By George Belden

Portage Sports Contributor

The Windham High School Athletic Hall of Fame will induct two new members on Friday night as part of its Class of 2024.

The Windham Hall of Fame has inducted new members since 1995, with the Hall of Fame growing to 113 members following the induction of the 2024 class.

This year’s class will be recognized on Friday (Jan. 10) between the junior varsity and varsity boys basketball games. The Bombers host Fairport Harding at Marty Hill Court.

Here is a look at this year’s inductees.

CAMERON POZSGAI

Class of 2013

Basketball, baseball, golf

Cameron Pozsgai is the rare Bombers athlete, who honestly can be called a triple threat, since he earned First Team All-Portage Trail Conference twice — in three different sports.

After an Honorable Mention sophomore season on the basketball squad, Windham head coach Marty Hill remarked, “I think Cameron is one of the best players in the league.”

He proved it the next season by scoring the winning layup with 6 seconds left against Warren JFK in district finals, on his way to First Team All-PTC.

In his senior season, as team captain, he rose to the very top of area round-ballers, averaging 15 points, nine rebounds, four assists and four steals per game. Although fellow Hall of Famer and teammate Matt Knight usually led the scoring parade, Hill noted that “the best part of Cameron’s game is that he is so versatile, and I think he makes everybody on the team better.”

The league coaches thought so, too, as Pozsgai was named Co-Player of the Year in the PTC alongside Knight. He was further honored by being named Honorable Mention All-Ohio in both

his junior and senior seasons.

Another honor arrived long after he graduated, as the Record-Courier placed Cameron on its All-Decade Dream Team for the 2010’s, noting his ability to play with the taller players inside, as well as stepping out to hit 3-pointers at a high proficiency.

A shortstop and pitcher for the Bombers on the diamond, Cameron batted almost .400 for his career, and received First Team All-Conference slots in both his junior and senior seasons.

Golf was Pozsgai’s fall sport, and once again All-Conference honors came his way in both his junior and senior years. His scoring average his senior season was 78 for 18 holes, which was only a few strokes above par.

Pozsgai went on to play four seasons for the Westminster College Titans basketball team in

Pennsylvania.

Today, he lives in Wilmington, N.C., where he works for NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon’s Chevrolet dealership.

BOB HIGGINS

Class of 1961

Baseball

Bob Higgins is, to those who saw him, the greatest pitcher who ever wore a Bombers uniform. The story of how he carried the 1961 Windham team to the final game of the state baseball tournament, the furthest any Windham team has ever gone, are the stories of legends.

Higgins had come up through Windham’s fabled Hot Stove Leagues, coached by his father Pinky, and his skill was well known throughout the county.

After his sophomore season, Atwater’s longtime head coach Jack Cordier said, “That Higgins boy is the best high-school pitcher I have ever seen. His fastball and his control – he’s almost impossible to hit.”

Windham won the Tomahawk Conference championship in 1959, 1960 and 1961, with Higgins as the No. 1 pitcher.

A typical Higgins performance was the championship game in 1960 against Crestwood, when he struck out 16 Red Devils in a seven-inning game.

In 1961, because of a wet spring, Windham had to begin the state tournament trail having played only one game — a game in which Higgins struck out every single batter he faced. Three days later, in the first game of the district tournament against New Lyme Deming, he threw a no-hitter and struck out 16.

On May 11, Higgins won both games of a doubleheader for the district championship. He struck out 12 to beat Suffield in the opening game, then pitched four innings in relief to pick up the victory against North Lima in the second match.

In the regionals the next week, Higgins pitched a three-hitter in the first game against Cardinal, striking out eight in a 3-2 win, and the following day, Higgins had to pitch three innings of relief to secure a 7-5 win over Powhatan and propel the Bombers into the state Final Four.

On May 26, Windham coach Leo Kot started Higgins, who had now won or saved every single Bombers tournament game, against Plains High School, and once again he came through, striking out seven in a 14-2 romp.

Windham was undefeated, but had to face defending state champion Liberty Union for the

championship.

Higgins pitched every single inning in that game, holding the lead until a ninth-inning error by

Windham cost them the title, 4-2. Higgins had struck out eight, but despite the fact that he had carried the Bombers the entire season, it wasn’t quite enough. He finished the year with a 7-1 record — his only loss being in the state-championship game.

Higgins hoped to play professional baseball, but decided first to join the United States Air Force and serve in Vietnam, which affected his health. He died in 1982, not yet 40 years old. He is buried, with honors, in the Windham cemetery.