Joe Dunn Commentary: Great Names In Zips Football History
I’ll admit it. I’m a name guy.
One of the first things I look for when the Zips announce their new recruiting class are unique and colorful names. Names that Frenchy and I can have some fun with on the air. Heck, when your name is Joe Dunn you appreciate a little excitement in a name.
There have been some great names throughout the history of Akron football. Names that bring a smile to your face whether they are big stars or buried deep in the depth chart. Let me take you on a trip down memory lane.
Head football coach Jim Dennison brought a junior college running back to the Zips in 1977 named Redell Windley III. Windley was listed at 5-foot-6 in the Akron program, but I didn’t buy it. More like 5-foot-4. He was a pretty good player who is best remembered for disappearing into a snow drift in the closed end of the Rubber Bowl after a long touchdown run. It took the entire offensive line to find him.
Two of my favorite wide receivers played together in the late ‘70s. Their names were Pat Snow and James White. That’s right … “Snow-White”. Windley was the running back on those teams. I know what you’re thinking, but I won’t go there!
Defensive backs always seemed to have great names. Some of the best were Roosevelt Jewells, Isavelt Amison, Darrington Seals (pictured), aptly named Reggie Corner and the immortal Cheo Adulifu Akili.
Let’s not forget the old-timers. Robert Geese played for the Zips in 1937 and they said he could really fly. Waldo Welker was on the 1917 Akron squad, but sometimes he was hard to find on the field. Tim Christopherson was a very good kicker, but couldn’t sing a lick.
Some of the current Zips are candidates for my “all-name” team. I love our wide receiver Marquelo Suel. And I can already hear Frenchy calling Jawon Chisholm the “Chism Trail” after a long touchdown run. Then there’s quarterback Clayton Moore. How about our PA system playing the famous “Hi Yo Silver” after a Moore TD pass. Why not? College football is supposed to be fun!
We’ve had a Washington, a Kennedy, a Carter, a Hoover, a Johnson, a Jackson, a Polk, a Pierce, a Grant, a Hayes, a Ford, a Taylor, and a Hixon, but no Nixon. We’ve even had a Boone and a Travis, and unfortunately a lot of “Alamos.”
My favorite all-time Zip is a guy with a very plain name: Jim Meyer. Meyer arrived on campus as a 6-foot-1, 180 pound defensive end from Akron St. Vincent. He left four years later as a cat-quick 6-foot-2, 230 nose guard in Akron’s 5-2 defense. He was a leader. His blood ran blue and gold and he played the game like somebody was trying to hurt his family. His family was the Zips. He was the catalyst behind a group of players building a weight-room deep in the basement of Memorial Hall. Some of the strongest and nastiest players ever to wear an Akron uniform came out of that “sweat-box”. Good enough to play for a Division II national championship in 1976.
I also like the names of many Zips fans I’ve met through the years, but I’ll save that for another time.
Joe Dunn, a former staff member of the Akron Athletics Department, serves as courtside commentator for Zips men's basketball radio broadcasts and fills the role of sideline reporter during UA football games. An expert on the Ohio prep sports scene, Dunn is co-host of BigTime Sports Ohio, a weekly television show covering high school sports throughout Northeast Ohio.
