Deserving of their respective Halls of Fame...

Here are some athletes from the Ironton, Ohio-Portsmouth, Ohio area who, I believe, should be in their respective Halls of Fame...

Football:

GLENN PRESNELL(1905-2004)...Halfback, placekisker for the Ironton Tanks, 1929-1930, Portsmouth Spartans, who in 1934 became the Detroit Lions, 1931-1936. Led NFL in scoring, 1933

Glenn had better career stats than several football HOFers of the same era. He was instrumental in the Lions' 1935 NFL championship.(Moved to Ironton from Nebraska)

COY BACON(Lander Mc Coy Bacon)(1942-2008) was a defensive lineman for 14 seasons with the Rams, Chargers, Bengals, Redskins, and the USFL's Washington Federals. Had quarterback sacks been an official stat during his career, he woulda been credited with 130, which still would be 8th all-time. His overall career stats are better than several HOF members of the same era.

After his retirement, Coy became involved in the drug underground for a few years, & was wounded in a drug-related shooting in 1986. However, he turned his life around & became a Christian, becoming a motivational speaker & working with troubled youths in various Ohio juvenile corrections facilities. He died of natural causes in 2008, age 66.(Grad. Ironton HS)


AL OLIVER(1946 - ) played ML baseball 18 seasons, with seven All-Star selections, a career .303 batting average, and over 2700 hits, 45th all-time as of 2010.

It is possible that he was forced out as an active player by collusion among the club owners, seeking to suppress player salaries. Such collusion was found by the courts in ght case of Kirk Gibson, who was allowed to re-file for free agency.

Among Oliver's "rooters" for HOF induction is HOFer Andre Dawson.

I should like to see AO inducted while he's still living.(Grad. Portsmouth HS)