About Us
A Tradition of Excellence Honoring the Past
Since it’s founding in 1994, The Ohio Lacrosse Hall of Fame has honored players, coaches, officials, pioneers, and contributors with induction into the Hall. These inductees are honored not only for the awards and accolades on the field, but for their respect for the long standing traditions of the game and for their contributions to the growth and recognition of the sport of lacrosse in Ohio. The original class in 1994 included:
Chalmer Hixson, First Ohio State Coach, brought lacrosse to OSU
Laurette Payette, Long time Official
Paul Caldwell, Pioneer, Coach, Official
Henry “Skip” Flanagan, Pioneer/Coach
Ferris “Tommy” Thomsen Jr. Coach Dennison University
Joe Horn, Player Oberlin College
Ruth Alcott, Pioneer, .
Embracing the Future, For the Love of the Game
The Ohio Lacrosse Hall of Fame also honors Ohio's Boys and Girls All Americans at our annual Induction Banquet. We believe it is important to communicate the rich history and traditions of the game to future generations.
2017 Inductees
(L-R) Mark Howell, Brendan Shook, David Blue, Craig Kahoun, Pete Farrell
Death of Paul Caldwell Loss for Ohio Lacrosse
Paul Caldwell 1939-2018
Paul Caldwell, 79, of Columbus, passed away on September 20, 2018. He was born on May 28, 1939, in Cleveland, Ohio, to Cyril J. and Laura (Irwin) Caldwell. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his nephew, James Caldwell, Jr.
Paul graduated from Western Reserve University with a degree in education, where he was a member of Beta Theta Pi Fraternity. He served in the Ohio National Guard from 1957-1963. After college, he dedicated a great part of his life to coaching, officiating, and growing the sport of lacrosse in central Ohio. In the mid-1960's, he joined Woody Hayes's staff at Ohio State as his first academic counselor, later becoming the freshman lacrosse coach and varsity assistant coach. He went on to become the head coach of the Columbus Lacrosse Club for seven years and the Dublin Coffman High School boys' team before being hired as the head coach of the men's lacrosse team at Ohio State in the mid 90's. He was the coach of the Dublin Coffman High School girl's lacrosse team for 12 seasons and coached and directed Northstar Lacrosse Club until retiring several years ago. As an official, he began his career in 1964 and served as the district supervisor of officials for the USILA in the Midwest from 1978-1993. After he retired from on-field officiating, he continued to contribute by evaluating active officials. For his years of dedication to the sport, he was inducted into the Ohio Lacrosse Hall of Fame's Charter Class in 1994. Paul also enjoyed fishing, hunting, and spending time with family and lifelong friends.
As a loving father and enthusiastic grandfather, Paul will be greatly missed by his brothers, James (Barbara) and C. Richard Caldwell; his son Michael; daughter Julie Hunter (Jason), granddaughters Kate and Erin; nieces Beth Rozek (Jimmy), Amy Fowles (Brian), and Jen Caldwell, Molly Turner (Doug); and nephew Will Caldwell. His legacy will live on through the countless lives he touched as a coach, mentor, and friend.
A Memorial Service celebrating Paul's life will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, September 27, 2018, at the SCHOEDINGER WORTHINGTON CHAPEL, 6699 North High Street. The family will receive friends that day from 3:00 p.m. until the time of the service. The family will be recording memories of Paul, so please come prepared with an anecdote or memory to share if you wish.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Central Ohio Chapter of U.S. Lacrosse, https://usl.ebiz.uapps.net/personifyebusiness/MakeaDonation.aspx
To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of Paul I. Caldwell please visit our Sympathy Store.
