A Century of Flight on the Court
The Goodyear Wingfoots, an industrial league basketball team based in Akron, will be welcomed into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame on June 6, joining a select group of athletes and teams whose contributions have shaped the state’s basketball heritage.
Founded in 1918 under the sponsorship of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., the Wingfoots were originally assembled to evaluate rubber performance on athletic footwear. Over the decades the squad captured the National Industrial League title in 1932 and the Midwest Basketball Conference Championship in 1937, before entering the semi‑professional National Industrial Basketball League in 1947, a precursor to the modern ABA and NBA.
The team’s legacy includes a pair of National AAU Tournament victories in 1964 and 1968, and a roster that has produced Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown as well as Olympic gold medalists such as Adrian Smith, Dick Davies, Pete McCaffrey, Cal Fowler and Jim King. Coach Hank Vaughn also served as an assistant on the U.S. Olympic gold‑medal teams of 1964 and 1968, underscoring the program’s national impact.
The induction ceremony will take place at the Hilton Columbus/Polaris, where the Wingfoots will be honored alongside other 2026 inductees, celebrating a century of competition, community service and innovation that began with a simple experiment in rubber technology.