Osborne did pull one over on the audience. When he got to the microphone for his acceptance speech, he asked everyone to stand. Having executed that task, he got in his zinger.

"That's the first standing ovation I've received in 41 years," he said with a smile.

Osborne's fellow Geneva graduate, 1973 alumnus Ernie Pasqualone, also noted how important his roots in Ashtabula County are still important to him, even though he hasn't lived in the county for more than a decade. He was fortunate to benefit from all the talent the county put at his disposal.

"I owe a lot to Coach (Bill) Koval (a fellow ACBF Hall of Famer)," he said. "I think I appreciate him now more than when I was 16 or 17. I looked at being a Geneva Eagle as a privilege, not as an entitlement. I also owe a lot to Coach (Al) Graper, who would open up the gym for me anytime I asked, would come and shoot and rebound with me and emphasized the importance of shooting free throws with me. And I appreciate what my teammates did for me and what all the great competition I had with players from Ashtabula, Conneaut, St. John, Harbor and Edgewood.

"And there were my parents (Dorothy and Ernie Pasqualone Sr.), who never missed a game. I always knew where they were sitting."

There is one truth Pasqualone has taken from UCLA Hall of Fame coach John Wooden.

"He defined success as peace of mind," Pasqualone said. "He said you only achieve it knowing you've done your very best, and only you will know if you have."

St. John inductee John Wheelock pointed to a list of past ACBF Hall of Famers who helped shape his life.

"I can't believe I'm standing up here with most of my idols who I played against," he said. "It was a privilege and honor to play for Coach (Don) Cannell and for someone like Coach (Ed) Armstrong (at Kent State University Ashtabula Campus). And I owe a lot to (former Ashtabula playing and coaching great) Bob Walters, who taught me to play hard and be disciplined and I consider a real friend."

He pointed to his parents, Anna Mae and Clyde Wheelock, and his sisters, Barb and Carolyne, as important sources of support along the way, too.

"My sisters always stood behind me, and they were always there," Wheelock said. "I wish my mom and dad were here to see this. I remember my mom sitting up in the stands with her hands over her eyes and having to ask my dad if I did it. My dad always talked to me about respecting my elders."

PV inductee Maurice McDonald was unable to attend the event, but communicated much the same message in a letter read by his father, Billy McDonald, who accepted on his behalf.

"This is a testament to what other people have given you to get this far," McDonald said. "There were many important people who took the time to be help me become the player I was. I owe a lot to my first coaches, Paul Heinbaugh and Denny Smith, who often told me to get my blankety blank going. Then Coach (Bob) Hitchcock (an ACBF Hall of Famer) would pull me aside and tell me I wasn't working hard enough. They each had different approaches, but they got their point across.

"My mother (Ruth) and father instilled the values of respect, honesty, hard work and courage in me. I think my coaches and teammates were integral parts of that, too."

Jefferson graduate Donna Gregg (Votaw) was short and sweet with her acceptance speech, but noted the impact her coach and her parents had on her.

"I want to thank Mr. (Larry) Meloro (her coach with the Falcons) for what he did for me," she said. "I want to thank my parents (Don and Marilyn), too, and my family."

Cindi Brunot, a Conneaut graduate, came from Florida to accept her award and share her thanks and thoughts. She credited her parents, Collette Shugerts and Ron Brunot, as well as her siblings, Rick, Doug and Pam Brunot, for helping her achieve what she did in her career with the Spartans and at Youngstown State. She gave a shout out to her coaches and teammates at Conneaut, too.

"It's good to be back," she said. "Basketball is a team sport, and you're only as good as your teammates. I want to thank my coaches and teammates for getting me there. I want to thank my parents, my brothers Rick and Doug and my sister Pam for making it competitive."

She also talked about the obstacles girls of her era in the early 1980s had to face and the opportunities that now exist for today's girls players.

"Title IX (the federally mandated act that established equality for female athletes) came along, and when it happened, we just jumped right in," Brunot said. "Now there are college teams, pro leagues and even the Olympics, and now it's on TV. Now little girls can grow up with their own heroes and can play their own sport."

Fellow Conneaut inductee Heidi Litwiler was unable to attend the banquet.

Harbor inductee Fred Scruggs knew the source of his success.

"I thank God and my parents (Willie and Fannie)," he said. "I want to thank all my family for what they did for me. I want to thank my coach (ACBF Hall of Famer Andrew Isco) for what he did for me, too."

Other prior Hall of Fame members were also big factors in the life of Ashtabula inductee David Benton.

"Mr. (Gene) Gephart was the disciplinarian (as the school's principal of his era)," he said. "Coach Walters had a real impact on me, too, giving me a real appreciation for hard work and teamwork. That was a real enjoyable time in my life."

Sally Bethel Murphy, accepting for her late father, Deming coach Russell Bethel, said the memories built by her mother, Grace Day Bethel, always were at least on the fringes of the existence of herself and her sister, Susan Bethel Learmonth, who attended from Washington, D.C. Both of the Bethel parents were standout athletes at Kingsville High School before Russell Bethel went on to an outstanding, if brief, coaching career in basketball, baseball and track at the long-defunct Deming High School. Her parents' final resting place is in Kingsville.

Sally Murphy thanked one of her husband's former Ranger players, Alex Olah, for pushing for her father's induction.

"Mr. Olah said my dad should be in the Hall of Fame," she said. "When my mother passed away (in 2007), I told my sister she could keep her cedar chest, but I got the stuff that was in it.

"My dad and my mother loved sports. I just wish they were alive to see this celebration."

Jefferson alumnus Phil Miller, the oldest living inductee this year, wasn't going to be too taxing on the ears of the audience. He felt they had other basketball issues to address.

"I want to thanks the committee for selecting me," he said. "I want to congratulate the boys and girls who are being honored tonight. Go, Cavs."

Perhaps the evening's most heartwrenching moment was the leadoff speech by David Riddell, who was accepting the award for his grandfather, the late Star Beacon sports editor Milton Alfred, who was the first sports editor of the Star Beacon.

"I was only 1-year-old when my grandfather died," the Harbor resident said. "This makes me want to get to know more about him."

That would probably be a good thing for the rest of the audience to keep in mind.

Faces in the crowd

Twelve past ACBF Hall of Fame members were in attendance.

Four members of the Class of 2008 were on hand. They were retired St. John player and coach Denny Berrier, Cannell, Grand Valley player and current Mustang girls basketball coach Kim (Henson) Triskett and retired Star Beacon sports writer Chris Larick were there from the Class of 2008.

Three members each of the inaugural Class of 2003 and the Class of 2004 attended. Gephart, Hitchcock and retired Edgewood coach Jon Hall were there from the 2003 list. Grand Valley's Jim Dodd, Isco and Walters were there from the 2004 class.

Others in attendance were 2007 inductees Pat Sheldon from the WFUN radio broadcasting team and retired Grand Valley boys basketball coach Tom Henson. Frank Zeman, one of Bethel's players at Deming from the Class of 2005, was also there.

Gone, not forgotten

The banquet program was dedicated to Jefferson graduate and long-time area official Bill Brainard, who was inducted in 2009, shortly after he passed away.