But when people in Ashtabula County talk about The Stork, it isn’t necessarily about Ted Hendricks. Basketball fans, particularly at Grand Valley High School, also know about the exploits of a guy they dubbed The Stork for his impact on the first outstanding boys team the school produced, the 1974-75 team coached by the late Terry Marsh.

They put that tag upon a 6-foot-5, 165-pound center named Chris Hammon. His ability to function well on the inside as a scorer and rebounder, as well as his intelligent approach to the game, particularly in that season, resulted in the first conference championship the Mustangs ever won, that of the old Grand River Conference. Those Mustangs didn’t stop there, either, compiling an 18-3 record and earning the school’s first berth in the Class A district tournament before bowing out in the semifinals at Canton Fieldhouse on a buzzer-beating shot against Cuyahoga Heights.

Hammon certainly did his part that season, averaging 16.1 points per game to finish sixth in scoring in Ashtabula County. He was chosen GRC Player of the Year, a first-team member of the Star Beacon All-Ashtabula County team and a special-mention Class A All-Ohioan by United Press International.

That Mustang team was not matched until the 1985-86 season by Tom Henson’s GV squad that went 16-5 and shared the GRC championship. It was not surpassed until the 1986-87 Mustangs went 19-5, again won the GRC and advanced to the Division III district championship game.

Although it is quite obvious Hammon was perhaps the key factor on that great team, he shrugs off his contribution to it.

“It was the team, not me,” the 52-year-old Hammon, who still resides in the area in Hartsgrove, said. “That was a good bunch of guys.”

Andy Holloman, one of his teammates, who has gone on to be a successful businessman in Orwell with his A&J Sports sporting good stars and is also a respected basketball official, said Hammon is being to humble.

“The Stork,” he said with a chuckle in recollection. “He always seemed to be around wherever the action was and was in on everything. He seemed to get to the ball every time. I remember I would have my guy boxed out and was about to get the rebound, but he always seemed to get to the ball first.

“Chris was a very good team player. He probably could score almost any time he wanted, but he was always willing to give the ball up if he thought someone else had a better shot. He was a very unselfish player and a very intelligent player.”

Hammon roamed the courts of the area in an era when a number of other fine players and other fine teams were also on the stage. That included a frequent opponent, Pymatuning Valley’s Randy Linsted, and Harbor’s Jim Bradley. Both have gone on to status as members of the Ashtabula County Basketball Foundation Hall of Fame.

Now, he is joining them in that company. He will be inducted into the ACBF Hall of Fame on April 10 at the organization’s eighth annual banquet at the Conneaut Human Resources Center.

Hammon was caught completely off guard by his selection.

“I was totally surprised,” he said. “I understand a couple of my old teammates nominated me, but they and my wife (the former Cheryl Kennedy, who was a fine player for the GV girls team of that era) kept it a secret. They did a good job.

“I’m surprised that 35 or 36 years later, someone remembers what we did back then. This is really an honor.”

He is also pleased to be joining other former Mustangs like Jim Dodd and Tom Henson, as well as several of the players with whom he used to trade baskets.

“It’s an honor to be in the same company with somebody like Jim Dodd,” Hammon said. “He still plays in our alumni games, and he’s still pretty good.

“It’s great to be joining people of the caliber of Jim Bradley or Randy Linsted. It certainly means a lot.”