Sam Serves (1981) - Hall of Fame - University of Akron Athletics

Sam Serves

Induction:
1981
Class:
1947

1942-47
Basketball
‘47
The University of Akron can thank Paul Weakland for giving it one of its all-time cage greats. It was back at East High School in 1936 when a 109-pound freshman was pitted against teammate Weakland, the Ohio 115-pound champion, in a wrestle off. The match went into a second overtime before Weakland was declared the winner. The incoming freshman decided then and there that if he had to go up against this guy for two more years, he wanted no part of it. So, a wrestling career ended, and a basketball career began for the freshman—Sam Serves. Serves came to the University in 1942 after earning first team All-City honors in 1940 and two years of honing his talents in the City Class A League. That first season Serves was Coach Russ Beichly’s second-leading scorer with 209 points—20 points behind Lucas as the Zips compiled an 18-4 season. However, World War 11 interrupted Sam’s playing days and he spent one year in the Army Air Corps before receiving a medical discharge. He returned for the 1944-45 season, serving as co-captain with Fritz Nagy as the Zips compiled a 21-2 record for the most wins in UA history and captured the Ohio Conference Championship. Interestingly, Sam displayed his prowess on the court despite carrying 14 hours in night school and having a full-time job at B.F. Goodrich. Serves, while scoring 270 points, earned All-OC and All-Ohio firs team berths—honors he would repeat in both the 1945-46 and 1946-47 campaigns. Serves netted 277 as a junior as the Zips were OC co-champions while compiling a 19-5 record and finished his career with 257 points to become the second player in the UA basketball history to score over 1,000 points. Serves, who scored most of his 1,013 points on long range shots, was second to teammate Nagy, who scored 1,258 points. Despite all the accolades and honors Serves received during his playing tenure, he was more pleased with his shooting accuracy from the floor and the free-throw line. During his career he was by far UA’s best shooter, hitting career high 33 points versus Bluffton. As a freshman he won the school foul-shooting contest, sinking 48 of 50 and then sank 117 straight to emphasize his expertise. Serves, owner of Hol-Hi Golf Course and Colonial Lanes, and his wife Neda, are parents of three daughters, Sandra Smith, Susan Serves and Sharon Joyce. The Serves’ reside in Akron.