Unis, Wharton & Brick Inducted into NOGA Hall of Fame

  • by Fred
  • 5 Years ago
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By Alan Freeman, NEOHGolf.com

 

Oberlin Golf Club had a full house for the Northern Ohio Golf Association’s 2019 Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.

Everyone in attendance agreed, Carl Unis is a great professional, everyone misses Bob Wharton and Norton Brick knows how to bring down the house.

After welcoming notes from NOGA Executive Director Robb Schulze and NOGA President Mark Telerico, the emcee for the evening’s festivities, local golf celeb Jimmy Hanlin, introduced the year’s first honoree, Carl Unis.

Carl Unis  

Unis was introduced by his brother-in-law, Alan Miller and talked about his humble beginnings in Parma, his mother’s encouragement, plus the many breaks he received along the way. He loved playing Elyria Country Club and parlayed his amateur success into a brief tour career followed by a truly successful career playing at the PGA professional level in Wisconsin.

Unis had his own TV show in Wisconsin for a couple of years called “Golf Tips With Carl Unis”. When Hanlin got the microphone back, he gave a bit of advice. The show would have been much better if,

“You had Natalie Gulbis, or Holly Sonders on your show like I do.”

 

Bob Wharton

Bob Wharton was a longtime Executive Director of NOGA and under his leadership the association grew and tackled many new initiatives. The Turn for golfers with disabilities was conceived and built. He bolstered junior golf, pushed creation of a NOGA Headquarters and worked closely with other golf organizations and associations.

Former Lorain County Judge Ed Zaleski regaled the audience with the many hours, he and Wharton spent together playing, talking, eating and drinking.

Bob’s nephew, Richard Huber, accepted the HOF plaque on behalf of the Wharton family and Bob’s wife Jeanne with a brief thank you to NOGA and all of his friends.

Norton Brick 

Fellow Oberlin Golf Club member Brian Smith, outlined the long, long list of area events that Norton Brick won, along with the state and national events at which he excelled: multiple Cleveland Am and Senior Cleveland Amateur titles, a NEO Amateur victory, NOGA POY, USGA qualifier for two U.S. Senior Opens and two U.S. Senior Amateurs, and on and on and on.

Brick talked about his double-lung transplant a few years ago, and how he appreciates his second chance at a golf life. He won two club championships in Arizona after that surgery.

“Bottom line, I really love golf. I just love it. Love it. Don’t know what else to say. I just do.”

After that, it was story time, Brick brought down the house with his hilarious, comedy-club-level story time.

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