The University of Akron Athletics
Hall of Fame
Mike Fernella
- Induction:
- 1978
- Class:
- 1942
1938-41
Good tackles are the backbone of any football team an opinion of coach Bill Kern of Carnegie Tech.
“Mike Fernella was the finest tackler that his team faced in 1938.”
With a schedule that included Notre Dame and Pittsburgh, that compliment was really a tribute to the fine play of the 6-1, 220-pound athlete. As a result of Kern’s recommendation, Mike Fernella became the University first All-American when Peter Dolan gave him honorable mention on the New York Sun All-American team.
Only a sophomore in 1938, Fernella went on to star two more seasons on the gridiron for coach Jimmy Aiken and three in basketball for Paul Bixler and Russ Beichly.
Fernella came to UA via North High School, where he had been a three-year All-City selection in football and member of the Vikings’ 1935 state Class A basketball championship team. He first tried college at Ohio State. Seeing the error of his ways, Fernella transferred to Akron in 1936.
As a basketball player, he faced few peers better than he. In one of his first games in the Blue and Gold, Fernella scored 18 of Akron’s 29 points, almost outscoring Glenville, which had a total of 24. Despite the scoring spree, Fernella excelled as a defensive player and rebounder.
In his senior season, Fernella was elected football captain. It was that 1940 team that played the first collegiate game in the brand-new Rubber Bowl.
It was also the 1940 squad that pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the year. The Kent State Golden Flashes came into the Rubber Bowl with an unblemished 7-0 mark, but left with a 23-7 defeat by the Zippers.
At that seasons’ end, Fernella gained another first in athletics history of Akron when he was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League. However, because of a knee injury, Fernella never reported and instead went to work at Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company where he stayed until his retirement.
In 1972, he was inducted into the Summit County Sports Hall of Fame.
Good tackles are the backbone of any football team an opinion of coach Bill Kern of Carnegie Tech.
“Mike Fernella was the finest tackler that his team faced in 1938.”
With a schedule that included Notre Dame and Pittsburgh, that compliment was really a tribute to the fine play of the 6-1, 220-pound athlete. As a result of Kern’s recommendation, Mike Fernella became the University first All-American when Peter Dolan gave him honorable mention on the New York Sun All-American team.
Only a sophomore in 1938, Fernella went on to star two more seasons on the gridiron for coach Jimmy Aiken and three in basketball for Paul Bixler and Russ Beichly.
Fernella came to UA via North High School, where he had been a three-year All-City selection in football and member of the Vikings’ 1935 state Class A basketball championship team. He first tried college at Ohio State. Seeing the error of his ways, Fernella transferred to Akron in 1936.
As a basketball player, he faced few peers better than he. In one of his first games in the Blue and Gold, Fernella scored 18 of Akron’s 29 points, almost outscoring Glenville, which had a total of 24. Despite the scoring spree, Fernella excelled as a defensive player and rebounder.
In his senior season, Fernella was elected football captain. It was that 1940 team that played the first collegiate game in the brand-new Rubber Bowl.
It was also the 1940 squad that pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the year. The Kent State Golden Flashes came into the Rubber Bowl with an unblemished 7-0 mark, but left with a 23-7 defeat by the Zippers.
At that seasons’ end, Fernella gained another first in athletics history of Akron when he was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League. However, because of a knee injury, Fernella never reported and instead went to work at Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company where he stayed until his retirement.
In 1972, he was inducted into the Summit County Sports Hall of Fame.
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