the 1958 state championship team and the undefeated 1983 team includes game jerseys, programs, ticket stubs, yearbooks, excerpts from the media and a signed autograph football from the 1958 team participants.
Access to the mini museum will be available from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Aug. 2, and 1 to 4 p.m. from Aug. 3-8, coinciding with the hours that tours of the Mabel Hartzell Home will take place.
The 1958 team, under the direction of legendary Head Coach Mel Knowlton, was a juggernaut that finished 9-0-1 and was voted state champion in the Associated Press poll. (Playoffs to determine state champions began in 1972.) The Aviators’ lone non-victory that year was an 8-8 tie with Massillon, but Massillon lost to Warren Harding, opening the door for the Aviators’ state championship.
Led by quarterback Walt Zingg, the Aviators outscored their opponents 320-34 and recorded big victories over Canton McKinley, 16-0; Barberton, 28-14; Youngstown Ursuline, 22-0; and Cleveland Glenville, 28-0. The team won its last six games in shutouts.
The 1983 team, under the direction of Head Coach Joel Cockley, went undefeated in the regular season before losing its first playoff game to Akron Garfield. The ’83 Aviators won consecutive games against East Liverpool, Canton Timken, Lake, Canton South, GlenOak, North Canton Hoover, Massillon Jackson, Perry, Marlington and Louisville.
Visitors to the display will have the opportunity to re-live those championship years as well as compare the styles of the era including logos and jersey styles.
This article originally appeared on The Alliance Review: Mabel Hartzell Home to honor AHS football teams during Carnation Festival
Reporting by Alliance Review / The Alliance Review
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
