The other honorees are Florence Ellinwood Allen (Waite Hill), first woman Ohio Supreme Court Justice; Bob Feller (Gates Mills), baseball legend; and Bill Willis (Columbus), National Football League hall of famer.
“This year’s class of Great Ohioans recognizes four remarkable individuals who have made pre-eminent contributions to their fields, Ohio and the world,” said Senator Richard Finan, chairman of the Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board.
The Great Ohioan Award commemorates special Ohioans who have played a significant role in an event or series of events of lasting significance in world, American or Ohio history. Additional criteria includes being born in Ohio or lived in Ohio for a minimum of five years and at least 25 years have passed since the event, in which the nominee participated, is being commemorated.
Past honorees
Since 2003, 16 other Great Ohioans have been recognized with the award for the special roles they played in history.
The Great Ohioans include:
- Orville and Wilbur Wright, inventors of powered flight
- John Glenn, first American to orbit the earth
- Neil Armstrong, first man to walk on the moon
- Jesse Owens, Olympic track and field star
- Thomas Edison, inventor
- Harriet Beecher Stowe, author
- James Thurber, journalist and author
- Colonel Charles Young, military leader
- Dr. George Crile, founder of the Cleveland Clinic
- Catherine Nelson Black, health care humanitarian
- Salmon P. Chase, Ohio Governor, Secretary of the Treasury and Supreme Court Chief Justice
- Paul Laurence Dunbar, poet and author
- Charles F. Kettering, inventor
- Eddie Rickenbacker, World War I fighter ace
- Denton T. "Cy" Young, baseball legend.
Great Ohioan honorees and their achievements are chronicled in a permanent Great Ohioan exhibit, which will be part of the Ohio Statehouse Museum
Biographies of the 2010 winners
Gov. James M. Cox: James M. Cox was born in Jacksonburg, located in Butler County, Ohio in 1870. He began his career as a teacher and also worked for various newspapers, until turning to a career in journalism. In 1898, Cox purchased the Dayton Daily News and continued to own a number of newspapers throughout his life.
Cox began a career in politics in 1908, serving in U.S. House of Representatives until 1913. Cox served two terms in Congress, but resigned after being elected governor in 1913. Cox served as governor from 1913 to 1915 and again from 1917 to 1921. During Cox’s time as the “Progressive” Governor, he worked on legislation in many areas including, but not limited to, direct primaries, initiative and referendum, court system reform, civil service, budget and tax processes, workmen’s compensation, educational reform and prison reform.
Cox was chosen as the Democratic presidential candidate in 1920, with Franklin D. Roosevelt as his vice presidential running mate. Cox was defeated by Warren G. Harding, also a native of Ohio.
After the 1921 term of Ohio governor expired, Cox retired from politics and returned to his career in journalism as owner of several newspapers in Ohio and the South. Cox published his memoirs, Journey Through My Years, in 1946. Governor James M. Cox died in 1957.
Florence Ellinwood Allen was born in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1884. She was the first woman to serve as a justice on the Ohio Supreme Court.
Allen had a passion for music and was a music critic for the Cleveland Plain Dealer. While working, she earned a graduate degree in political science and constitutional law from Western Reserve. She also earned a law degree from the New York University School of Law in 1913.
Allen received admittance to the Ohio bar and started a law practice, at a time when women lawyers were rare. In 1919, Allen was appointed Assistant Prosecutor of Cuyahoga County. In 1920, women were granted the right to vote, and Allen was elected judge of the Court of Common Pleas. In 1922, Allen was elected to the Ohio Supreme Court, not only as the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court in Ohio, but as the first woman to serve at that level in any state.
Allen served as a justice of the Ohio Supreme Court until 1934, and was appointed to the Sixth Circuit of the United State Court of Appeals by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Allen was also the first woman judge to serve on the federal bench. Allen continued to serve and became chief judge of the court and served in that role until she retired in 1959.
Allen died in Waite Hill, Ohio in 1966. Allen continues to serve as a role model for women who wish to pursue legal careers. Throughout her life, she made significant contributions to women’s organizations and improvements in women’s status. She has been recognized through dozens of honorary degrees and was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 2005.
Bob Feller: Robert William Andrew "Bob" Feller was born in 1918 in Van Meter, Iowa. Throughout his career as a Major League Baseball pitcher, Feller had been nicknamed the "Heater from Van Meter," "Bullet Bob" and "Rapid Robert." Feller was inducted into Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.
Never having played in the minors, Feller joined the Cleveland Indians baseball team at the age of 17 and spent his entire career with the Indians. During his first year with the Indians, he struck out 17 batters. On Opening Day in the 1940 season, Feller pitched a no-hitter against the Chicago White Sox - the only no-hitter to be thrown on Opening Day in major league history. Feller retired in 1956 with many records, including the most walks in a career (1,764) and most walks in a season (208) in 1938. He threw the second fastest pitch ever officially recorded at 107.6 mph in 1946 at Griffith Stadium. Feller ended his career with 266 victories and 2,581 strikeouts. Feller led the American League in strikeouts seven times and bases on balls eight times. He pitched three no-hitter games and shares the major league record with 12 one-hitters. Feller was the first pitcher to win 20 or more games before the age of 21. Feller was honored as “the greatest pitcher of his time” by the Sporting News and was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 1962.
At the age of 92, Feller was one of the starting pitchers at the inaugural Baseball Hall of Fame Classic in June 2009, which replaces the Hall of Fame Game at Cooperstown, New York. He lives in Gates Mills, a suburb of Cleveland.
Bill Willis: William Karnet Willis was born in Columbus in 1921. Willis played for the Cleveland Browns from 1946-1953. During his career, he was a first-team All-League selection seven times and played in three NFL Pro Bowls. Willis was one of the first African American football players to play professional football, signing to a contract with the Cleveland Browns in 1946 - a year before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball.
Willis attended The Ohio State University in 1941, participating in both track and football. Ohio State football coach Paul Brown started Willis as a sophomore in 1942, when the Buckeyes won the Big Ten Conference and were voted national champions by the Associated Press.
Although a career in the National Football League was unlikely for Willis, as no African Americans had played in the league since 1933, former Ohio State football coach Paul Brown was made head coach of the Cleveland Browns. Willis walked onto the team and signed with the Browns – breaking the color barrier in pro football. Willis was named an All League player three times with the Browns. The team went on to win the league title every year in the AAFC that Willis had played.
Willis was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1971. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1977. Also in 1977, he was inducted as a charter member of The Ohio State Varsity O Hall of Fame. Willis was honored by The Ohio State University in November 2007 when his #99 jersey was retired. He died in late November, 2007.