A prominent figure in women’s modern gymnastics on the local, state and national levels for 30 years, she was manager for the 1960 U.S. Olympic Team, and served as an official, judge and chair woman or meet director at every AAU national championship, Olympic Trials and World Games Trials for women’s gymnastics form 1954 through 1970. Started the Cleveland-area AAU Junior Olympics gymnastics into the educational system at an AAHPER national convention that year. Awarded a Lifetime Membership in the Ohio Gymnastics Association in 1982 for service to the sport in Ohio.
An active member of the American Sokol Organization for 55 years as a volunteer gymnastics coach, competition judge, organizer of new gymnastics clubs in the Greater Cleveland area and clinician. He served on the local AAU gymnastics committee for 28 years and helped organize the first AAU Junior Olympic gymnastics program for boys and girls. Coached seven champions from 1955 through 1964, three of whom earned Olympic berths.
National Open Champion in 1931 he was also a member of the U.S. Ryder Cup Team from 1931-33; twice, in 1934 and 1939, finished third in the Masters Tournament; was a quarterfinalist in the PGA Championship in 1936, 1938 and 1939, and was named to the PGA Hall of Fame in 1963. The first golfer to use steel clubs, he taught golf at the Country Club for 29 years, retiring in 1963.
Won national AAU half-mile championship in 1958 and repeated in 1960, setting American indoor records each time. Also won outdoor title record time. Earned All-American ranking in 1958 and 1960 and represented U.S. in dual meets with the USSR in 1959. Won several other AAU titles including the AAU Masters (indoor) in the 600 and 1000-yd. and mile races in the late 70’s.
Won Junior National AAU championships in the 220-yd. freestyle and the 200-yd. breaststroke and swam on the championship medley relay team in 1940. Won Ohio championships in the 100, 220, 440 and mile freestyle swim the following year. Also won the Fairport Open Water mile that year, beating the winning men’s time by almost two minutes. Taught swimming for 40 years, 30 for Cleveland Division of Recreation.
Goalie for the Cleveland all-star team which won the National AAU Championship at New Haven, Connecticut in 1939. Starred in amateur circles from 1929 to 1940, competing for strong Blepp-Coombs, Pepsi-Cola and Fisher Foods teams, once putting together a string of eight consecutive shutouts.
Enjoyed an exceptional career at St. Ignatius High School, earning all-scholastic honors three straight years and All-Ohio laurels as a senior, when he captained the Cleveland News all-scholastic team. Scored a then-amazing 58 points in one game in 1951. Named All-European Theatre in basketball, baseball and football while serving in the U.S. Army from 1953-55. Went on to play for the University of Dayton and one season for the professional Cleveland Pipers.
Played on 13 World Championship teams, nine in fast-pitch and four in slow-pitch, earning All-Ohio honors as an outfielder in 1961, 1962 and 1963. Also earned all star honors in World tournaments in each of those three seasons. Hit over .300 in fast-pitch from 1954 through 1959 to rank among the top ten in the area each season.
In the middle of the 20th century, the thriving metropolis of Cleveland, with three daily newspapers bearing its name on their mastheads, was blessed with a coterie of sportswriter/columnists who could coax the keys of their typewriters to produce the news, the insights, the drama, the joys and the sorrows of their special world with the very best in the nation. Among this special group was the man whose somber face graced the top of a regular column entitled “Plain Dealing”, the man seemingly known to everyone simply as Cobby. Gordon Cobbledick was the sports editor of the Plain Dealer from 1946 until his retirement in 1964. Before that he had covered the Cleveland Indians for 25 years with his signature story perhaps being the news of the team’s rebellion against manager Oscar Vitt in 1940. Shortly thereafter he would turn war correspondent, writing from the Pacific Theatre during World War II, then returning to become PD sports editor soon after. During his long career he served a term as president of the Baseball Writers Association of America and in 1977, nine years after his death, he would become the first Ohio writer to be inducted into the writers wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Another posthumous honor would come his way in 1982 when he was inducted into the Journalism Hall of Fame. Born in Cleveland, Cobby was the holder of a masters degree in mining engineering from Case Tech, where he starred in football. He continued to make the city his home until moving to Tucson, AZ shortly before his death in 1969.
(Deceased)
As a 6-6 250 pound defensive lineman, NFL scouts would probably toss him back into the deep end of the talent pool today. But when Al Baker came out of Colorado State University as a two-time all-conference choice in both football and basketball, the Detroit Lions were only too happy to reel him in as their No. 2 pick, the 40th choice overall in the 1978 draft. He repaid their confidence with a spectacular inaugural season, leading the NFL with 23 quarterback sacks, (the first of five consecutive years he would top the league in that category), and earning Defensive Rookie of the Year, Lineman of the Year, and first team All-Pro laurels. Two more All-Pro seasons would follow during his five years with the Lions. Traded by Detroit to St. Louis, he spent four season with the Cardinals, then was traded to Cleveland in 1987, left to join the Minnesota Vikings in 1988 and returned to the Browns for the 1989 and 1990 seasons. During his 13-year pro career, he was credited with 148.5 sacks and in 2004 he was picked by Sports Illustrated as the ninth Greatest Pass Rusher in NFL history. When he retired after the 1990 season, the Florida native and one-time New Jersey high school star elected to remain in Cleveland, stressing an affinity for the area and its residents. He settled in Avon where he owns and operates Bubba Q’s Restaurant and Catering. The restaurant won several “Best in Cleveland” awards and has also developed a reputation for feeding the homeless. He and his wife Sabrina are the parents of two children, Brittany Bo and James Landon.