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'It's euphoric': Ohio State's John Wooldridge entering APS Athletics HOF with Tim Flossie

Nate Ulrich, Akron Beacon Journal
·7 min read
John Wooldridge accepts his trophy as the Beacon Journal Player of the Year for the 1981 high school football season. Wooldridge will be inducted into the Akron Public Schools Athletics Hall of Fame on Oct. 21 at House Three Thirty.
John Wooldridge accepts his trophy as the Beacon Journal Player of the Year for the 1981 high school football season. Wooldridge will be inducted into the Akron Public Schools Athletics Hall of Fame on Oct. 21 at House Three Thirty.

When John Wooldridge reached a soul-crushing low point, the late Tim Flossie rallied around him, just like the legendary Akron high school football coach had so many times before.

Now the player-coach tandem from a golden era of Central-Hower sports is on the verge of entering the Akron Public Schools Athletics Hall of Fame during an induction ceremony Saturday night at House Three Thirty.

“It's euphoric to be inducted with Coach Flossie,” Wooldridge told the Beacon Journal in a recent phone interview.

Wooldridge transferred from North to Central-Hower after his freshman year and debuted with the Eagles as a sophomore in 1979. It also happened to be Flossie's first season as a head coach, and he inherited a program with a 28-game losing streak.

Legendary high school football coach Tim Flossie poses for a portrait during his time at Barberton. Flossie, who died in July 2022, will be inducted into the Akron Public Schools Athletics Hall of Fame on Oct. 21 at House Three Thirty.
Legendary high school football coach Tim Flossie poses for a portrait during his time at Barberton. Flossie, who died in July 2022, will be inducted into the Akron Public Schools Athletics Hall of Fame on Oct. 21 at House Three Thirty.

With Wooldridge starring at running back and Flossie guiding the team, Central-Hower experienced a reversal of fortunes and won the City Series title in 1981. After four seasons with the Eagles, Flossie took the head coaching job at Buchtel. At the time, the Beacon Journal reported Central-Hower students protested the transfer by chanting “we want Flossie” in a school hallway.

Flossie died in July 2022 at the age of 73 and, during his celebration of life gathering at Guy's Party Center, Tim's wife, Jeannie, and brothers, former longtime high school football coaches Bruce and Ben, presented Wooldridge with the game ball from the 1981 City Series championship, a 33-20 Central-Hower victory over Garfield.

“The fact that they're inducting my dad and John at the same time, I think is probably pretty huge for [Wooldridge], and I know that it would've been everything to my dad,” said Jill Ammerman, Flossie's daughter.

John Wooldridge, center, with Bruce Flossie, left, Ben Flossie and Jeannie Flossie during a celebration of life for coach Tim Flossie. Ben and Bruce are Tim's brothers. Jeannie is Tim's widow. They gave Wooldridge the game ball from the 1981 City Series championship.
John Wooldridge, center, with Bruce Flossie, left, Ben Flossie and Jeannie Flossie during a celebration of life for coach Tim Flossie. Ben and Bruce are Tim's brothers. Jeannie is Tim's widow. They gave Wooldridge the game ball from the 1981 City Series championship.

Memories came flooding back to Wooldridge when Flossie passed away, and the forthcoming APS Athletics Hall of Fame induction has spurred a similar sensation.

Coming off a promising junior season at Ohio State in which Wooldridge gained 950 yards from scrimmage and scored nine touchdowns, he suffered a brutal knee injury in the Buckeyes' 1986 opener against Alabama.

Despite undergoing reconstructive surgery to repair an anterior cruciate ligament and attending the 1987 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis on crutches, Wooldridge received a shot in the league as an undrafted free agent with the Dallas Cowboys. He entered a running back room headlined by Herschel Walker and Tony Dorsett and was coached by Tom Landry. Dorsett and Landry are members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The opportunity with Dallas was scintillating, but before Wooldridge could truly complete his comeback, disaster struck in training camp his rookie year.

“I finally got back to practicing, got involved in a scrimmage, got hit again and blew the knee again,” Wooldridge said. “After my family, my mom and dad, Tim Flossie was the first person I called.”

Former Central-Hower football star John Wooldridge poses for a photograph during his playing days at Ohio State. Wooldridge will be inducted into the Akron Public Schools Athletics Hall of Fame on Oct. 21 at House Three Thirty.
Former Central-Hower football star John Wooldridge poses for a photograph during his playing days at Ohio State. Wooldridge will be inducted into the Akron Public Schools Athletics Hall of Fame on Oct. 21 at House Three Thirty.

More bad news followed. Landry summoned Wooldridge to his office, informing him the Cowboys had decided to release him in the aftermath of another devastating injury.

Wooldridge said his football career ending caused him to become “a lost soul” who returned to Akron and sat on his parents' couch in Akron's North Hill neighborhood “for what seemed like an eternity.” He fell into deep depression and remembers calling Flossie one time at about 3 a.m. for guidance.

John Wooldridge accepts the Beacon Journal's football player of the year award for the 1981 high school season when he was a senior at Central-Hower.
John Wooldridge accepts the Beacon Journal's football player of the year award for the 1981 high school season when he was a senior at Central-Hower.

Wooldridge credits his late parents, James “Dave” and Mamie, six siblings and several mentors with motivating him. He explained Flossie played a vital role.

“He pushed me to go back [to Ohio State] and get my education, knowing that football was no longer a part of my world,” the 59-year-old Wooldridge, who lives in Delaware, Ohio, said. “My playing days were done.

“He helped to instill within me the values of, 'There's life after this, John. You still have life, man, and you've laid a great foundation for yourself to do other things. Go do those things. Go be great. Be that person who said I'm going to be the best [in football]. You go be that in life now.'”

John Wooldridge shakes the hand of a Central-Hower football teammate in an undated photo.
John Wooldridge shakes the hand of a Central-Hower football teammate in an undated photo.

Wooldridge obliged by earning a degree in criminal justice and succeeding in several professions. He was a school teacher in Columbus, a state law enforcement officer who operated as an undercover agent on a task force and an investigator for the Ohio Civil Rights Commission.

“I wanted an adventure,” he said.

Wooldridge launched Excenture Business Solutions in 2009 and serves as president and CEO of the company. It specializes in business development, strategic consulting, diversity and inclusion initiatives and national procurement services. He's heavily involved with real estate investing and owns many properties in the Greater Akron area and Florida.

Tim Flossie watches the Firestone High School football team practice in an undated photo.
Tim Flossie watches the Firestone High School football team practice in an undated photo.

Flossie attended some of Wooldridge's speaking engagements at business seminars over the years. Flossie also showed up to Wooldridge's inductions into the Central-Hower and Summit County Sports halls of fame. Ammerman accompanied her father to Wooldridge's Summit County Sports HOF ceremony in 2011.

“To see the bonds and the respect that these guys have formed over years has really been incredible,” Ammerman said. “One of the most touching things to me at my dad's celebration [of life] last year was ... when all of the guys at that service stood up that played for him, that coached with him, that were just a part of his career. They all stood up and did this chant thing my dad used to do. It was just so moving to see.

“He followed a lot of these guys through their lives, and I think my dad had kind of a gift, an uncanny ability to just somehow form a relationship with someone and be able to get the best out of him. Now, he wasn't the nicest, sweetest guy in doing it, but whatever it was, whatever method, whatever powerful influence he had, stuck with these kids.”

John Wooldridge, center, poses with late Akron coaching legend Tim Flossie and Flossie's daughter, Jill Ammerman. Wooldridge and Flossie will be inducted into the Akron Public Schools Athletics Hall of Fame on Oct. 21 at House Three Thirty. Ammerman plans to attend.
John Wooldridge, center, poses with late Akron coaching legend Tim Flossie and Flossie's daughter, Jill Ammerman. Wooldridge and Flossie will be inducted into the Akron Public Schools Athletics Hall of Fame on Oct. 21 at House Three Thirty. Ammerman plans to attend.

Ammerman said she expects most of the Flossie family to be at House Three Thirty this weekend. She attended the inaugural APS Athletics HOF banquet last October when her late grandfather and iconic Garfield football coach Dan “Babe” Flossie was inducted.

The late Tim Flossie celebrates with his Buchtel players after the 1988 Division II state championship game on Dec. 2, 1988.
The late Tim Flossie celebrates with his Buchtel players after the 1988 Division II state championship game on Dec. 2, 1988.

A Division II state championship-winning coach with Buchtel in 1987 and 1988, Tim Flossie will go into his hometown hall of fame a year after his dad, Babe.

“Obviously, it's bittersweet for me because I wish he was here to see it,” Ammerman said.

Wooldridge will have the Flossies and many other members of his support system in attendance Saturday. His wife, Kimberly, daughter, Nakita, 37, and son John II, 32, otherwise known as “Storm,” plan to be there.

John Wooldridge runs the ball for Central-Hower High School.
John Wooldridge runs the ball for Central-Hower High School.

Wooldridge's close friend Billy Turneur, who's akin to one his brothers, and mentor Matt Koch are expected to travel from California's Bay Area and Naples, Florida, respectively.

The APS Athletics HOF already has a strong Central-Hower flavor, a testament to the rich history of the school that closed in 2006.

Last year, former star point guard Jimmy Gooden and the late basketball coaching legend Joe Siegferth Sr. were inducted together.

In addition to Wooldridge and Flossie gaining entry this year, Siegferth's successor at Central-Hower, coach Mike Meneer, will be inducted along with Nate Thurmond and Gus Johnson, former Central and NBA stars who will be enshrined posthumously.

Meneer was an assistant under Siegferth when the Eagles won the Class AAA state championship in 1980 and their head coach when they captured the Class AAA state title in 1986.

As a senior, Gooden became the Beacon Journal's boys basketball player of the year in 1980. Wooldridge won the same award in football for his senior season of 1981. They are good friends.

Meneer also coached Wooldridge in track during his sophomore year. Flossie did so when Wooldridge was a junior and senior.

Now they're all part of the same team again — the APS Athletics HOF.

“It's almost storybook,” Wooldridge said.

More on Mike Meneer in the APS HOF: Humorous newspaper gaffe aided coach's ascent as an Akron basketball legend

Tim Flossie works with the Barberton High School football team in an undated photo.
Tim Flossie works with the Barberton High School football team in an undated photo.

Akron Public Schools Athletics Hall of Fame ticket information

Doors to the APS Athletics HOF banquet are scheduled to open at 5 p.m. Saturday at House Three Thirty, 532 W. Market Street in Akron. There will be a cash bar. Dinner is set for 6 p.m.

Tickets can be purchased online at akronschools.com/district/departments/athletics/tickets.

The APS Athletics HOF's Class of 2023 will be composed of Wooldridge, Flossie, Meneer, Thurmond, Johnson, Mark Gangloff, Charles Gladman, Gene Michael, Katie Miller Como and Jeff Walker.

LeBron James will be inducted as a special contributor.

LeBron James also honored by APS: Why the NBA's scoring king will enter Akron Public Schools Athletics Hall of Fame despite attending St. Vincent-St. Mary

Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron football icons John Wooldridge, Tim Flossie enter HOF