Selected to the National All-Star Team four times and to the Cleveland All-City Team nine times. Was named the most Valuable Player in the 1975 National Amateur Softball Association Tournament, setting a team record of 23 consecutive hits. Once had six consecutive home runs. Received the Harwood Player of the Year Trophy at age 37 in 1971 when he hit .758 with 27 home runs.
Started his organized baseball career with Cleveland Favorite Knits in Class “E” in 1924 and won the Babe Ruth Cup for most home runs. Worked his was up to Class “A” before signing a professional contract. Later became scout for the Philadelphia Phillies and has scouted the top amateur talent in the Greater Cleveland are for 30 years.
A graduate of Maple Heights High School, he continued a distinguished competitive career as a walk-on at Michigan State where he was a finalist for four NCAA titles, winning twice, winner of three Big-10 Titles and the Big-10 Medal of Honor, and was chosen All-American all four years. He was subsequently voted into National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum. He is also the youngest NCAA wrestling champion in history.
In 1936 he won the All-Around Title in the Northeastern District of the American Sokol Organization. That same year in AAU competition he won the Side Horse and Parallel Bars competition. A national title was his in the All-around category in 1937. In addition to a highly successful competitive career, he subsequently lent leadership to the sport as a coach and administrator.
After a distinguished football career at Shaw High School and Ohio State University, he went on to an eleven year professional career. Consistently among the leading rushers in the NFL, in 1965 he stepped in for ailing quarterback Johnny Unitas and, as the Colts’ “Instant Quarterback,” threw two touchdown passes to spark the victory over Los Angeles which then led to the memorable playoff game against Green Bay in which he again led the team as quarterback. He played in the Pro-Bowl in 1968 and 1969.
A star at third base for women’s class A fast-pitch softball teams from 1923 to 1941. During that time she led such teams as the 1935 World Champion Fleming Furniture, Blepp Coombs and Weaver Walls. After Pearl Harbor she served in the Women’s Army Corps.
Played sandlot baseball from 1912 to 1934. Was player/manager of the great Telling’s team when they won triple “A” titles in 1927 and 1928. The team won six titles in 10 years. His 1947 team won the National Championship, winning 31 games in a row. That record still stands.
A strong arm and skilled pivot plays made possible the numerous double plays for the Cleveland Indians from 1939 to 1947. At John Adams High School and Case School of Applied Science, Raymond J. Mikovsky starred in football and basketball. In 1939 he and Lou Boudreau were flanking second base for Buffalo which presaged a pair of stellar careers in the majors.
Moved to Lakewood from Canada with his family at the age of 13 to carve a niche at Lakewood High School well up on the long list of first magnitude track stars who first shone on Greater Cleveland ovals, Gave notice of what lay ahead by winning the OHSSA state title in the 440-yd. dash as a sophomore in 1956 and defending his title as a junior, also finishing second in the 100 and 220-yd dashed that year. Then, as a senior in 1958, he turned in one of the most memorable performances in Ohio state meet annuals, winding up an undefeated scholastic career in the 440 by running the fastest schoolboy time (46.5 sec.) ever recorded in he U.S. and capturing the 100 and 220 titles to pace Lakewood to the state crown. As a collegian at Purdue, he set an American indoor record of 47.2 sec. in the 440 in 1960, won two Big Ten indoor 440 crowns and one outdoor championship, and ran for the United States’ 4 x American games. Became a teacher in the Dayton area after his track days and remained there in his retirement.
Inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1999, he was born and raised in Cleveland, starred for the Cleveland Heights High football team, then went on to play for the University of Michigan’s 1964 Big Ten and 1965 Rose Bowl champions and to earn second team All-American recognition in 1965. A first round draft pick of the Los Angeles Rams in 1966, he played 13 seasons for the team at guard from 1966 to 1978, starting 176 of the 184 consecutive games he played, never missing a contest in his pro career. He was selected for 11 Pro Bowl games, a mark exceeded by only six players in NFL history, and to nine All-NFL first or second teams. Helped lead the Rams to eight division championships, including an NFL record six consecutive titles. Was team captain in his last four seasons. The son of Cleveland Indians second baseman and Case Tech football great Ray Mack, an early inductee into the GCSHofF, he became a vice president and regional executive for Bechtel Corp., the largest engineering and construction company in the United States, making his home in Las Vegas, NV.