Ada

Game On

Every Wilson football that you’ve seen passed, kicked and punted by an NFL team this season had its start in the northwest Ohio town of Ada.

Ohio’s ties to the National Football League run deep. It grew out of the Ohio League, a semipro circuit that included teams scattered across the Buckeye State. Documents forming the NFL’s forerunner, the American Professional Football Association, were signed at a Canton car dealership in 1920. And since 1955, the Wilson factory in Ada has manufactured “The Duke” — the official football of the NFL.

Wilson began making “The Duke” (which got its name from New York Giants owner Tim Mara’s nickname for his son Wellington) in 1941. The relationship is the longest continuous agreement with a major league sport for a piece of equipment, and “The Duke” has become legendary, says Andy Wentling, manager of the Wilson factory in Ada.

“When I got here, I figured it was just a football,” explains the Carey native, who was hired as an engineer at the plant in 2015. “I mean, I played football. My boys play football. I know football … It’s not just a football. So much goes into this thing.”

Leather footballs are the only thing the Ada plant makes — from “The Duke” all the way down to youth footballs. (In 2021, Wilson got the contract for official NBA basketballs following a 37-year hiatus. They’re made overseas, Wentling says, but come to Ada for quality control and for logos to be laser etched on.) Each official NFL football is made with leather from Horween Leather in Chicago and outfitted with a Zebra sensor, which measures spiral rate and speed.

Following the NFL’s conference championship games each year, workers arrive at the plant on Sunday night to start making the official game balls for the Super Bowl to be held two weeks later. Wilson also takes its factory on the road to the big game (and has previously appeared at Pro Football Hall of Fame induction festivities) as part of the NFL Experience. The company sets up a workshop and demonstrates how footballs are made.

Wentling says his friends teasingly call him “the face of Wilson,” but he knows he’s just a supporting player. As he says, “It’s almost like the game ball is the rock star.” — Vince Guerrieri

FASCINATING OBJECTS FROM OUR PAST

LEVENT ISIK’S “MARBLE GAME NO. 2” Signed by the artist and dated 2003

Ohio’s tradition of self-taught artists is a long one, but there are more recent names that have gained recognition as well. Levent Isik is among them. Born in Istanbul, Turkey, in 1961, Isik grew up in Montreal, Canada, before moving to Ohio. He lived in Akron and Cleveland, then settled in Columbus in the late 1980s, leaving behind a job and friends. Art helped fill the void.

As with his involvement in the punk music scene, playing guitar for two bands in Akron, his art had an edge to it. He liked three-dimensional looks and often incorporated found materials into his works. Color was key, and the bright, high-gloss enamel house paint he used was often topped with polyurethane for extra shine. Subjects ranged from animals to heroes real (emergency nurses) and imagined (Wonder Woman). Production was slow due to the time spent crafting each piece.

The discovery of Isik’s talent is credited to a door-to-door canvasser for Greenpeace who was amazed by the artwork. Following that, Isik began selling his creations, describing his art as “eye candy for the masses.” Isik’s sculpture “Marble Game No. 2,” which is signed by the artist and dated 2003, incorporates a baby bottle and a tin can. — Richard “Jeff” Jeffers

$437.50

SOLD AT AUCTION

Richard Jeffers is the owner of Garth’s Auctioneers & Appraisers in Columbus.

JAN. 14

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(Required by 39 U.S.C. 3685) OHIO, published monthly at 1422 Euclid Avenue, Ste 730 Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio 44115 as filed November 14, 2021. The general business offices of the publisher are located at 1422 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio 44115. The names and addresses of the Publisher, Editor and Managing Editor are: Publisher, Lute Harmon Jr, 1422 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio 44115; Editor, Jim Vickers, 1422 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio 44115; Managing Editor, Jim Vickers, 1422 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio 44115. The owner is Great Lakes Publishing Company, 1422 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44115. The names and addresses of stockholders owning or holding one percent or more of total amount of stock are: Lute H. Harmon Sr., 1422 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, Ohio 44115; Susan Harmon, 1422 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH 44115; George F. Sedlak, 1422 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, Ohio 44115; Frank Bird, 1422 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, Ohio 44115; Lute Harmon Jr, 1422 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, Ohio 44115. The known bondholders, mortgagees, and other security holders owning or holding one percent or more of total amount of bonds, mortgages or other securities are: None. The average number of copies each issue during the preceding 12 months are: a) Total Number of Copies, Net Press Run: 43352. b) Paid and/or Requested Circulation 1). Paid/Requested Outside-County Mail Subscriptions Stated on Form 3541: 35483. 2) Paid In-County Subscriptions: 0. 3) Paid Distribution Outside the Mail Including Sales Through Dealers and Carriers, Street Vendors, and Counter Sales: 0. 4) Other Classes Mailed Through the USPS: 5949. c) Total Paid and/or Requested Circulation: 41431. d) Free Distribution by Mail: 1) Outside County as Stated on Form 3541: 0. 2) In-County as Stated on Form 3541: 0. 3) Other Classes Mailed Through the USPS: 0. e) Free Distribution Outside the Mail: 1294. f) Total Free Distribution: 1294. g) Total Distribution: 42725. h) Copies Not Distributed: 627 i) Total: 43352. j) Percent Paid and/or Requested Circulation: 97%. The actual number of copies of single issue published nearest to filing date are: a) Total Number Copies, Net Press Run: 46216 b) Paid and/or Requested Circulation 1) Paid/Requested Outside-County Mail Subscriptions: 38440. 2) Paid In-County Subscriptions: 0. 3) Paid Distribution Outside the Mail Including Sales Through Dealers and Carriers, Street Vendors, and Counter Sales: 0. 4) Other Classes Mailed Through the USPS: 6495. c) Total Paid and/ or Requested Circulation: 44395. d) Free Distribution by Mail: 1) OutsideCounty as Stated on Form 3541: 0. 2) In-County as Stated on Form 3541: 0. 3) Other Classes Mailed Through the USPS: 0. e) Free Distribution Outside the Mail: 1131. f)Total Free Distribution: 1131. g) Total Distribution: 46066. h) Copies Not Distributed: 150. i) Total: 46216. j) Percent Paid and/ or Requested Circulation: 98%. I certify that the statements made by me are correct and complete. Corey Galloway, Business Manager

Starring Role

Austin Carr was a Cavaliers standout before becoming the team’s TV analyst. As the NBA All-Star Game returns to Cleveland, we talk to the man known as “Mr. Cavalier.”

If you’re a Cleveland Cavaliers fan, Austin Carr has starred in your highs and lows. The Cavs took Carr, a scoring machine out of Notre Dame, with the number-one pick in the 1971 NBA Draft, and ultimately retired his number 34. Carr made the 1974 All-Star team and was a member of the upstart 1976 squad that beat the star-heavy Austin Carr became a full-time TV analyst for the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1997, the last time the city hosted the NBA All-Star Game. Washington Bullets in the playoffs. That was the Cavs’ signature postseason moment of glory before its 2016 championship. Carr, a full-time TV analyst for the Cavs since 1997, is a legitimate state treasure. His enthusiastic homerism features a signature phrase “Get that weak stuff outta here” that even inspired a local beer. Nobody is complaining, and he wouldn’t care if they did.

“The one thing I’ve learned the most is you have to be yourself,” says Carr. “When you try to be somebody else it never works.”

With the NBA All-Star Game returning to Cleveland in February after 25 years, we asked Carr about the All-Star Game’s significance to the city in 1997, his NBA career and what being “in the zone” means now. — Pete Croatto

What did having the NBA All-Star Game mean to Cleveland in 1997?

A: It meant a lot, because it really brought eyes on the city. At that time the city was trying to really get themselves back going in the right direction. [Now] the city has done an awful lot to make itself look more modern. … It’s definitely become a destination. When I first came to Cleveland, I never thought that it would be that way. Downtown was really not in good shape. I understood that it was going to be a football town, and I wanted to put basketball on the map there. To have it where it is now, it feels good that I was part of the renaissance.

Many Cavs fans know you as a broadcaster. How would you describe yourself as a player to someone who didn’t see you play?

A: You know what that means? That means I’m old! [Laughs]. The only regrets I have is that I couldn’t stay healthy enough to be myself in the professional rank. After my fourth year and all the operations, man, it was just hard being who I really wanted to be. I’d say I was like Donovan Mitchell [of the Utah Jazz], a physical player who could score from anywhere — and I loved to attack the hoop.

Basketball players get “in the zone.” When do you know you’re “in the zone” calling a game?

A: Usually, it happens when the team is playing well, and you just feel it. They’re making plays. It’s up and down, fast tempo. What I noticed is it just comes out. That’s when I know I’m in the zone. It flows. You don’t have to think about what’s going on. You just let it happen.