CLEVELAND — After leading Cleveland Glenville High School to its first football state championship, head coach Ted Ginn Sr. will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Greater Cleveland Sports Awards next month.
Ginn will receive the award, which is presented by Union Home Mortgage, at next month's award show on Jan. 25, 2023, at Cleveland's Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. The event will be hosted by former Cleveland Browns left tackle Joe Thomas.
After becoming Glenville's head coach in 1997, Ginn has turned the Tarblooders into one of high school football's most nationally recognized programs. With Ginn at the helm, Glenville has produced several college football and NFL players, including his son, Ted Ginn Jr., who starred at Ohio State as a wide receiver and kick returner from 2004-07, before enjoying a 14-year NFL career.
Other former Tarblooders include 2006 Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith, national championship-winning quarterback Cardale Jones, 2017 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Marshon Lattimore and 3-time Pro Bowl safety Donte Whitner.
While Glenville has been a nationally prominent program since the early-2000s, it was this past season that the Tarblooders captured their first state title, defeating Wyoming 26-6 in the Division IV State Championship Game. With the win, Glenville became the first school from the Cleveland Metropolitan School District to win a football state championship in the playoff era.
In addition to his efforts on the field, Ginn has been praised for his efforts and mentorship off of it. In 2007, helped establish the Ginn Academy, an all-boys high school for urban youth in the greater Cleveland area.
Past winners of the Greater Cleveland Sports Awards' Lifetime Achievement Award include:
- 2002 – Jim Brown, former running back, Cleveland Browns
- 2003 – Mark H. McCormack, Founder, International Management Group (IMG)
- 2004 – Bob Feller, former pitcher, Cleveland Indians
- 2005 – Richard Jacobs, former owner, Cleveland Indians
- 2006 – Herb Score, former pitcher & announcer, Cleveland Indians
- 2007 – Joe Tait, former broadcaster, Cleveland Cavaliers
- 2008 – Chuck Kyle, Head Football Coach, St. Ignatius High School
- 2009 – Bob Kain, former CEO, IMG
- 2010 – Dr. John A. Bergfeld. M.D., Senior Orthopedic Surgeon & team physician, Cleveland Clinic
- 2011 – Reggie Rucker, former wide receiver, Cleveland Browns
- 2012 – Austin Carr, former guard & current broadcaster, Cleveland Cavaliers
- 2013 – Bernie Kosar, former quarterback, Cleveland Browns
- 2014 – Tom Hamilton, sportscaster & announcer, Cleveland Indians
- 2015 – Jim Donovan, radio & TV personality, WKYC & Cleveland Browns
- 2016 – Mike Hargrove, former first baseman & manager, Cleveland Indians
- 2017 – Zydrunas Ilgauskas, former center, Cleveland Cavaliers
- 2018 – Sandy Alomar Jr., coach and former catcher, Cleveland Indians
- 2019 – Dolan Family, owners, Cleveland Indians
- 2021 – CC Sabathia, pitcher, Cleveland Indians