Year Inducted – 2023
Frank Stams was a football/basketball/baseball standout at Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary and helped St. V to win back-to-back Division III state football championships in 1981 and ’82 and a Class AA state basketball title in 1984.
He started playing in the Cuyahoga Falls Little League. In high school, Stams was All-District as a catcher and received All State honorable mention. Stams played Summer baseball with Akron Omnicor in the Akron AA Baseball league and was an All-Star in the Akron/Canton All-Star game. He was a member of the Omnicor team that were the 1985 AA League Champs. He played with the Roy Hobbs league champs Akron Blues for several years. A supreme power hitter, outstanding catcher and a big man great speed. Most importantly Stams was a great teammate.
Stams was an All-American football player at the University of Notre Dame and was on the 1988 National Championship team. Stams was drafted in the second round of the 1989 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Rams where he was converted to linebacker. Stams earned a bachelor’s degree in history at Notre Dame, then played three seasons with the Los Angeles Rams and four seasons with the Cleveland Browns. He currently resides in Cuyahoga Falls with his wife, Mari, son Mason, and daughter Rhiannon.