Ranked among the best women tennis players ever produced in Cleveland. Member of 1961 Wightman Cup Team. Won U.S. Womens’s Hard Court Doubles Championship (with Sally Moore) in 1958. Was U.S. Junior Champion in 1954. Ranked among top 15 women in U.S. amateur tennis five times, reaching high of sixth in 1961.
Star pitcher in the ’30s for a number of area teams. Pitched and won the longest softball game ever played up to that time by girls teams. Game went 22 innings and the Cleveland Num Nums defeated the Parichy Bloomer Girls, 4-1. Once won 25 games in a season. Pitched perfect game in the Chicago Girls’ Major League.
Although standing just over five feet tall and weighing barely more than 100 pounds she was an outstanding pitcher. Between 1932 and 1940 she built a record of 133 victories and 29 losses and pitched 11 no-hit games, including one perfect contest in which no batter reached base. Was a mainstay for the World Championship Bloomer Girls in 1935 and pitched 80 consecutive scoreless innings in 1939.
Among the first inductees into baseball’s hall of Fame. Considered one of the finest defensive center fielders in history of game. Hit .344 in 22 major league seasons, including nine with Boston Red Sox and 11 with Cleveland Indians. Was playing-manager of Indians from 1919 through 1926 and guided them to their first World Series Championship in 1920. After his retirement he served as a consultant with the Indians until his death in 1958.
After a brilliant football career at Washington and Jefferson College capped by a Rose Bowl appearance in 1922, he mixed law studies and pro football while at the same time launching a coaching career that was to span three decades. St. Ignatius, John Carroll and University School were the recipients of his winning programs. He helped organize the “Big Four,” ushering in the golden era of local collegiate football.
A long successful career has marked his competitive participation in weightlifting which began in 1940 and has run up to the present where he has three Masters Division World Records pending. In 1953 he won several “Mr. Physique” contests and placed 5th in the National Junior Mr. America competition in 1957, the same year he was crowned National Junior Weightlifting Champion. Numerous Masters titles have been his, covering multiple weight classifications. In one 6 month span, he broke 32 national Masters Records. In 1973 he entered the Weightlifting Hall of Fame.
A consistent winner, he qualified for the National Amateur in 1962 and 1963 and in 1968 won the gold medal in national competition. He has won the District Senior Tournament 12 times in the last 14 years. In 1985 he continued his winning ways by copping the NOGA seniors championship.
A stellar competitor for two decades, in 1952 he fenced epee on the team which won the National Championship. At the same time that he was participating, he served as Vice President and then President of the NODFLA during a nine year span and chaired the U.S. Olympic Fencing Committee for four years.
From 10th grade until graduation, he led the East Technical High School team in the scoring and was selected for All-City and all East Senate honors. He was rated number one Ohio High School player in the second year that Tech won the state title. A collegiate career at Grambling College and Providence College continued his star role leading to All-American honors. After college, he was the leading scorer in the Greater Cleveland Class A league for six years.
Pitched for Fischer Foods, Class A, leading the team to City, State and National championships in 1931, 1932, and 1936. During those years he won 3, 3, and 4 games, respectively, in the National tournament. Voted “Most Valuable” in class A in 1932.