ii

AC KNOWI.EDGMENT

The writer wishes to express his sincere appreci­ ation to Dr. Arthur s. Daniele for his unending patience and sympathetic assistance in the preparation of this thesis. 111

DEDICATION

To my wife, for her sacrifices during the periods of my study and to all of the coaches who contributed so much of their lives that boys might benefit from competitive athletics. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER ~ I IN'I'RODUCTION . ...•••...•••...... •••.....•.•• 1 Purpose of the Study ••.••••.•••••••••••••• 1 Contents of the Study ••••••••••••••••••••• 2 Procedures and Sources of Information ••••• 3 Limitations of the Study •••••••••••••••••• 4 The Origin and Growth of the Columbus Public Secondary Schools •••••••••••••••• 5 II THE ORIGINS OF FOOTBALL, BASKETBALL, BASE­ BALL AND TRACK IN THE COLtnvtBUS PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS, 1892-1910 •••••••••••••••• 10 The First Football Team is Organized •••••• 10 The First Well-Organized League is Formed • ••••••••••••.•••••••••••...•.•••• 12 School Administrators on a National Level Begin to Recognize Problems...... 16 Beginning of Administrative Controls...... 18 Night Football...... 20 The Passing of the "Professional" Coaoh.... 30 A State Championship Comes to Columbus.... 31 Faoulty Coaches Take Charge...... 31 The Emergence of the Ohio High School Athletic Association...... 33 S\llllmary. • • • • • • . • • . • ...... • • • . . • . • • • • • • • • . • 36 III ATHLETICS UNDER TBE SUPERVISION Ol4, THE CITY DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC RECREATION, 1910-1920 •• 38 History of Recreation in Columbus ••••••••• 38 Reasons for Recreation Department Control of Interscholastic Athletics •••••••.•••• 39 Athletics during this Period •••••••••••••• 39 The First School OWned Athletic Field ••••• 42 Growth of Spectator Interest •••••••••••••• 44 First League Meeting Held ••••••••••••••••• 49 Effect of the War ••••••••.•••••••••••••••• 50 All Star Football Game •••••••••.•••.•••••• 51 All Star Basketball Game •••••••••••••••••• 54 Summary • •••••••••.•.••.••.••••.••••••••••. 56

IV THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM UNDER THE· SUPERVISION OF B. E. WIGGINS, DIRECTOR OF HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION OF THE COLUMBUS PUBLIC SCHOOLS. (1920-1933). 58 Reasons for Change 1n Supervision ••••••.•• 58 School Board Control Begins ••••••••••••••• 59 v TABLE OF CONTENTS (cont.) CHAPTER IV (cont.) Disorganized Football League Play...... 63 The Harley Football Trophy...... 65 New Gymnasiums... . . • • • • • • • . . • ...... • • . 68 National Track Championship Competition... 71 Eligibility Disputes...... 72 The Johnny Minor Trophy...... 74 Efforts for Night Football...... 75 A World's Record is Set...... 77 Four Straight State T1tLes...... 80 The Debut of Night Football...... 80 Attempts to Eliminate Mid-Week Games...... 81 High School Athletic Insurance Discussed.. 82 All-High Football Banquet Inaugurated..... 85 S tmlmary • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 8 7 V THE OFFICE OF THE CITY DIRECTOR OF HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION IS ELIMINATED...... 90 Reason for the Change...... 90 Night Track Meets...... 92 Summary. . • • . • . • • • • . . . . • • • • • . • . . . . . • . • • • • . . 95 VI ATHLETICS UNDER THE SU?ERVISION OF M. D. SHEATSLEY, 194.1. TO THE PRESENT .••••• • • 97 Linden Enters League Play in Football and Becomes a FulL Fledged City League Member. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • . • • 102 First State Basketball Championship for Columbus. • • • . . • . • . . . • . . • • • . • . • • • • . • • • • . . l.09 A Phenomenal Track Record...... 111 EL1gibil1ty Disputes Again Arise...... 112 A Future All-American...... ~~3 Aquinas, the Cinderella Team...... 114 South Goes to the State Basketball Finals. ~17 Summary. • • • • • • • • • • . • • • • • • • . • • • • . . . . • • . . • . • 121 VII ATHLETICS TODAY IN THE COLlli'lBUS PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS...... 125 The Evolution of Thinking...... 125 Today's Problems...... L26 The Philosophy Toward Athletics...... L27 Conclusion...... 128 BIBLIOGRAPHY...... J.56 vi TABLE OF FIGURES

FIGURES 1-6 Coaching Tenures • • • • • ...... 130

FIGURE 7 City Champions • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 136 FIGURE 8 Financial Statements to Iilustrate the Tremendous Growth of Football During the last 45 Years • • • • • • • • • • • 138

FIGURE 9 Notable "Firsts" in Columbus Athletics. • • 139 FIGURE 10 Columbus State Championship and State Runner-Up Teams • • • • • • • • • • • • • 141

FIGURES 11-14 Playing Sites Previous to 1926 • • • • 142 FIGURE 15 School Origins • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 146 FIGURE 16 All High Football Teams ••••••••• • 147 CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Down through the ages man has expressed a keen inter­ est in events that have transpired before his time. Pre­ historic youths no doubt sat before comforting, blazing campfires listening with rapt attention to the experiences of the hoary headed elders of their tribe, while at the same time creating in their own imaginations situations of danger and adventure requiring cool cunning and courage to conquer. With the coming of the written word, recorded history has occupied an eminent place in the lives of all mankind. Comfort, understanding and wisdom have all been derived from the priceless accounts of events and experiences from a far distant past but whose counterpart keeps repeating itself in each succeeding generation. It is largely through the history of past experience that man has been able to utilize his superior intellect to drag himself from the misery and degradation of a beast-like jungle existence and to thrust himself into a constantly ex­ panding civilization.

Purpose of the Study The purpose of this study is to record the events which formed the foundation of and the evolution to the present program of boys interscholastic athletics in our Columbus public secondary schools. The contributions of 1 2 various coaches, administrators, athletes and other inter­ ested persons are so important that they deserve a place in a recorded athletic history ot our school system.

Contents of the Study In this study will be found the origins of the friendly but intense rivalries between the schools. We shall catch a giimpse of many of the problems of the program in its infancy, such as those of finding suit­ able playing sites during a period in school history which made no provisions for athletic games. This was also the period in which no coaching, supervision or financial aid was provided by the schools. Competitive athletics was frowned upon as being suitable on1y for a select few and was contrary to the prevaiiing notion which held that calisthenics provided adequately for the physical education needs of the students. The coaching tenures of ail of the men engaged in coaching are charted as weil as a record of the various city champions. All-high football teams (and other all­ star teams) are iisted 1n this study. Columbus state championship teams are recognized, notabie "firsts" in athletics are listed and one wiil be able to find a record of playing sites for various sports prior to 1924, when most of the present schools were completed. The origins of each school are charted as is the origin of the four 3 sports and the first faculty coaches at each school. Bitter eligibility disputes are recorded and the efforts on the part of the administration to solve these problems are discussed. Changing league policies are traced and in short, every possible phase of the athletic history of the Columbus public secondary schools is recorded.

Procedures and Sources of Information The style of this study is largely narrative; it tells a season by season, year by year story. Use has been made of charts for additional information and ready reference. The sources of information have been many and varied. By far the greatest bulk of information was gleaned from the microfilm department of the Columbus Public Library where many hours were spent poring over fiLmed records of the Coiumbus Dispatch. From the Board of Education Library, which contains copies of the AnnuaL Report of PubLic Schools, important in­ formation was found. Other sources of material included the files of the physical education office at the administration building, yearbooks from school libraries and the off ice of the Ohio High School Athletic Association. 4 Certainly the most interesting source of informa­ tion for this study was that received through personal interviews with various former coaches, the men who had played leading roles in much of the early history of the interscholastic athletic program. Through their fine cooperation and hearty interest it was possible to gather a great store of information and at the same time share with them a fascinating period in the life of the youthfu~ athletic history of the Columbus Public Secondary Schools. To these men, therefore, this thesis is dedicated, with the sincere hope that they may relive through many of its pages, those moments of excitement, the joy of victory, the disappointment of defeat, but above all, to recall the deep satisfaction of having contributed to the development of our American youth.

Limitations of the Study There are, of course, certain definite limitations to this study. Basically it is concerned only with the seven public secondary schools of Columbus. It is limited to certain athletic activities for boys, namely football, basketball, baseball and track. The available sources of material was the most serious problem which had to be overcome in the compila­ tion of this study. Records concerning any phase of the 5 city's athletic program (except for recent years) were al­ most non-existent. To rely upon the memories and recollections of former athl.etes and coaches (especially concerning exact dates) proved unreliable. Newspaper records were finally turned to in the interests of accuracy, as well as for information they con­ tained.

THE ORIGIN AND GROWTH OF THE COLIDIBU8 PUBLIC SCHOOLS

An extremely interesting phase of the history of the city of Columbus may be found in tracing the origins of the various secondary schools of our city. Much of this story can be found in the "History of the City of Columbus" Volume I, by Alfred E. Lee and also in the Annual Report of

Pub~ic Schools, 1850-1923. On September 22, 1847 an announcement was made in the daily paper that a high school department of the public schools would be opened in the West Room of the Middle Building. (The public schools at this time in the city con­ sisted of three build1ngs--the South Building, the Middle Building and the North Building, but none gave instruction at the high school level.) In November of that year the high school was of­ ficially opened and classes were conducted at the West Room 6 site of the Middle Building. These classes were continued until April 19, 1848, when overcrowding caused school of­ ficials to return to the Covert Building on Town Street. In May of 1849 the high school was transferred to the basement of the Reformed Church on Town Street and by the winter of 1850 it was returned to the Covert Bui~ding.

From 1853 until the f a~l of le62 the high school was located in the State Street Building and by 1856 the enrollment had reached a total of 159 pupils. The new high school, or the Columbus High School, built on the foundation of the Trinity Episcopa~ Church at Sixth and Broad Streets, was a magnificent brick structure completed in the spring of 1862. September 8, 1862 was a memorable day for Columbus as the new high school was officially opened. The school had separate playgrounds for boys and girls for daily exer­ cises and it is recorded that "the teachers and pupils were so happy with their new school that no formal celebration was staged at the opening. 11 1 During the next twenty years the Columbus High School became an integral part in the plans and development of the city. In 1869 the city was divided into nine school districts and many additional elementary schools were built.

1. Alfred E. Lee. History of the City of Columbus, Vol. I. 7 In 1872, Franklinton (located on the west side of the Scioto River) was incorporated into the city. In 1874, negro pupils were admitted to the high school upon passing an examination and in 1881 a resolution was passed permit­ ting negro children to attend the school building in the district in which they resided instead of having to attend the negro school. By 1882, Columbus High School, or CentraL High School as it was also known, had reached the limit of its capacity. The superintendent recommended that a high school of 43 first year pupils, one teacher and one princi­ paL be established. Therefore in September of 1882, another high school was established on Second Avenue known as the Irving School. In January of 1891 the north side school (Irving) was moved to Eighth Avenue to the new LoweLl Bu1Lding. Construction was also started on a new high school building located at Fourth and Dennison Avenues. By February of 1893 the high school at the Lowell Building moved into the new structure at Fourth and Dennison Avenues (the present Everett Junior High School). There were 202 pupils, 122 from Lowell and 80 from Central High School and it was made up of the freshman and sopho­ more classes that first year. 8 With the opening of North High School in 1893, the name of Columbus High School was changed to the Asa Lord High School in honor of Columbus' first school superinten­ dent. By 1895 this name was dropped in favor of the more geographical one of Central High School. At the beginning of the 1895 school year a new high school was established in the Ohio Avenue BuiJ.ding and was named South High School. In 1897 this was changed to East High School and classes were expanded to include the Felton Avenue Building at the end of Monroe Avenue. East High School continued at these two sites until the fall of 1899 when it moved into new quarters located on Franklin Avenue, east of Wilson Avenue (the present Franklin Junior High School). On October 12, 1900 the new South High School, located at Deshler Avenue and Bruck Street, opened and Columbus found itself with four high schools. In ld96 schooJ. board action set up the high schools by districts and by September of 190e West High School was officially opened in a new building at CentraJ. Avenue and West State Street (present site of Starling Junior High School). Freshman and sophomore classes made up the en­ rollment the first year. In 1910 further annexation made it necessary to open high schooi classes at the ¥~lo school at Third and CleveJ.and Avenues and at the 0.Linton school at CJ.inton and 9

High Streets. These schools continued unti~ 1910. In 1900 a trade school was opened at Front and Long Streets on the s1te of the present Y.M.C.A. and in 1910 it moved to a new buiiding on Spring Street. In ~926 Trades

Schoo~ merged with Central High School. In 1923 the present East High School building on East Broad Street was opened and the following year Central, North and South all moved into their present beautiful buildings. In 1929 the present West High School building was opened and in 1942 a new high school, Linden McKinley was opened. Nineteen fifty-five brought into the Columbus school system the latest high school, Eastmoor High School, located at the extreme east border ofthe city. CHAPTER II

THE ORIGINS OF FOOTBALL, BASKETBALL, BASEBALL AND TRACK IN THE CCLUMBUS PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS

The First Football Team is Organized

An account of the origin of the interscholastic athletic program in the Columbus Public secondary schools may be found in the 1924 yearbook in the Central High School library. In it is described a record of the 1892 Columbus High School team, the first ever organized. The team was organized that fall by Herbert Kannamacher, a student who also served as captain and quarterback. Tne team had no coach but played a schedule of games, losing to D & D (Deaf & Dumb), Granville Academy, and Kenyon Military Academy and winning from North 5 to o. There were no other interscholastic athletics in the school at this time although baseball was played on a vacant lot across the street from the school. The football team was organized completely by the pupils who bought their own uniforms and paid their fares to the various games. Such plays as the Harvard, the Criss­ cross and the Checkerboard were used. Hurdling was allowed and encouraged. Central's (or Columbus High School's) school colors, red and black, were originated this year and this particu­ lar combination was decided upon for a rather unusual but 10 11 practical reason. Just before a game, the team members de- cided that they should wear stockings to play and went to Armbrusters Stocking Mill to buy them. The only stockings available at that time were of the colors red and black and thus it was decided that these colors should represent the school. Apparently it must have been a happy choice, for to this day the teams of Central High School proudly dis- play these same colors. The following boys made up the membership of that first team: Center ---- George Duffy Guards -- Ben Chamberlin Art Zimmerman Tackles --- Herb Drury Charles Bond Ends ----- Lewis Krum Ren Knauss Quarterback - Herb Kannamaker Halfbacks Fred Ingham Bert Dennis Hugo Kannamaker Fullbacks -- Frank Colg~n Hal Wright During the next two school years, football was the only sport engaged in by the city's two high schools, Central and North. There is an account of the 1894 Central-North game in the Columbus Dispatch which was won by North 8 to O on the Ohio State University field before

2. ~(Central High School Yearbook), 1924, p. 24. 12 a crowd of 600 spectators, composed mostly of North High School girls. An ominous sign of the times occurred in 1893, when two members of the state legis~ature sponsored bills to curtail or ban football in Ohio. It was in 1895 that South High School was opened and they fielded a football team during the year which lost a.n 8 to 0 decision to the Central second team. North played an ambitious schedule this year, winning twelve games. The Central-North game, played at Ohio State University, ended in a score~ess tie. From 1896 to 1898 the athletic program remained quite limited, Central and North continuing as the only two established teams in the city. However, by the 1898-1899 school yee:r, East (having been established in 1897 at the Ohio Avenue building which had for two yee:rs housed South High School) entered the athletic picture.

The First Well-Or5anized League is Formed It was during the 1898-1899 season that the first well-organized league was formed. This occurred in basket­ ball and was organized by Professor F. c. Gugel of the Y.M.C.A. Under his direction a high school basketball league was set up for varsity and second team (reserve) play. North, East and Central were the teams which made up this 13 first high school league. The team captains were W. c. Diehl ot Central, Charles Tracy of North and J. E. Bulen of East. East won the city championship with four straight victories, beating North and Central in both rounds. All league games were played at the old Y.M.C.A. At that time seven men comprised a team and the line- ups for the championship game follow:

~ - 10 Central - 4 Bulan (C) c Baker Miller CF Watts & Slemmons Bigelow RF Burgess Cohagan LF Jackson Jones G Kif e Maxwell RG Slemmons ~ Peabody Pickel LG Diehl (C)

The baseball season of 1899 was rather disorganized. North, East and Central fielded teams with games being played at Capita~, Linwood Field and the Western League grounds. Lack of organization is shown in the following incident, one of many which occurred in the early years of the league. On Saturday May 12, North failed to show up at

Capita~ University for a game with East and the newspaper said they "flunked." North answered that they weren't ducks and thought the game was supposed to have been played at Linwood field which was wet.

3. The Columbus Dispatch, March 7, 1899. 14 In ie99 the North High School football team was the strongest in the city, defeating CentraL 24 to 5 and East ll to o. North won six and lost three games that year and defeated Centra~ for the city title on the Parsons Avenue field. Team captains were James Mitchell of North, w. c. Butler of Central and J.M. Weaver of East. Delaware, Circleville, Mt. Vernon and Chillicothe were some of the teams played by the Columbus schools that year. The 1899-l9UO basketball season was very limited. Central defeated East 13 to 7 at the City Hall for the city championship. Gardner for East and George Bellows (who was later to gain world fame as an artist) for Central were outstanding. The admission charged for this game was ten cents. During the 1900 baseball season, Central played a baseball game with the Columbus Senators, the city's pro­ fessional team at the Interstate League Baseball Park on Cleveland Avenue. The Senators won 21 to 10 but the news­ papers and professional players were very impressed with Central's showing. Central and East each scored a victory over the other during the season. The 1900 football season again found North as the dominant team in the city as well as one of the outstanding teams in the state. Del Sayers, the ex-o.s.u. captain coached the team which played Cleveland Central High School 15 in Cleveland for the mythical state championship. North lost the game 6 to O in a sea of mud. The Cleveland team changed to clean uniforms at halftime and that apparently gave them enough advantage to win the game. League games were again played at Ohio Field and Neil Park this year and often one game would follow another on Saturdays. North and East were forced to post­ pone a November 24 game after the morning game between Central and Kenyon Military Academy churned up the Ohio Field and rendered it unfit for further play. During this year North won eight and lost one game. East won two and lost six and Central won one, lost four and tied one. Out-of-city teams such as Lancaster, Chillicothe, Kenyon M.A., Delaware, Mt. Vernon and Circleville were played. The games consisted of fifteen to twenty minute halves. Games during this period were marked by frequent brawls among players as well as spectators. Contests were frequently held up and sometimes broken up completely by spectators swarming over the fields. Twice during the 1900 season games broke up in this way. On November 3, East went to Lancaster for a game and while holding an 11 to 6 lead they were unable to continue the game due to inter­ ference from the crowd. East finally had to withdraw from the field for their own protection. Lancaster then refused 16 to pay the guarantee to East. During the course of the game Lancaster attempted to play "Rosyn O'Grady, a former Ohio Medical University 225 pound center.

During the Independent' a - Centra~ game, the Independent•s removed their team with three minutes remain­ ing in the game because they didn't like the referee's de- cieion on a play. Even though they led o to O at the time they refused to continue.

School Administrators on a National Level Begin to Recognize Problems It was due to such conditions that the school ad.min- 1strators became more and more aware of the necessity of exercising control over interscholastic athiet1cs. At the 14th Annual Conference of Secondary School Principals held at the University of Chicago on November 14, 1900, the group favored the continuation of football provided it was placed under control of the faculty. There were several ru.J..es changes which were designed to open up the game in 1900. One provided that the offen­ sive team would no longer lose possession of the ball for being offside. A team could no longer continue to keep possession of the ball by taking it back twenty yards on third down. 17 The fine 1900 North team was made up of:

LE - Jones LT - Shof1eld LG - Riddle C - Hoyer RG - Feeman RT - Mitchell and Chaffee RE - Howard QB - Small LlI - s. Brown RH - G. Brown FB - Henry and Creighton The 1900 Central team: The 1900 East team:

LE - Bellows LE - Woolman LT - Grant LT - Morris LG - Madigan LG - Dunsford C - Stevenson C - Butler RG - Ridenour RG - Maddox RT - Ricketts RT - Soults RE - Van Etta RE - Dungan QB - Goben QB - Jackson LH - Butler LH - Cott RH - Theobald (C) RH - Dunn FB - Woodburk FB - Krumm4

South again organized a team but was heavily handi­ capped because of having no Junior or Senior classes. They played and lost to the Centra~ reserves 6 to 0 on October 22 at Neil Park.

During the 1900-1901 basketball season, Centra~ domi­ nated the league and in games outside the city showed such excellent form that they claimed the State Championship. One of their most overwhelming triumphs was over Newark by a score of 66 to o. Kellar of Central was high scorer with

4. The Columbus Dispatch, November 17, 1900. 18 32 points. Central followed their basketball championship with the city baseball championship. Central, East and North fielded teams this year and the deciding game was played at Neil Park between Central and East in which Central scored a shutout 4 to O victory. It was at the beginning of the twentieth century that various towns began staging invitational track meets for the purpose of establishing better athletic relation - ships with other schools. Troy, Piqua, Urbana, Bellefontaine, Greenville, Sydney, ,,'/ashington Court House and Chillicothe were all early pioneers in this activity.

Beginning of Administrative Control By 1901 the interscholastic athletic program had grown to such an extent that the school administrators felt that it was unwise to allow it to continue completely un- regulated. On February 11, 190i the principals of the four ex­ isting high schools, Charles D. Everett of North, F. B. Pearson of East, c. E. Albright of Central and Charles s. Barrett of South met and set up the following regulations: 1. Players on the teams and representatives of the schools at the contests must be pupils in good standing at their schools. 2. By "good standing" is meant that 3 studies, exclusive of drawing and music, must be maintained with passing grades. 19 3. No contests will be allowed with pupils of other high schools unless the above standard is adhered to by these schools. 4. Certificates from the principals of contest­ ing schools must be presented before any contest may be entered into.5

This meeting and the regulations which resulted from it, marked an important step in the interscholastic ath­ letic program in Columbus since these regulations constitut­ ed the very first rules established to govern competition and it also marked the beginning of our carefulLy super­ vised program of today. The 19ul football season was a memorable one for the North supporters as their team swept through an undefeated season and had but 5 points scored against them the entire yea:r. As a resuLt of an 18 to 5 victory over previously unbeaten Cleveland Central the Polar Bears claimed the state championship. The game was played at Neil Park.

Ralph Hoyer was the North team captain and their vic~ory over Cleveland was won by stra1ght, hard football. Central repeated as city basketbe.J.l champions in 19U2 and the baseball season found South playing this sport for the first time a~though not as a league member. East won the city baseball championship with a 10 to 4 victory over Centra.J. at Neil Park.

5. Annual Report of Public Schools, 1901, p. 154. 20 Night Footbal.l The football season of 1902 was an important one as far as the development of football as a spectator sport was concerned. It was during this year that night football was introduced to Columbus. The Ohio Medical University team played Otterbein College on Monday, October 6 at Neil Park in this historic game. The strong Medic team beat

Otterbein by a 39 to 0 score. Lighting the field was ac- complished by 15 arc lights placed on each side of the field and supplemented by a searchlight (borrowed from the Baker Art Gallery) which was used to follow the scrimmage plays. The ball was painted with white lacquer. The game was witnessed by 4,ooo people and the ex­ periment was judged a huge success. The following week the Medics beat Wittenberg 40 to O in the second night game. The first public address system was introduced and it consisted of a man shouting through a megaphone various bits of information concerning the progress of the game. The North and East game, which was to have been played on the morning of the Medic-Otterbein game, was post­ poned to avoid tearing up the field. The high schools were promised that they wou.Ld be given the opportunity to play a night game also but for some reason this did not materialize. 21 North won the football championship again in 1902 by defeating Central 30 to O, East 11 to 6 and South 30 to o. During the second half of the South game, the South team was strengthened by some of North's substitutes as well as by the punting of McLarren, North's coach. Disputes continued to crop out this year as Central refused to continue a game with Kenyon Military Academy due to an official's decision. Other teams played by the city teams in 1902 included Delaware, Mt. Gilead, Cincinnati Walnut Hills, Lancaster, Worthington, Mansfield and Toledo. Central retained the city basketball championship again during 1902-1903 by def eating East 27 to 23 at the Y.M.C.A. on March 7. East likewise continued their baseball domination in 1903 by sweeping victoriously through their entire schedule, losing on~y to the semi-professional Union's team. Otto Magley, who was later to become baseball coach and principal at West High School, served as East's coach. South was represented by a fine team also in its first year as a league member and defeated the Columbus Senators profession­ al team by a 19 to 11 score. East easily defeated the o.s.u. team during this season by a 5 to 0 score. Several members of this great team went on to professional stardom. 22 The 1903 East championship team: CF - Davis RF - Libhard SS-P - Justice P-ss - Barrington C - Ebright lB - Janton LF - Kelly 2B - Kern 3B - Purtell SS - Hall P - Dungan°

North again proved itself superior during the 1903 football season to the other city teams which included Centrai, East and South. On Saturday, October 10, North beat Central 17 to 0 on old Ohio field. Central protested the game because North used "Stan" Browne, a former player who was on the squad at o.s.u. North had agreed not to use Browne but, anticipating a difficult game, changed their minds and used him. The game was marked by fist fights on the field and among spectators.

Centra~ lost to Delaware 23 to O the following week. This same week North was scheduled against South but this game had to be cancelled when South failed to show up. The Columbus Dispatch carried the following account:

6. The Columbus Dispatch, June 2, 1903. 23 NORTH-SOUTH GAi-'IE OFF Declared Off on Account of Latter Team Failing to Appear The game between North and South High School failed to materialize this morning a.t Neil Park. The North contingent was on hand with two full teams but oniy four South High School players were out. The North eievens, under Coach Daugherty, had a little practice and then went home, South High School was to have been given the opportunity to play five or six outsiders and they failed to be on hand·. 7

On October 27, North defeated Ea.st 37 to 0 a.t Neil Park. North used no substitutes and East replaced Thomas and Peach, their star back. There were no trick plays used by either team. As a result of the outcome of this game North was again recognized a.s city champions. North's coach, Daugherty, was a star on the 1902 Ohio Medical School team but was not a. member of the North faculty. The 1903 North team was unscored upon but was tied by :Mansfield and Mt. Vernon that year. The Central-Ea.st game took place at Neil Park on November 14 and ended in a. scoreless tie. This marked the third straight year that these two teams played tie games. Caieb Sickles, a former Ohio State player, was secured on November 10 to act as the Ea.st coach and Central received coaching from Theobold, of the class of 1901 at

7. The Columbus Dispatch, Sat. Oct. 17, 1903. 24 Central. There were over l,OOO spectators at this contest which was frequently s~owed up due to fans overrunning the field. The game account in the Dispatch tells of Marble, the Centra~ halfback, breaking away for a 40 yard run be­ fore being halted by Captain Dungan of East. An innovation came into being this year when the pupils of East formed an athletic association composed of 250 members to encourage athletics of all kinds.

At the close of the season there was an attempt to organize a game between an all-star team of Columbus players to play simiLar teams at Piqua, Mansfield and Bellefontaine. Manager Davies of Central was in charge of arrangements which, however, falled to materiaJ.ize.

For the first time in the Co~umbus high school history an official all-high team was seLected and it was as follows:

LE - Bent~ey - Central LT - O'Hara " ft LG - Cherry II fl c - Watson - North RG - Henry II ti RT - Gibson - East RE - Morris - North QB - Reel 11 11 LH - Justice - East RH - Miles(C)- North FB - Peach East8

8. The Columbus Dispatch, November 27, 1903. 25 The 1903-1904 basketball program was quite limited. There were no facilities for home games in the city as the Y.M.C.A. refused the schools the use of its floor. On December 19, Central played o.s.u. at the Univer­ sity and lost by a 77 to 20 score. Three days later North was defeated by Ohio State by a remarkable 134 to 8 score. George Bellows, a former Central star, scored 42 points for Ohio State. East, continuing its baseball domination over the other city league teams, won its third straight city title. The year 1904 fowid North's long monopoly of city football championships brought to an end by the East Tigers who roared through the season widefeated and unscored upon before falling to Cleveland East 32 to o.

Basketball games were played in seve~al different gymnasiums in 1904-1905. The City Hall, East Side Market Hall and the Edminston and Johnson Business College gym­ nasiums were used. Because of a dispute over cancellations East and Central didn't play each other this year and league play was completely disrupted again. East branched out in athletics with a championship ice hockey team and defeated such teams as South, Ohio Medical University and the Crescents. North High School formed an athletic association this year, composed entirely of students with a faculty 26 advisor. The dues were ten cents per month and its purpose was to help support athletics. Baseball in 1905 was played at Neil Park, Recreation Park and the Old Recreation Park. East, under the coaching of Mr. Mag.Ley, claimed the state championship. A common practice at this time was to p.Lay double headers. As an example, one day East defeated North 15 to 2 and then beat Springfield 5 to 4. Later that spring Cleveland East came into town and met Central and East in a double header, losing to Central by 8 to 7 and to East by 3 to o. North, East and Central wanted to play a double header at Neil Park to decide the city championship, but South would not agree to play so Edminston and Johnson

Business College fi~led in and the games were played. It was during 1905 that President Mackey of the Columbus Sporting Goods Company offered the first trophy for the city baseball championship under East's Athletic Director Magley's proposal that Columbus teams get together to play a two-round series of games. This proposal was viewed with suspicion by the other schools and Mr. Magley was called an "autocrat." Thus we see the early problems which faced the first organizers. The spring of 1905 saw a sudden blossoming of inter­ est in track for the first time in Columbus. At Central, Professor Austin directed the team captained by Howard Jones 27 and which starred Harold "Dutch" Powell. Central defeated North 59 to 48 at the Driving Park in a dual meet. It was in 1905 that Denison University staged the

First Annual Interscholastic Track Meet at Id~ewilde Park in Newark. North and Central competed in this forerunner of the State Meet. Due to lack of interest, neither East nor South entered a team. There were about ten schools entered and about 500 people present. Later that spring, Coach Sweetland of Ohio State University came out in favor of interscholastic track meets sponsored by the University. With the coming of the 1905 football season "Rastus" Lloyd and "Doc" Welch, both non-faculty members, were hired to coach Central and North respectively. Otto Magley directed the East team. North, led by such stars as Hunter,

Hamilton and She~ter, regained the city championship which they had relinquished to East the year before. Recreation Park on Shiller Street was the scene of many of the contests this year. Central utilized the Barracks grounds for practice and was aided by the coaching of Professor Martz (who had played quarterback at O.S.U.) and Ben Chamberiin, the old Panhandle coach.

Basketball games this season were p~ayed in City Hall on Friday nights with Central winning the City 28 championship by defeating North 33 to 11. "Dutch" Powell, Central's great athlete, scored 15 points in this game. The personnel of the schools teams in 1905-06 were:

Central North ~ R. Bentley (C) Risley Bradford Field Dunnick McCarty Powell Cooke Bone Butler Hamil.ton Agler Burgess Carroll Smith (c)9 Rhoads P. Bentley

North broke East's monopo.J..y on the baseball cham- pionships by winning the city title in the spring. The spring of 1906 marked an important step in the development of track in the city. It was in this year that the first annual interscholastic meet was held. The compet- ing schools were North, Centra~ and East with South having no team. Central was expected to have a fine team, having beaten North in a dual meet the previous year, had lost only Norton from the 1905 squad which was managed by Bradford Gill. Earlier in the season Central tried to arrange a city meet. Efforts were also made to have a high school meet along with the Big Six meet, but as was the case the previous year, this meet did not materialize.

9. The Columbus Dis£atch, January 14, 1906. 29 The first city meet was held on Friday, June 8, 1906 at 2:30 p.m. at the Columbus Driving Park. North captured the championship by winning the final relay event and amassed a totaJ. of 45 points to 44 for Central and 28 for East. The star of the meet was Harold "Dutch" PowelJ. who scored 21 points and figured in quite a controversy in the final relay event. An early newspaper account relates that

Powell f eJ.l whiie running and North won, while a later account states that Powell slugged Rogers in this event. Obviously, what one read at that time depended upon which school turned in the story. Bradford was the East star and accounted for 19 of his teams 28 points. ApparentJ.y DeJ.a.ware had a. fine traclc team at this time too as they defeated North 48 to 45 in a dual meet and J.ost to CentraJ. by a single point 47 to 46.

North repeated as city football champions in J.~06 under the coaching of Dr. Welty of Ohio Medical University. "Tink" Waters captained the Polar Bears and Fred P.unter was the star ha.lI'back. The championship game, piayed on November 10 with East at Recreation Parle was won by North lb to u. East was coached by Dunsford of o.s.u. and cap­ tained by Walt McDonald. Central's captain was Redden and the tea..'TI was directed by Mr. Bookman, a. member o!' t..he 30 faculty. At South Professor Kolb took charge in early season and later Dr. Lloyd of Ohio MedicaJ. University was secured as coach.

The Passing of the "Professional" Coach "Doc" Welch, who had coached previously at North, was not asked to take the squad aga1n as the facuJ.ty de­ cided a profess1onal coach would not be desirable and that the coaching shouJ.d be in the hands of an alumnus. This decision was an indication of adm1n1strative thinking that coaching high schooJ. ath..Letics must eventually be the re­ sponsibility of faculty men. It may be interesting to know that an advertisement by the Armbrus~er Company in 1906 advertised football pants for $.50 to ~4.00; football union suits f2.50 to $3.50; football jackets $.50; helmets $.50 to $2.50; footballs $.75 to $3.00; shoes $2.50 to $6.00 and hose $.50 to $.75. The basketball championship for 1906-1907 was settled at the Y.M.C.A. on February 22 when North, led by Don Hamilton defeated Central 29 to 24. Central's Paul Bentley was high point man with a stilJ. respectable 18 points. North continued its championship drive by annexing the baseball championship that spring but lost to Groveport 8 to O to allow Groveport to claim the Central Ohio champion­ ship. Games were played at Driving Park and Recreation Park. 3i:_ A State Championship Comes to Columbus The spring of 1907 was an epic one for North High School. Competing in the Third Annual State Meet at Granville, held under the auspices of Denison University, the Polar Bears, led by McLaughlin, Rogers and Cooke, won the state track championship. Later that spring, the team competed in the National Championships at Chicago and scored 6 points. Their outstanding athlete, Clement Cooke went on to greater stardom as an Olympic competitor. The four major championships won by North during the 1906-1907 school year marked the first time that any school had been able to perform this feat and it was not until 1938-1939 that it was repeated, again by the North Polar Bears.

Faculty Coaches Take Charge In 1907 the schools of the city made a determined bid to supervise the athletic program. At Central, Fred Ha.mm was appointed coach by Principal Townsend to remove the objectionable question of a professional coach. North appointed Harry Swain to coach their team. Both Mr. P.amm and Mr. Swain were members of their respective schools' faculties. East once more secured the professional services of "Doc" \·/el.ch (a non-faculty coach) who had served before as a coach at East. 32 It was in 1907 that the schools made a drive to eliminate fraternities within the schools and the Central team was crippled by the loss of Booth, Minor and Bonnet because of a non-fraternity ruling which forbid fraternity men from competing in athletics. The only veterans who re­ mained after the ruling at Central were Howe and Lemon, who severed their fraternity connections in order to compete. Games this year were played at Recreation Park on Shiller Street in morning and afternoon contests. The championship game was played before 2,000 spec­ tators between North and East and found East winning by a 10 to 5 score. Captain Clem Cooke and Hank Gowdy starred for the North team. Henry made the winning East touchdown on a 55 yard run through the entire North team. The run was described as follows: "On the run he slowed up twice, once to remove his headgear and again to get rid of his noseguard. In spite of these delays, North runners were unable to over­ take him." 10 The basketball season this year was unorganized, Central and South being the only schools playing through a schedule of any kind. Ice hockey remained popular and was engaged in on the Olentangy River. The Y.M.C.A. floor was

10. Ohio State Journal, Sunday November 17, 1907. 33 available for some basketball games in the city. The great need for gymnasiums in the schools became apparent as Principal Everett of North made a plea for the construction of gymnasiums in the schools. With the coming of spring the schools turned again to baseball and track. North, after a rocky start in baee­ ba~l which saw them forfeit a game to South due to low grades on the part of some of their boys, disbanded their team. South won its first city championship by defeating Central in a baseball game at Recreation Park. South won the game 3 to 2 in 17 innings.

The Emergence ofthe Ohio High School Athletic Association The State Track Meet was held at Denison University again in 1908 and for the first time was under the direc­ tion of the Ohio High School Athletic Association. North High Dchool again demonstrated 1 ts traclc superior! ty by winning this meet, the first ever sanctioned and directed by the Association. The 190t3 football season found North regaining the city championship in football by defeating East 36 to 0 and topping Central 33 to o. South played a light schedule and this year marked the opening of West High School, which, however did not have a football team since its enrol~ment consisted of freshmen and sophomores only. 34 Basketball games this year were pLayed on the Barracks floor and the Broad-Oak Rink. South defeated East 33 to 27 for the city championship. West organized a basketball team this year and played the other schools second teams. The 1909 baseball season was an interesting one with Central, East, North and South all having veteran teams and West, under the direction of Otto Magley, fielding their schools first team. Central, despite the loss of Pirsig and Eader, who had pLayed independent ball, won the city championship.

This year marked the introduction of night baseba~l in the professional league on a triaL basis and it was de­ cLared a great success. This first game was between Cincinnati and Newport. During the track season, a move was begun to have the state meet held at o.s.u. but the Ohio High School Ath­ letic Association was not w11~1ng so the Second Annual State Meet was held at Ohio Wesleyan. North finished third in this meet in which Clem Cooke was the individual star. Later at the National Interscholastic Meet, Cooke scored 6 points.

During the 1909 football season North, Centra~ and East were all rather evenly matched. Central defeated North but lost to East while East lost to North, thus clouding any championship claims by any team this year. 35 Mr. Barrett, South High School principal, was at this time very much opposed to interscholastic athJ.etics since he feJ.t that only about 10 per cent took part. En­ rollment figures of the schools at that time in no way supported his CJ.aims, however, since South had an enroll• ment of J.25 in the upper four grades and 77 with the ninth grade excl.uded.

1202 Enrollment North -- upper 4 grades 485; excluding 9th grade 206 East fl fl 411 ti 222 fl "If fl" " Central -- 229 fl II" II ti " 133 11 South -- " J.25 " " 77

There was no J.eague pJ.ay in basketball during 1909- 1910. East joined North in asking for a gymnasium. The Y.M.C.A. was used for an occasional game which was played.

The 1909-1910 b~seball season marked the begin.~ing of a well organized interscholastic city league by the schools. A schedule was set up whereby each team would play everyone three times. Indianola, which had a high school at this time, was not a league member. Central won the city championship with a close l to O victory over East. Wilbur Dyer, the present Linden princi­ pal, was a member ofthe Central team.

11. Annual Report of the Public Schools, 1909, p. 50. 36 The Third Annual O.H.S.A.A. State Track Meet was won this year by Toledo Central. The meet was held at Ohio Field and North finished in second place.

The birth of athletics in the public schools of Columbus was typical of birth in general. The event was marked with excitement and hope and presented many problems and much concern. The infant was lusty and loud, demanding yet beguiling. It soon attached itself firmly to the hearts ofthose around it even if it did evoke much shaking of heads and frowns of disapproval on the part of some of the elders. Its growth was rapid but violent. It began with teams completely student sponsored and managed a.~d pro­ gressed to "professional" non-faculty coaches to finally, faculty coaching.

Ear~y games were often disrupted by spectators swarming over the playing fields. Fights between specta­ tor and spectator, player and player or spectator and player were common. Teams often failed to show up for con­ tests due to misunderstandings over playing sites. Games were often terminated because of violent arguments over officials decisions. Common early practice found scholastic teams (particularly in basketball and baseball) engaging in 37 contests with collegiate and professional teams. Many high school tea.ms were strengthened by the use of alumni or even village "toughs." It was due to many of these circumstances that school administrators genera~ly, at about the turn of the twen­ tieth century. recommended faculty control of athletics. In Columbus in 1901, high school principals met and established an eligibility code which even today, serves as the basis for our athletic regulations. The rapid expansion of inter-city competition brought about a need for uniformity of eligibility standards throughout the state and emphasized the need for a strong regulatory control office with statewide powers. The origin in 1907 of the Ohio High School Athletic Association was a direct result of this need and this organization has cer­ tainly been a vital factor in the great development of our athletic programs on a statewide basis. By the end ofth1s era (1910) the Columbus Public High Schools had established the policy of faculty coaches and control over the athletic program and were beginning to feel a real need for their own playing facilities, a factor which was to shape the policies ofthe entire program for the next fifteen years. CHAPTER III

ATHLETICS UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF THE CITY DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC RECREATION

History of Recreation in Colwnbus The history of recreation in Columbus dates back to a period prior to 1908, when, through the efforts of the Parks Department, playgrounds were maintained in Glenwood, Gooda.Le, Livingston and Schiller Parke. In 1908 a group of Columbus club women sponsored a "Tag Day" to raise money :ror playgrounds. They established the "Committee on Cooperation" and eventually impressed upon the City Council the importance of establishing a City Recreation Department. On Ju.Ly 11, 1910 the Recreation Department was es- tab.Lished which created the position of a paid Secretary of Recreation and appointed a commission of seven to serve without compensation. Although money was appropriated for the Secretary of Recreation, it was not until January 1911 that an additional ~9,000 was approprie.ted.12

12. Recreation Program, Summer 1953, Columbus Recreation Department Bulletin. 39 Reasons for Recreation Department Control of Interscholas­ tic Athletics The complete control and supervision of the inter- scholastic athletic program in the ColU!~bus Public Schools became a function of the Recreation Department at its founding and continued for ten years. The Board or Education had in its employ at this time Anton Leibold, who served as Speciai Instructor in

Physica~ Cul.ture in the city school system. lvir. Leibold, who held this off ice from ~d92 until June or 1919 had no connection with interschoiastic athletics, however, and apparentiy desired none. It was, therefore, natural that some outside agency, equipped with piay facll1t1es and trained personnel, assume responsibility for the program. It was also a result of the persisting notion on the part of school administrators that competitive athletics were not the concern of educa- tional institutions. The Recreation Department, in addi- tion to being equipped for the supervision and management of athletics, a~so specialized somewhat in small group competition and purely recreational activities.

Athletics During this Period During the 1910 football season, games were played at Recreation Park, Indianola Park and Ohio Field. North beat East in a ga.rne which decided the city 40 championship. St. Patricks, a non-league team, challenged North's right to the city title claim, but these teams did not play each other. The other teams competing in football were south, and for the first time, West. Central was forced to drop football as the school was changed to a commercial high school and suffered a great enrollment loss as well as a loss of many potential athletes due to after-school jobs. It was on Thanksgiving of this year that North, with an eye to the future, staged a carnival and raised over $1,000 to help buy an athletic field. ¥..r. Everett, North's principal, expressed great pride in this athletic "first." City basketball league games were played on Saturday afternoons on the City Hall floor. New York High School league rules, which specified that a fou~ automatically cost the offending team one point, prevailed for all games. The squads were limited to ten men and each boy was re­ quired to have a physicians certificate to participate. North did not play in the league during this first year under Recreation Department supervision but chose to play an independent schedule. Commerce, formerly Central, won the basketball championship with seven victories and one loss (that being to St. Patricks). The league standings for the 1910-1911 season finished in this order: 41 Central won 7 lost l East It 5 II 3 st. Patric ks II 3 II 5 South II 3 If 5 West " 2 " 6

The 1911 baseball season found games being played at Indianola Park, Recreation Park, Youngs Westerns Field, the Driving Park and at St. Patricks diamond. The competing schools included Commerce, Clinton, West, North, St. Patricks, South and East. The regular season finished in a three-way tie between Commerce, East and St. Patricks. In the playoffs, East was defeated by Commerce and st. Patricks; and in the championship game, played at Driving Park, Commerce defeated St. Patricks l.L to 5. The 1911 track season was a memorable one for the strong North squad, which captured the fourth annual O.H.S.A.A. State Meet at Ohio State University. During these early years there was on.Ly a limited representation from over the state as North amassed 50 points to 23 for the runner-up Doane Academy. Other competing teams in­ cluded Washington C.H., Dayton Steele, Barnesville, Hillsboro, Kingston, Ashville and Clintonville. During the 1911-1912 season football was played at Indianola Park, the Ft. Hayes Barracks, Franklin Park, and Young's Westerns. North and East played to a scoreless tie to share the championship. Commerce, after playing several 42 games, gave up football and West did not field a team. The basketball season was hotly contested and ended in a tie between Commerce and st. Patricks. It was first decided to have a four-game playoff but finally one game was agreed upon. Two-thousand spectators fiiled the City Hall gymnasium for the showdown contest which was won by Commerce by a 10 to 6 score.

The First School-Owned Athletic Field

On February 1, 1912, North High School bought its own athletic field at King Avenue and Tisdale Streets. This spacious area included space for two football fields, three baseball diamonds, a quarter mile track. Bleachers were planned for erection along King Avenue. It was during the 1912 season that the numbering of jerseys was introduced for college basketball players. On Tuesday, March 5 a meeting was held in Director Wambold's office in which a seven-team league was establish­ ed. The schools included were Commerce, East, South, North, st. Patricks, Clinton and West. The Deaf and Dumb School applied for admission but was not admitted. Commerce repeated as city baseball champions with a 9 to 6 victory over South. North captured second place in the State track meet and entered the Princeton alumni meet in Cleveland and f in1shed fourth. Allen Rankin of North won the discus 43 throw with a toss of 111 feet, 3-1/2 inches, a new record. The 1912 football season was rather disorganized as West began the season without a team but later organized under Lea Leahy. St. Patricks changed its name to Aquinas and entered the football league for the first time and a one-hundred and twenty-five pound sophomore named Chic Harley played his first game for East. South and East shared the championship but they did not play each other during the season. In the North--East game, won by East 20 to 3, Harley scored two touchdowns. North was struck by misfortune as the f !ooding Olentangy River caused $800 damage to their footba!l field. Undaunted, their followers staged a Thanksgiving carnival and raised $725 to repair the damage. Basketba!! games were again p!ayed on Saturday afternoon at the City Ha!l. Director Wambold of the City Recreation Department was in charge of the !eague. The championship was won for the third straight year by Commerce. There were severa! disputes during the basketbai! season. Coach Edwards of North protested the use of Ruh by Commerce as he had p!ayed the first four games with south. Aquinas defeateu Commerce 13 to 12 for the champion's only loss. Qommerce defeated North 31 to 19 in the final 44 game. This game was marked by a dispute as referee Sanders ruled that four players on each team must remain at the four corners of the floor during the "batoff ." Coach Edwards removed his team in protest and after an argument lasting six minutes, the dispute was settled by allowing players to run to any point on the floor while the ball was being tossed up. Aquinas' Bringardner equalled the field goal scoring record in one game by netting nine baskets in the South game. East captured the city baseball championship and North finished second in the state track meet and East finished third. North had its own baseball field and track in the spring of 1913.

Growth of Spectator Interest The 1913-1914 school year opened with East capturing the city football championship with a 47 to O victory over North. Sixty-five hundred spectators watched the rout and were thrilled by the outstanding play of Chio Harley. Earlier in the season there was some question raised con­ cerning Chic's eligibility as his parents lived in Chicago. Schedule difficulties prevented South and Aquinas from meeting during this season. 45 Interest ran high during the basketball season which found East defeating North 13 to 12 in a game played at City Hali before 3,000 spectators. The city building in• spector, alarmed by such an overflow, barred any large crowds from the City Hall floor in the future. This loss was protested by North as the one point loss was a result of a !'oul being called on them for having six men on the floor. The Games Committee ruled that the game be replayed and in protest East withdrew from the basketball league. As a result, East, which had originally won the champion­ ship, was declared co-champion with Aquinas, who entered the state meet at Delaware and lost to Marietta, the state champions.

Dissatisfaction over Recreation Department Control In talking with players and coaches of this era it was rather generally agreed that the Recreation Department's handling of the basketball league left a great deal to be desired.

North1 s new basebal~ field was dedicated in 1914 and the first contest played on a Columbus high school field was on Friday, May 1 in which North defeated East by a 5 to 2 score. The end of the season found North and West dead­ locked with a 9 won, one lost record and 1t was agreed that a three-game playoff be arranged to decide the championship •. 46 North won the opening game 13 to 6 and took the second game 21 to 2 to capture the championship·. East captured the 1914 state track championship held on Ohio field by scoring 50 points to runner-up Toledo Scott's twenty-three points. North was third with nineteen points. It is interesting to note that the pole vault was won at 11 feet, 7-1/8 inches by Ashville' a Mike Hagely who was later to become North's great football coach. In the Big Six College meet the pole vault champion­ ship was won at 11 feet, 8-1/2 inches by o.s.u.'s Guy Kesler who, of course, was to establish a great track dynas­ ty at Central. North became the 1914 City League football champions by defeating East by a score of 14 to O in a game piayed on Ohio Field. The game marked the end of Chic Harley's high school football career. It was also the first year that Aquinas played every team in the league. North's powerful squad showed particularly well in non-league games, defeating Dayton Stivers 27 to 12, Lancaster 2 to o, Newark 4i to o, Springfield 35 to O, Crafton, P. 37 to O and Toledo Scott 28 to o. Thefifth annual league race in baslrntball was held on Saturday afternoons at the East State Street coliseum. Admission was 10 cents a seat and standing room was free. 47 East remained out of the basketball league race in protest to the manner 1n which Director Wambold conducted the league. South swept through the double round robin schedule with eight straight victories. Captain Carl Smith (the present Star~1ng Junior High coach) of South was presented the Keith Trophy on the stage of Keitha Theatre. "The bashful captain was roundly cheered as he left the stage."13 Other members of South's championship team included Carl W1rthwe1n (at present a member of the o.s.u. athletic department), Art Isaly, William Jaeger and Lawrence Roddy, a fine baseball pitcher. East captured the baseball championship in 1915 with ten straight victories over South, West, North, Aquinas and Commerce. A city track meet was arranged by Mr. St. John and Frank Castleman of Ohio State in which East, South, North, West and Commerce competed and which was won by North. The meet was held on Ohio Field and the outstanding per­ former was Chic Harley, who won the 100 yard dash in 10.4 seconds, the 220 yard dash in 22.8 seconds, the broad jump at 20 feet and anchored the miie relay on a heavy track.

13. The Coiumbus Dispatch, March 10, 1915. 48 The 1915 football season was the finest in the history of the city league. West won the championship in a hotly contested race. East beat South in the first cross-country meet ever held in the city league.

West a~so captured the basketba~l championship this year and met an all-star team selected from the other city league teams. The receipts of the game, won by the a~l­ stars 31 to 23, went to finance the baseball program.

Basketball games in lY~6 were played at the East State Street coliseum. The ell-stars were coached by Joe Kennan of Aquinas and included Sites and Hellenthal of Aquinas, Sugar and Emerson Davis of Commerce, L. Davis, Smith and Heisler of

East, Christy 01· Clinton, Robinson of South and Dudley and Smith of North •.

Ine~igibility again played an important part during the 1916 baseball season when it was learned that Cassidy of Aquinas had played with an outside team and as a consequence the Aquinas victory over Commerce was reversed by the princi­ pals. Commerce, thus elevated to first p~ace, asked that no champion be declared and the high school principals agreed to this request. North captured the city track meet in 1916 in which BoeitKer of South was the outstanding star, winning the 100 49 and 220 yard dashes. The South sprinter finished second in these sprints in the Ninth Annual State meet held on Ohio Field later in this year. During the 1915-1916 school year, there were seven public citv high schools enga.p;ed in athletics. Below are listed the schools and their enrollments:

North 1,003 Upper 3 grades East 907 tt tt " Commerce 724 tt II II South 538 II II 11 West 467 II II II Clinton 317 Upper 4 ~r~des Milo 112 " II 14

The fall of 1916 found South finishinp; on top in the city hi~h school football race. John Weidner, South's right halfback, won several important games this year for the Bulldo~s with field goals. A thirtv va~d kick won over

North by 3 to 0 and the championship ~ame with West was won by the same score as a result of a 27 vard boot. Commerce, under the coaching of Stan Warman, resumed football and played Aquinas, Newark and Groveport.

First League Meeting Held On Wednesday. December 20, the city football offici­ als and coaches met at the Athletic Club for the purpose of establishing the 1917 football schedule. The meeting, under

14. Superintendents Annual Report, 1916, p. 65. 50 the leadership of East's Palmer Cordray, marked the first official gatheriru>:: in league history for this purpose.

North Hi~h School, represented by Oares, Sheard, Dudley, Terrell and Churches, won the basketball cha.mp1on­ shin. Ga.mes were played at the East State Street Coliseum and at the Glenwood floor on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Triple headers were held on Saturdays be~inn1ng at 2:00 p.m. North also captured the city baseball chamn1onsh1p behind their superb pitcher Louis Dudley who was credited with three no-hit ~a.mes during the season. He was also an outfielder and a fine hitter. The high schools competing this year included North, East, South, West, Commerce, Aquinas, and for the first time, Trades. The annual city meet was held May 11 on Ohio Field and was won by North who also finished second in the state meet. Ian Seeds of East was the outstanding miler in the city in 1917.

Effect of the War The First World War diverted interest from the 1917 football season. The city schools, which formerly were dismissed at 1:30 p.m., went to a 3:00 p.m. dismissal time. 51 The big and powerful North squad, which had defeated Aquinas 75 to 0 and had swamped Commerce 100 to 0 for the largest score ever made in a city league game, was heavily favored to win the championship. The deciding game was played on Ohio Field on November 3, and before 3,500 spectators, an underdog East teamupset the Polar Bears by a score of 13 to 3.

All Star Football Gam.J! It was this vear that it was decided to stage a post-season game between a leap::ue all-star game and the champion East team. The game was played on December 1 at Ohio Field with the receipts being divided among the com­ peting schools. Art Keifer, the North coach, was in charge of the all-stars which won 7 to 0 on a forward pass from Haines of West to Geer of North. Sheard of North kicked the extra point. The basketball race began at Memorial Hall under the direction of Grant Ward, who was in charge of athletics for the Recreation Department. A lack of fuel at Memorial Hall forced the schools to move to the Schiller Park shelter house for the rest of the season. The athletic program was seriously curtailed in the winter of 1918 as many boys were working after school. The high school players were numbered for the first time in 1918 and another change saw the abandonment of the 52 automatic foul rule and made it necessary for a team to shoot for their fouls. North won the basketball champion­ ship in this rather hectic year. Baseball season found the league embroiled in another bitter eligibility tanp:le. Commerce, with Heine Mead pitching 13 strikeouts, eliminated the front running East team. Later it was discovered that Mead had played with the Wilson Athletic Club team at Lancaster. This forced Commerce to forfeit all games in which Mead had participated. West finally prevailed and was declared baseball champions. The state track meet was held Saturday, May 19 on Ohio Field in conjunction with the Big Six College Meet which was the usual practice at that time. East captured SP,cond place in the state meet behind Toledo Scott, the champions. On Friday, May 31, North scored a big upset in the City Track Meet at Ohio Field by defeating East. North totaled 64t points to East's 55~. Commerce followed with

3~t, south with 20, West with 10 and Aauinas finished with 3t. The 1918 football season was touched by tragedy when Allan Miller of West suffered a broken neck in the East game and died several days later. 53 Many games were postponed this year due to the inf'luenza epidemic and the West-North game was not played due to Miller's death. North, which won the championship, played and defeated Cleveland West Tech as a benefit game for the Miller fai~ily. Games were played on the North field and at Ohio Field on Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings. Captain Geer of North was considered by many observers to be the finest player in the league since Harley. The basketball league games were held at the Goodale Street Armory. No long shots were possible due to the low girders in the building. Joe Carr was the head of the Recreation Department in 1919. Triple headers were held every Saturday after­ noon. Because of the difficulty in securing playing sites for ~ames in the past few years, a great deal of interest was lost in basketball on the part of spectators. Mr. Swain of North and Mr. Hamm were appointed to look for suitable plPying sites. It was this year that the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Columbus was organized with the faculty managers in charge for the purpose of scheduling ~ames. West won the 1919 basketball championship with twelve straight victories. Commerce and Aquinas engaged in 54 t,tn unusual game won by Commerce 35 to 2. Aquinas failed to score a single field ~oal during the entire game.

All_Ste.r Basketball Ga.me On Saturday, March 15 the All-Stars defeated West 27 to 10 at the Goodale Street Armory. In a co-feature ~ame the coaches defeated the officials by 13 to 9. Commerce sweot through the baseball season undefeated to win the championship. Heine Mead sparkled for the champions as he tossed a no-hitter against East and struck out 17 men in the North p:ame in addition to hitting a double, triple and a homer. North swamped its competition in the city track meet at Ohio Field by totaling 79! points to East's 27t. South, Commerce and West also competed in the city meet. Ohio Field received heavy play in 1919 as three games were played there each weekend it was available. One game was played on Friday afternoons and one on Saturday morning and another on Saturday afternoon. Games were also played at Neil Park and Indianola Park. Coaches were paid $75 for their services this year.

The East-West championship ~ame, ori~inally schedul­ ed for Thanksgiving, was postponed until the following Saturday on Ohio Field. A heavy rain forced postponement a.Rain until the following Tuesday. West triumphed in this decisive game by a 13 to 7 score, the winning touchdown 55 resultinp; from a blocked ptmt. "Kurty" Kurtzholtz, West's star back. was compared to Chic Harley for his outstanding play.

Basketball ga~es were ulayed in the High-Seventh Avenue Armory in 1920 and West, with a veteran team, cap­ tured the championship. An all-star league team, selected by Charley Seddon of the Recreation Department and coached by Mr. Pfeiffer of Central was defeated by West 13 to 11 in the Armory on March 3. The admission price was twenty-five cents and game receipts were retained by the Recreation Department. Mr. Raymond of the Recreation Department presented a silver loving cup, donated by R. C. Bates, the East Gay Street shoe merchant, to the champion West squad.

An interesting item appeared in the newspaner at this time in the form of a story about Marietta College installing plate glass bankboards in their gymnasium-­ certainly an early forerunner of the modern practice. North won the baseball championship this year with a 9 won, l lost league record. Games were played on North's field, the Driving Park and Franklin Park where Harris, East's right fielder, blasted one of the longest home runs ever seen in the park. The ball cleared the trees in left center field and dropped into Alum Creek. 56 It was during the track season of 1920 that the school board finally assumed control of the athletic pro­ gram. The newly appointed superintendent of Physical

Education, B. E. Wi~gins, took charge of the city meet held at Ohio Field. North won the city track championship with 68t points. East, South, Commerce and Aquinas also competed. Saults of South won the state javelin championship with a throw of 153 feet.

SUMMARY

Looking back over a decade of Recreation Department control, we see a period filled with many problems. The First World War unquestionably exerted a tre­ mendous influence over this period. Many boys sought and obtained after-school employment. Others joined the armed services. Fuel shortages were felt and influenced basket­ ball league play. Schools abandoned a 1:30 p.m. closing time in the afternoons in favor of 3:00 p.m., thus ex­ tending the coaches and athletes practice day. The ad­ ministration, aware that the longer school day added greatly to the time coaches spent at their duties, es­ tablished an extra salary schedule for coaches. Football coaches received $75 per season while basketball, baseball and track coaches received $50. Strangely enough, this 57 practice was later abandoned and at the present time Columbus 1s almost unique in its policy of refusing to reimburse financially their coaches. This period was illuminated by the presence of the immortal "Chic" Harley, who was destined to become one of Ohio State's most illustrious athletes. The problems in the athletic program in the city schools, operating under Recreation Department control (a non-school agency), became progressively worse as game protests and rules interpretations were settled by offici­ als of the Recreation Department. Money-raising ventures, such as the selection of all-star teams in football and basketball to oppose city championship teams were instituted during this time. The latter part of this period marked the institu­ tion of lea.p;ue meetings for the purpose of working together to establish schedules, a tremendously important step in the development of orderly league play.

In studyin~ the history of this decade, one becomes acutely awe.re that the impact of these few years was possi­ bly the moRt important of any period in the lo~ historv of Columbus interscholastic athletics. This was the period of "growing up" in its evolution, culminating with Board of Education control for the entire interscholastic sports program. 58 CHAPI'ER IV

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ATHIET IC PROGRAiv! UNDE.R THE SUFERVIEiION OF B. E. WIGGINS, DIRECTOR OF HEALTH AND PHYS IC.A.L EDUC AT I CN OF THE COLUllwUS PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Reasons for the Ch~~n su,ervision At the beginning of the 1919 school year the Board or Education appointed B. E. Wiggins to the post of Director of Health and Physical Education tor the Columbus Public Schools. For many years there had existed in the minds of many school administrators, conflicting ideas concerning the rapidly expanding ath.1.etic programs in the secondary schoo~s of Columbus. Some of the administrators, especi- ally early in the twentieth century, had opposed inter­ scholastic athletics as being too selective, others had assumed an attitude of tolerance, while others were whole­ heartedly in favor of the program and were anxious to see full control for it assumed by school authorities. Prior to 1920, athletic competition by public school pupils (in league play in basketball and baseball) was under the jurisdiction of the City Recreation Department. School authorities had, for some time, however, real- 1zed that they shou.ld be responsible to the public for the athletic program of children in the schools. As a result of this notion, in 1920 an agreement was reached between the 59 School Board and the City Department of Recreation whereby the former should assume as soon as possible full responsi­ bility for all orsanized interscholastic athletics and the latter should devote its attention to providing for adults. The 1920-1921 JWlior and senior high school basketball and baseball leagues were conducted by the school physical edu­ cation department through the facilities of the City Recre­ ation Department.15

School Board Control Begins Actual.ly, School Board control began in the spring of 1920 when Mr. Wiggins assumed management of the City Track Meet. The meet was held, as usual, on Ohio Field with North, East, South, Commerce and Aquinas competing. North captured this First Annual City Meet by scoring 68f points to runner-up East's 58 point totai. The 1920 football season foWld North, East, South, West, Commerce, Aquinas and Trades being represented by teams. This year marked the first football team ever fielded by Trades and it was coached by Harold Plott. Commerce also re-entered competition following a year of in­ activity 1n this sport. Games were played at Indianola Park and on Ohio Field on Saturday mornings.

15. Report of the Public Schools, 1918-1923, p. 111. 60 The Columbus Dispatch held a football rules meeting for coaches and players at which time L. w. st. John of Ohio State interpreted the rules. The city championship was won by North through a 7 to O victory over East. The city basketball league, for the first time under the school board's supervision, proved to be a fine race. Eight teams (Aquinas, Commerce, Columbus Academy, East, North, South, Trades and West) were represented. League games were played at the Y.M.C.A. and at Columbus Academy on Saturday afternoons. At the end of the regular season North and West were tied for the championship, each with six wins and one loss. The championship game was played at the Ohio State Armory gymnasium. The admission price was twenty-five cents and the spectators saw West win the city title from North with a 23 to 16 victory. Bill Krause led the "Cowboys" in this playoff game. The baseba.J.l league race, a.Leo under board of educa­ tion management for the first time, was won by North in a playoff game against East, the only team to defeat the champions in the regular season. The same eight teams that made up the basketball league race competed for the baseball championship. Some of the available fields included the West Side A. C. Field, the Driving Park and the Eleventh Avenue field. 61 The city track meet was held on Ohio Field Saturday, June 4. East emerged as champions, scoring 6lt points followed by North with 46i, South 44, Commerce l2i, Aquinas 11, Trades 7 and West 4t. The 1921 football season found the same eight teams in competition. Commerce, however, withdrew from league play because of lack of interest after playing two games. Aquinas was coached by Mike Boland, a student at Ohio State. North repeated as city football champions in a year marked by mediocrity or aJ.l. of the loca~ teams. Even North was humbled by Dayton Stee~e 31 to O and by Doane Academy 20 to 12. East was trampled by Toledo Scott 45 to o, London defeated Commerce 27 to 6, Lancaster beat South 7 to O and Athens swamped Aquinas 31 to 6.

The 1921-22 basketball season witnessed ~eague p~ay at the Fairgrounds Coliseum with North replacing West as city champions.

The baseba~~ season was a memorab~e one, particular­ ly in the season's big windup which found South and Aquinas dead~ocked for the championship. The deciding game was scheduled to be played at

Sunshine Park and tickets went on sale at the schoo~s.

Adu~t admissions were fifty cents and student tickets were twenty-five cents. The big game was witnessed by 3,500 spectators (2500

in the grandstand) which was the ~argest crowd ever to 62 attend a baseball game 1n Co:Lumbus. The game was halted due to rain at the end of the eighth inning with the score tied at four runs each.

The fina.L game, heid one week ~ater, was umpired by Rodney Ross. With Jim Ryan on the mound for Aquinas, the Green and Gold won their first city championship with a ll to 2 victory over South. The 1922 track season was a successful one. The

State Meet was held in conjunction w~th the Big Six Meet on Ohio Fieid. South finished sixth in a field of over fifty teams. Two South boys established state records this year; Sauls broke his old javelin record of 153 feet with a throw of 160 feet, 3 inches. Parks set a new discus record with a toss of 116 feet, lt inches. South, aided by having track facilities at their school, developed many fine performers. Such men as Sauls and ~arks, Hoyt, Grady, Shusterman, Grimm, Morrison and Henderson combined their efforts to bring the Bulldogs their first city track championship. South totaled 61 points to win followed by East with 47. Aquinas, also enjoying the benefits of their own track, was third with 38i. Commerce followed with 32. North with 17, Trades with 9i and West with one point completed the scoring. Parks, the "Bulldog's" state champion discus thrower, established a new city and Ohio record with a throw of 123 feet, 7 inches. 63 Disorganized Football League Play The 1922 football season saw no champion recognized since a very limited city league schedule was played. Aquinas was scheduled only by West this year. Kenny Erk was appointed the Trades coach. Games were played at Neil Park, Driving Park and Ohio Field. A rather unusual play occurred this year when Joseph of East, in a game on Ohio Field, in attempting to punt against a strong wind, was horrified to see the ball soar back over his head and tall ten yards behind him. The city league teams fared poorly again this year against out of the city teams. North lost to Lakewood 32 to 13 and to Groveport i3 to 7. Commerce was trounced by Academy 32 to 0 and by Westervilie 25 to 7. Granville Whipped Trades 19 to 0 and East was tied by London 7 to 7. Only Aquinas held up well and beat Marietta 32 to 12. In an effort to improve high school coaching this year, the Ohio State coaches set up an Ohio State Athletic Service Bureau and made up a set of cards with information on the coaching of various sports for the use of the high school coaches. High school enrollments for the city league schools in 1922 were as follows: (3 year schools) 64 North - 1748 boys and girls south 1046 II ft " East - 1010 II II II Commerce - 877 " " " West 858 II II rt Trades 271 boys only 16

Basketball league play, again held at the Fairgrounds Coliseum, found Herb Bash's South team emerge as city cham­ pions. East finished in the runner-up spot with a loss only to South. West scored a surprise upset over South to win the district championship. The All-High basketball team for the 1922-23 year in­ cluded the following boys:

F - Stewart (West) F - c. Myers (South) C - Joseph (East) G - Blanchard (North) G - Young (South) 17

Aquinas repeated as city baseball champions in 1923 and East discovered a great pitcher in Forrest Whittaker who was to become one of their finest athletes. South successfully defended their city track crown on Ohio Field by piling up 66 points to runner-up East's

16. Report o~ the Public Schools, 1918-1923, p. 65. 17. The Columbus Dispatch, March 17, 1923. 65 55i. Aquinas, Commerce, North, Trades and West also competed. Kenny Erk, Trades' football coach, was also appoint­ ed as athletic director, basketball, baseball and track coach and retained the position until the Trade School merged with Central in 1920.

The Harley Football Trophy The 1923 city football league race, still flounder­ ing along with no league organization and incomplete scheduling, found North, South, East, West, Commerce and Trades competing for the new Harley Football Trophy which was to be presented annually to the city football champion. The trophy was conceived by the Boost Ohio Committee of the Ohio State University. The beautiful trophy, stiil in existence, is thirty-six inches high, excluding the pedestal. The figure, "Le Triomphe," was imported from France. Local games in 1923 were played on the West Side A. c. Field, Ohio Field, Neil Park, Driving Park and at Ohio Stadium. Columbus teams suffered some humiliating defeats in out of city competition. West was annihilated by Toledo Waite 115 to o. Waite, incidently, lost a 14 to 13 de­ cision to Toledo Scott, which was recognized as national champions in 1923. Aquinas was defeated 48 to O by 66 Massilon and Portsmouth whipped Trades 58 to o. North re­ deemed the city's pride somewhat by edging Portsmouth 3 to o. Although all teams did not play each other in the city this year, North was recognized city champion by de­ feating a greatly outweighed East team 26 to 14. The game, played in the new Ohio Stadium, attracted a record 8,ooo spectators. East, runner-up to South in the 1923 basketbail league race, won the 1924 title. Forrest Whittaker, East's great center, was select­ ed on the All-American High School team at the Chicago tournament. East a.Lso won the district championship. West became the 1924 city baseball champions. A rather unusual situation arose near the end or the base­ bail season this year. Rodney Ross, the West coach, accepted a position as an umpire in the Mid-West Pro­ tessionai Basebaii League and found it necessary to leave the city before the end of the high school season. On Wednesday, June 11, Mike Hagely, the North coach, was ap­ pointed to coach the West team for its remaining two games. Mr. Ross, however, was able to return to direct his team in a June 13 game. Sunshine Park was the scene of many games this year as was the Coiumbus Academy field, since that school was still a member of the City League. 67 The 1924 All-City baseball. team included the fol.l.owing:

CF - McLaughlin (North) Capt. RF - Whittaker (East) LF - Albanese (Aquinas) lB - Hauck (Commerce) 2B - Mitchell (North) 3B - Riehl. (South) SS - Stewart (West) C - Zorn (Aquinas) P - Saunders (North} 18

South, for the third straight year, ruled over the city track teams. They annexed the District crown in De.Laware but two weeks later, in the State Meet at Col.umbus, failed to live up to expectations as their star sprinter, Roger Grimm, was forced out of action because of in:fluenza. EarJ.1er in the year, at the Michigan Track Games, Grimm had tied the existing national interschoiastic record

in the 200 yard dash with a time 01· 2J..4 seconds. He also won the loo yard dash in this meet. ReigeJ., a team mate,

f 1nished third in the 440 yard dash at Michigan. The "BuJ.ldogs" won the City Meet at Ohio Stadium in 1924. North, Commerce, Aquinas, East, Trades and West aJ.so competed. Reige.1. was high point man with i2 points, taking first 1n the 440, second in the low hurdles and third in the 220. Grimm posted a 9.9 seconds luu yard dash ror a city record and won the 220 yard dash in 2i.9 seconds •

.us. The Coiumbus Dispatch, June lo, .L924 68 South won the 1924 city football championship with a 10 to 0 vlctory over East in a Friday afternoon game at Neil Park. North managed a 3 to 0 Thanksgiving Day triumph over the new champions by virtue of a 20 yard place kick by John Nesser in a game played at Ohio Stadium.

New Gymnasiums South captured its second major championship this year in basketball due to a 24 to 21 playoff victory over East on the Fairgrounds Coliseum floor. League games were played this year in the schools' own new gymnasiums. At the end of the regular season, South and East were deadlocked, each with 10 victories and 2 defeats. Central, West, North, Aquinas and Trades finished behind them in that order. Centrals Bob Tittle was the high scorer in the league with 125 points for the twelve games, a 10.5 point average. North staged a big upset in the district tourna­ ment by def eating South. The baseball league race marked the third major championship for the South Bulldogs as they defeated the Polar Beare of North 7 to 1 at Sunshine Park. It was during the 1924-25 season, however, that South's three year domination of track in the city was ended. North began it by winning the district meet at Ohio Wesleyan University 69 with 53-i points. East finished second with 271 and Central third With 23. The Eighteenth Annual Ohio Interscholastic Tra.ck and Field championships were held at the Ohio Stadium on May 22- 23 with George Trautman in charge. Reigel of South won the 880 in the state meet this year. The following week, in the annual city meet at the Ohio Stadium, East pulled a major upset to whip North 6li to 58. Central finished third with 36f, followed by South, Aquinas and Trades. Harry Reigel was again high point man and set two city records, running the 400 yard dash in 51.9 seconds and the 880 yard run in 2 minutes and 6 seconds. The 1925 footba.Ll season was an unusual one. Games were played at the West Side A. a. lot, Neil Park and Ohio Stadium. Aquinas again became a competing member of the league and Trades dropped out. The Little Brown Jug Trophy, signifying East-North football rivalry, made its debut and was won by East through a 13 to 6 victory over North. The finish of the season found North, East, South and Aquinas deadlocked for the championship, each possessing three wins and two losses. West won two, lost two and tied one and Central. lost four and tied 1. Nearly every game this year was close and this naturally led to a fine league race.

An ineligibility dispute arose during the season when it was claimed that Radebaugh, the Aquinas end, should be 70 ru1ed ineligible since he lived in the Grandview district. H. R. Townsend, the State Commissioner, finally ruled that Radebaugh should be declared ineligible but that all games should stand as played. South almost missed the championship picture due to rain postponing the regu1arly scheduled Central-South game. It was finally played on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving and South won by a 20 to O score to assure them of the four­ way tie for the championship. The basketball championship was contested among North, Central, South, West, Aquinas, Trades and East and as the year before games were played on the home floors. Some games were held in the afternoon as weil as night. The Polar Bears of North won the title with twelve straight victories followed by Central. The 1925-26 All-High basketball team was presented in the Sunday, February 28 Dispatch. The following team was selected by the sports writer, Irven Scheibeck and illustrat­ ed by Milton Caniff who went on to beoome the nationally famous originator of "Terry and the Pirates" and "Steve Canyon" comic strips. F - Evans (North) G - Dyer (North) F - Florio (West) G - Hinchman (North) 19 C - Stock (Central)

19. The Columbus Dispatch, February 28, 1926. 71 East won the district championship this year with a 22 to 16 victory over West. North replaced South as baseball champions in 1926 by def eating East 22 to 2 and South 10 to 7 in the final two games.

National Track Championship Competition The East track team competed in the National Scho­ lastic Meet in Chicago in 1926 and George Simpson matched the world's scholastic 100 yard dash record with a time ot 9.8 seconds. He also won the 220 yard dash in 21.8 seconds. The East 880 yard relay team also won that event. The Tigers, in spite of having only five boys entered, finished second in the meet to Ft. Collins, Coiorado. Central came within an ace ot pulling a tremendous upset in the city meet when they finished only one point behind East. North, South, Trades and Aquinas also competed. Simpson, who later went on to Oiympic stardom as an Ohio State athlete, won the 100 and 220 yard dashes. The 1926-27 school year (in which Trades merged with Central) was marked by one of the most bitter eligibility battles ever to be experienced in the Columbus Public Schools. The football season passed uneventfully with North capturing the city championship with a 6 to O victory over 72 East. Centrai upset South to knock them out of a chance to tie North for the championship. South and North played to a scoreless tie this year but the uBulldogs" were also tied by winless Aquinas to dim their championship aspirations. Central's only 1926 league loss was by a 9 too score to North in a rainy dedication game played on the Pirates new gridiron.

Eligibility Disputes It was at the end of the basketball league race that the storm broke. Sweeny Parrill and Dud Stock of Central were ruled to have been ineligible tor football and basket­ ball when it was discovered that they had been in high school in excess ot six semesters. Due to faulty record transcriptions the error was not discovered until too late. North next felt the heavy hand of ineligibility when it was discoveredthat Lou Peppe and Haroid Westervelt had played three basketba~l games beyond the end of their February eligibility. Finally, Elmer Wood of West was found to have played some independent basketball during the year. Central was forced to forfeit all of their football games which gave South an undefeated league season along with North. Also, all three schools (Central, North and West) were forced to forfeit all basketball games in which 73 ineligible boys were used. The schools, although absolved of blame for any de­ liberate intention of violating the O.H.S.A.A. rules, were placed on one year's probation. The basketball race, after the ineligibility tangle, finished as follows: Won Lost South 9 ,-- East 6 4 North 5 5 Central 4 6 Aquinas 4 6 West 2 8 20

Bob Tittle of Central was the city's outstanding basketball player and scored 84 points in 9 games to win the scoring championship and the captaincy of the All-City team. The 1926-1927 All-City Team

F - Tittle (Capt) C F - Kn1pf er A C - Donner S G - Hauser N G - Lindenberg E 21

South proved their championship calibre by winning the District championship in the final game with Marion Harding.

20. The Columbus Dispatch, Mar. 1, 1927. 21. Ibid, Mar. 10, 1927. 74 The Johnny Minor Trophy The Johnny Minor Trophy was presented to the State Champion team in basketball this year (1927) for the first time. This trophy was in honor of the former Columbus East and great Ohio State player. During 1927 the baseball league games were played on the schools own fields and at Sunshine Park. Central, in winning the baseball trophy, marked up their first major championship since 1919. The 1927 track season was a banner one for Columbus athletics in general and Guy Kesler's Central track team in particular. The "Pirates," tuning up with a champion­ ship in the Carnegie Tech Relays, were established as the favorites to annex the District championship. Running true to form, Central finished on top in the meet at Delaware. Herb Moxley of Central won three firsts, running the 100 yard dash in 10.6 seconds, the 220 yard dash in 23.9 seconds and the 440 yard dash in 52.4 seconds. Two weeks later the mighty "Pirates" won the State Meet by outscoring second place Lakewood by 10 points. Moxley's time of 50.4 seconds in the 440 yard dash set a new state record. Brown in the 880 yard run and Tittle in the broad jump were the other first place winners for Central. Jack Keller, a rising star at East, showed up

very wel~ by placing second in both hurdles. 75 A week later Central completed its sweep at Ohio Stadium by annexing the City Meet. The Pirates scored 82i points to East's 61!. North followed with 37, South scored 28 and Aquinas managed 2 points. The powerful. Central squad scored in every event. Moxley repeated his 50.4 seconds 440 yard dash time, Keller ran a 16.2 seconds high hurd.Le time and a 26.6 seconds low hurdies, Evans of East high Jumped 5 feet Bi inches and Cantral's mile relay team posted a 3 minutes, 34.3 seconds time, all of these performances being new records. The 1927 football season saw an important rules change as the goal posts were moved from the goal line to the end zone line in an effort to minimize collision injuries.

Etf orts for Night Football North, with an eye to the future, tried to arrange for a night game on her field but their plans to install lights failed to materialize this year. The Polar Bears swept through their league schedule undefeated and in non-league games whipped Mansfield and Martins Ferry and lost only to Athens. South was second in league play, losing only to North by a 13 to 7 score. Central finished third with 3 wins and 2 losses, West was fourth with one win, 3 losses and a tie and Aquinas and East tailed to record any victories but had 2 and one ties 76 respectively. A riot occurred at the West-East game played at Central when janitors tried to prevent people from climbing the fence. South clinched the basketball championship with a 37 to 33 win over East this Winter. The Bulldogs only loss was an overtime decision by Central. Centrai came back in the district meet this year to capture top honors with a victory over Lancaster for their first district championship. In the State meet, the Pirates defeated Toledo Libbey 37 to 25 and then were eliminated by Canton McKinley. The city baseball league race was muddled when Mr. Wiggins permitted L. w. St. John to rule on a protested game between South and Aquinas which had been won by Aquinas. Mr. st. John ruled the game should be replayed. The decision, bitterly protested by Aquinas, cost Aquinas the city championship. Aquinas gained great pres­ tige when they beat Athena 4 to 3 to capture the First Annual State Baseball championship. Madden was the winning Aquinas pitcher and Fallon drove in the winning run. The 1928 track season brought national attention to

Columbus. On Saturday, March 17 at the Michigan Invitation­ al Interscholastic Relays, Herb Moxley or Central set a meet record in the 440 yard dash with a 52.7 seconds per­ formance and Jack Keller of East won the 65 yard high hurd1es. 77 The city meet was easily won by Central, which amassed 85 points to runner-up East's 53*. North, South and Aquinas also competed.

On the week of the state meet, the Pirates mile relay team of Herb Moxley, Willis Richards, Bob Brown and William Daniels, in a race with the East team at Ohio Stadium, was timed in 3 minutes 26.7 seconds to set a new worid 1 s interscholastic high school record.

A Worlds Record is Set The following Saturday, the track worid was further astounded when the mercury-footed Moxley won the state 440 yard dash championship with a world·. record-shattering 48.2 seconds. East's Jack Keller, who was to go on to Oiympic fame, won the high hurdies at 15.6 seconds and the low hurdles at 24.8 seconds, both new state records. Central's Carmichael won the discus championship.

Moxley later competed in the 192~ oiymp1c tryouts and after winning the first heat, failed to qualify. Central's great mile reiay team entered and won at the National Scho­ lastic Meet in Chicago with a record 3 minutes 30.2 seconds timing. North was represented by one of the finest football teams in the history of the school in iY2b as they swept through to capture the city championship. Six-thousand 78 fans attended the Thanksgiving day game at North in which they swamped East by a 45 to 0 score. The Polar Beare also defeated Ma.nsfie~d, Upper Sandusky, Cincinnati Norwood and Louisv1ile and lost only to Ashland, Kentucky by a 7 to O score. Several members of this North team who moved on to Ohio State and to further stardom were Lew Hinchman, Buzz Wetzel, Bill Carroll and Ernsberger. North also captured the city basketball championship but did not enter the district meet which was again won by Central with a 21 to 14 victory over East. The Pirates were beaten in the state meet by Dayton Stivers 19 to 12. The Dayton team, coached by Floyd Stahl (the present o.s.u. coach) was led by Bill Hoekett, who later starred at o.s.u. Central won the city championship in baseball and went on to capture its first State baseball championship behind the outstanding pitching of big Bob Cline. For the third straight year, Central won the state track championship to become the first school ever to win two state championships on the same day, since the baseball team was capturing top honors that very afternoon. Jack Keller, Easts phenomenal hurdler set new state records in both hurdle races, taking the highs in 15.5 seconds and the lows in 24.l seconds. Later that spring, in the National Interscholastic Meet he established new records of 15.2 seconds in the high hurdles and 24.o 79 seconds in the lows. The 1929-1930 school year was a memorable one for Central High School. The football team became city cham­ pions for the first time in twenty years as it concluded a successful season by beating East 27 to 6 in a Thanke­ giving day game at Ohio Stadium. East beat North 6 to 0 this year for its first victory over the "Polar Bears" in five years and night football made its debut in the city league at North High School as the host team beat Bexley 20 to o. Central continued its championship drive by cap­ turing the city basketball championship. A rarity occurred 1n a second round game with East when the Central team did not allow the Tigers a single field goal in the champions 45 to 11 victory. There were some very fine games played in the coliseum this year, especially the finale in which Central edged North 18 to 17. Central was upset by North in the district meet 18 to 16 and the "Polar Bears" went on to dereat South 23 to 21 to win the District. Fremont eliminated North, however, in the opening round of the state meet. South, behind the fine pitching of Johnny Hoff won the city baseball championship and beat Lancaster 7 to 1 in the district finals at Central's field. 80 Four Straight State Titles Central captured its fourth straight city track championship and went on to win the state championship for the fourth straight year. The Guy Kesler coached Pirates nosed out Lakewood by a 29 to 26 score for their amazing record. Central repeated as city league football champions in 1930 after a bitterly contested season. Central became the second school in the city to secure lights and de­ feated Westerville 34 to O in their night game debut. Games between Central and South and Central and North had not been arranged for as late as September 3. The dispute arose over the playing of night games and was finally resolved in the middle of the season. The Debut of Night Football

On Friday October 31 Central met North at North on a snow-covered field and emerged victorious by a 14 to 6 score. The race tightened up as the leading Central "Pirateatt lost a Thanksgiving game to South 7 to 6. The race was finally decided on December 5 as West defeated North 13 to O to give Central a clear title. It was in 1930 that the first indoor football game was played. The contest was held in the mammoth auditorium at Atlantic City, New Jersey before 25,000 fans and saw Washington and Jefferson beat Lafayette 7 to o. 81 Central.' s fine basketball team;.., compiled ten straight league wins in 1931 to annex the title and to set a record of twenty-four straight city league wins which began in the middle of the 1929 season. Central also captured the district championship this year.

Attempts to Eliminate Midweek Games An early plan to play only one round of basketball games and then to have the three leading teams play off for the championship was rejected. This plan was proposed to eliminate midweek contests. The baseball championship was won by West with a 6-2 record. The deciding game was a 11 to 6 final game victory over East for their first championship since 1924. Bill Schmidt was the winning pitcher and Woody Wills was their leading hitter. Centrai continued their monopoly on city track cham­ pionships by capturing its fifth consecutive title in a meet held on their own field and also added the District and Defiance Reiays championships to their impressive re­ cord. South's Nick Strauss set a new city pole vault re­ cord. with a mark of 11 feet, 6-l/4 inches. Centrai again captured the 1931 football champion­ ship. The deciding game was contested at Ohio Stadium before 7,200 spectators and found the "Pirates" defeating South by a 20 to O score. Centrai was beaten only by West 82 in the league race this year. North captured the 1932 basketball championship with a 30 to 16 victory over Central. North's Clovis Stark was the city scoring champion. A dispute arose over the January 22 East-Central game in which an offioiai allowed a wrong Central. player to shoot a foul and thus, discovering his error, permitted the proper man to shoot and make the basket. East protested the loss vigorously and finally the matter was referred to Oswald Tower, chairman of the questionnaire committee in Andover, Massachusetts. He ruled the game should stand. Central later defeated East in the second round of play, fashioning a 19 to 16 victory over the Tigers. North won the district championship with a iast minute 37 to 34 win over Marion Harding and then went clear to the State finals before losing to Akron West 26 to 17.

High School Athletic Insurance Discussed In the spring of 1932 there was a great deal of dis­ cussion concerning an insurance plan for high school ath­ letes. State high school administrators met with Commis­ sioner Townsend of the OHSAA to decide if a $1.50 fee per boy would be a suitable premium for all sports. This figure was found to be higher than in most states (varied from 40 to 50 cents) and the State Board of Control tabled any further action on the matter. Private insurance companies 83 at this time offered a flat $1.50 rate with no distinction between football or basketball. The 1932 all-high basketball team consisted of Clovis Stark and Art Eschelman of North, Woody Wills of West, Bob Starrett of East and William Ford of Centrai. South's baseball team annexed the city and district championships and went on to win the State title with a 2 to l victory over Cincinnati Roger Baron. Bill Hickle pitched and batted the ''Bulldogan to victory. In the final city league game of the season, North managed a 12 to 3 victory over the state champs which did not affect league standing, however. Central continued its track monopoly in winning the First Annual Ohio Wesleyan Relays by scoring 15 points to Lakewood's 13. The 1tPirates11 also annexed the district meet at Denison and captured their sixth straight city meet held at Harley Field. This marked the f 1rst time that any Columbus school had ever managed to win six straight cham­ pionships in any major sport. Sam Purnell was Central's top performer in 1932 as he won the 100 yard dash 1n l0.2, the 220 yard dash in 22.7 and the 440 yard dash in 52.5 in the district meet. East, runner-up to Central in the district and city meets, had several fine performers in Joe Macklin who set a new city meet record in the mile run with a fine time of 4:34.8 and John Thompson in the high jump with a 6 foot leap. 84 Cleveiand East Tech, led by its star sprinter, Jesse Owens, outscored the "Pirates" to win the State Meet. East fielded a fine football team in 1932 and cap­ tured its first clear aity championship in fifteen years. south was the only team able to score on the Tigers this year. East and Central tied for the city basketball cham• pionship this year when the 'Pirates" defeated the "Tigers" 28 to 16 at Central on Friday, February 3. This was the first loss of the year for East and their great star, Bob Starrett was held scoreless in this game. In the district tournament East met and defeated Lancaster 27 to 13 in the championship game. Lancaster had previously eliminated Central in the semi-finals by a tight 24-22 score. East moved into the State Meet and opened with a 32 to 25 win over Toledo Scott and then lost the semi-final game to Marietta, 26 to 24. The baseball season was marked by frequent postpone- ments due to rain. North, in spite of losing their last two games of the season to East and south, won the city baseball championship behind the pitching of Chuck Zimmer. The All­ star team in 1933 listed such stars as:

P - Bill Hickle - South lB - Jack Skinner - Centra~ C - Larry Elliott - North 2B - Ronald Lane - South SS - Cliff Boyle - West 85 3B - Bill Phillips - North LF - Bob Moler - West CF - Bill Lewis - North RF - Russ Thomas - East 22 Central, led by its fine sprinters, Roser and Thompson, who scored 40 points between them, won its seventh straight city meet by amassing 68 points. West finished second with 53i, East third with 5lt, North was fourth with 29 and South was last with 24. Centrals six year reign in district competition was ended by Newark at Denison University. West and East tied for the city league football championship in 1933. West, which had lost one previous game, defeated East at Ohio Stadium by a score of 19 to 6 to hand them their first loss. Early in May, however, it was discovered that Tony DeMattio, a substitute lineman for West, had played when he was twenty years old. This forced West to forfeit two games in which the boy had taken part and as a result East claimed the undisputed championship.

All-High Football Banquet Inaugurated The Columbus Dispatch this year (1933) instituted an All-High Banquet for the coaches, principals and twenty-two players on Monday, November 20 at the Neil House.

22. The Columbus Dispatch, June 3, 1933. 86 East and Central, tied throughout the basketball season, finished in a tie for the championship. North captured the district championship with a 48 to 22 decision over Marietta but then lost to Portsmouth 27 to 19 in the first round of the state meet. The baseball season, as in football, was marred by an ineligibility dispute. Jack Davie, the South pitcher, was discovered to be playing an extra semester at South which forced the "Bul.ldoge 11 to forfeit three games. Davis' victory over East in the district meet was allowed to stand, however. East won the city baseball championship with a final 12 to 3 victory over Aquinas. Eddie Slavens and Billy Southworth were two of East's star players and their team played on their new diamond at Harley Field. South won the district baseball championship with a 15 to 2 victory over West. The city track meet, to be held at East, was tempo­ rarily delayed by rain on its first scheduled opening. Some confusion arose when Director Wiggins notified all schools but East of the postponement. Run off later in the week, the Central team captur­ ed its eighth straight championship. Newark won the district meet again and Thompson of

Central, with a third in the broad Jump, scored Co~umbus' only points in the state meet. 87

SU?.fMARY

This period in the development of interscholastic athletics in the Columbus Public Schools was one of signi­ ficant growth in which one can trace a great evolution in the administration of interscholastic athletics. Removed from the guidance of the City Recreation Department, the athletic programs of the public schools became the responsibility of the school administration. With this responsibi.Lity the entire philosophy of school planning changed. The need for gymnasiums and playing fields was acutely felt in planning new buildings and in .L923 and 1924, when four new secondary achoo.Ls (North, East, South and Central) were bui.Lt, the necessity for spacious p.Lay and gymnasium areas was considered and in­ cluded in these buildings. This period, coinciding with the so-ca.u.ed "Golden Age" of sports, witnessed unusual emphasis on interscholas­ tic athletics as Central and East in particular engaged in nationa.L championships in basketball and track. Pressure from state high schoo.L athletic associations finally ended these practices. El1gibil1ty disputes, always a disrupting factor in the smooth operation of league play, were particular.Ly try1ng during this period of development. ~8 In analyzing the reasons for these many disputes it seems logical to assume that they were a result of severa.J. factors. First of all, schools now had faculty coaches who took great care to see that opponents abided by established rules. Secondly, the Ohio High School Athletic Association was flourishing by this time and was a strong enforcement agency. Lastly, more restrictive ru~es were constantly being passed which increased the possibility for infractions by schools not yet accustomed to rigid regulations. Track unquestionably led all other sports in drawing state and national attention to the Columbus athletic pro­ gram. Central's four straight state championships and its great quarter miler, Herb Moxley along with South's Roger Grimm and East's Jack Keller and George Simpson (the latter two who wereto attain Olympic fame) attracted the attention of the athletic world. This was the period that witnessed the debut of night football 1n the city. Financial problems, created by the early Depression years, were the prime reason for this innovation. The rise in attendance as a result of the intro­ duction of night football seemed, on the surface at least, to be a great panacea. However, many problems have resulted from this practice. Coaches, lUlpa1d for their services, fOWld their jobs even more time-consuming. Costs skyrocketed as larger stadia were necessary. Lights had to be bought 89 and maintained and police and custodial help had to be aug­ mented. Crowd rowdyism became a menacing factor and still threatens to eiiminate night football. Basketball, abetted by new school gymnasiums, enjoy­ ed great popularity. Efforts were made at this time to eliminate mid-week games but they failed and it is interest­ ing to note that today, twenty-seven years later, this remains a prime topic of discussion. Late in this period of our athletic history, a varie­ ty of athletic insurance plans was studied but dropped. As in the case of mid-week basketball contests, the insurance problem is one still plaguing athletic administrators. This marked, however, a vigorous period in the growth of Co~umbus High School athletics. The development of fine athletic plants was me.tched by the outstanding athletes pro­ duced at the various schools. Haubrich, Erhensberger, Carroll, Wetzel and Hinchman of North, Magg1ed and Whittaker or East, and Deshler and Waller of Central shone brightly in football. Moxley of Central, Grimm of South and Keller and Simpson of East bid for track immortality. This was indeed a "Golden Age"--long to be remember­ ed and respected, particularly by whose whose lives were closely entwined in it. CHAPTER V

THE OFFICE OF THE CITY DIRECTOR OF HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION IS ELIMINATED

Reason for the Change As a result of the Depression, the Board of Educa- tion was forced to eliminate the office of the director of physical education in the fall of 1934. Mr. Wiggins, the retiring director, assumed regular teaching duties. East won the 1934 city football championship by wirming aJ.l five city league games. West and East tied for the basketball championship with identical 6-4 records. Bob Elder of Central set a new league record with 127 points for the season. Central, with a 6 to 3 final win over West, won the baseball championship and the "Pirates" also captured their ninth straight city track championship. In the state meet, Immel of South won the javelin throw with a record 180 feet 21 inches toss. East continued its domination of city league foot­ ball in 1935 by defeating West 19 to 6. The "Tigers" came right back during the winter to win the basketball champion­ ship with a final 29 to 19 victory over Aquinas.

Co~umbus failed to get a winner in the District Ba.s­ ketbal~ Tournament for the first time in thirteen years as East and Central both lost semi-final games to Newark and 90 91 Marlon respectiveiy. East won its third major championship in the 1935-36 school year by defeating West 5 to 1 for the city baseball championship behind the pitching of Charles Gerlach. Central, with its tenth straight city track champion­ ship (1936), prevented the Tigers from scoring a grand slam in championships. The 1936 football season found West emerging as city football champions with a 7 to O victory over North. Thie marked the first gridiron title for the Cowboys since i919. Frank Ritchey set up the winning touchdown which was scored by Richardson from the one-yard line. West lost only to South this year. West also annexed the city basketball championship in 1937 in one of the tightest races in the history of the league. West finished with a 7 and 3 record compared to second piaoe South's 6 and 4 record. East and North tied for third with 5 and 5 marks. Newark defeated the Cowboys in the district finals, however. North won the city baseball championship with five victories and no losses but the district championship was won by West with a 5 to 2 victory over South. Central's decade iong domination in track was broken in the Spring of 1937 by North, as the "Polar Bearstt annexed the city title •. 92 West repeated as city champions in football in 1937 with a season's ending 14 to 0 victory over Central at West to close an undefeated nine game schedule. The basketball race was hotly contested in 1938, with Central, East and South all deadlocked with two sets of games remaining on the schedule. Central eliminated East in a tight 43 to 41 victory and South defeated West 1n the next to last set of games. In the final evening of play, both Central and South won their games which enabled them to share the city championship. East came back strong in the district tournament to survive as the city's last representative, but was finally eliminated by Bexley by 32 to 30. Central and south also shared the city baseball championship and North defeated Aquinas behind the pitching of John Bethel to win the district championship.

Night Track Meets North also captured their second straight city track championship 1n a night meet on the North field. North, en­ joying great track success, also staged several night dual meets. North won the city championship in the 1938 football race by defeating Central 13 to 12 on Thursday, November 10. For the first time this year, all games in the city were played in the afternoon on this date. 93 North also won the city basketball championship this year and in the final game against Aquinas, Jack Edwards, North's center, scored 30 points to set a new city single game scoring record. The close baseball race found North and West tied for the city championship with one set of games remaining. In the final games, Central knocked West from the title and North, in victory, was declared city champions. North's powerful cinder squad swept to a district championship by winning all but two events and annexed the city championship also. This championship by the "Polar Bears" gave them an unprecedented four major championships in a single school year which had only been accomplished once before, also by North squads in 1906-07. North's fine track team entered the state meet in 1939 as a likely team to unseat Cleveland East Tech and failed by a slim one-sixth of a point from becoming state champions. In the fall of 1939, North again won the city foot­ ball championship by def eating West 21 to O in a game which featured a devastating passing attack by Dick Burgett. South became the city champions in basketball by sweeping undefeated through the second round of league games after losing two in the first round. In the district tournament, Central upset the city champions 33 to 31 and went on to defeat Marion Harding 94 41 to 32 in the f ina.ls to win the district championship. Oentral's 1935 team was the last city league team to win the district and this marked the debut as head coach for Shadel Saunders. The 1940 baseball season was a memorable one for the "Polar Bears" of North as they beat West in the district finals b to 1. North had previously lost two games in city league competition to West, the city champions. In the state tournament, playing the rain-postponed finals, North defeated Greenfield McClain 5 to 3 behind the pitching of Jerry Catherman. North won its fourth straight city track champion­ ship in 1940 in a meet held on the Central track. The "Polar Bears" amassed 98 points to runner-up East's 47i• The 1940 football season was an interesting one. North clinched at least a tie for the championship by de­ feating East 18 to O but on Friday, November 25, an under­ dog South team, wr1ich had managed only one win all year, held the undefeated "Po.J.ar Bears" to a 6 to 6 tie. In spite of the tie, North won the championship and West, with a final 15 to O victory over East, finished in second place. Bi.J.l Willis, East's tackle and later an Ohio State All­ American, was outstanding in this game. North's fine fullback, Bob Lonie, won first team a.J.1-state honor for the year. 95 South's "Bulldogs" won the city basketball champion­ ship, but Aquinas proved to be the most tenacious district team, losing to Newark 31 to 29 in the final game. Aquinas and West shared the city baseball champion­ ship. Aquinas had an opportunity to win a clear title but lost a 1 to O decision to South which forced them to share the championship with the 'bowboys." Central returned to power in track by scoring 79t points to win the city meet at Ohio State University.

s UMDl'.t.ARY

This relatively short period in the history of Columbus interscholastic athletics was nevertheless one of interest and progress. Interest in track flourished in the city with the introduction of night meets for the first time. Fine ath­ letes were developed who went on to make great collegiate records. East's Bill Willis, an Ohio State All-American, was an outstanding example. Frank Ritchey of West, Jack McClain of South and Dallas Dupre of North were others who went on to establish themselves as outstanding collegiate performers. Thiswas not, however, a particularly significant period in the history of Columbus Public School athletics. It did tend to emphasize that the athletic programs in the 96 various schools had never been particularly dependent upon the City Director of Health and Physical Education but were, in fact, rather self-sustaining, since athletics carried on very much as usual during this time. CHAPTER VI

ATHLETICS UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF M. D. SHEATSLEY, 1941 TO THE PRESENT TIME

The 1941 football season found Central winning its first football championship in ten years, in spite of a 6 to 6 tie with East. East also finished the league season undefeated but had two ties to keep them from a share of the title. In November of this year, the office of City Direc­ tor of Health and Physica~ Education was reactivated with the appointment of M. D. Sheatsley, a physical education teacher at Everett Junior High School, to the post. South's basketball team swept through its regular season undefeated except for a surprise loss to West. The "Bulldogs" also won their first district title since 1927 by whipping Newark 42 to 32. Moving on to the regiona.L tournament at Dayton, they were eliminated by Dayton Roosevelt by a 36 to 28 score. West captured the city baseball championship but for the third straight year lost out to North for the district tit.Le. Centrai posted its second straight city champion­ ship in track in a meet held at o.s.u. and also won the district meet. 97 98 Jim Humphreys, Central' a fine sprinter, won the 100, 220, 440 and broad jump in both the clty and district meets. Humphreys was unable to compete in the state meet because he reached hie twentieth birthday before the big meet. North saw its Ciear-cut championship hopes for the 1942 football season dashed in the East game when, with five minutes to piay, Bill McKnight, East's quarterback, inter­ cepted a North pass on his own twenty-five yard line and returned it seventy-five yards for the touchdown that en­ abled East to win a i3 to 12 verdict. Jimmy Clark, North's fine halfback, was outstanding in the game. Aquinas, North and East finished the footbail season in a three-way tie for the championship, making the first time in sixteen years that no sing~e champion was crowned. In basketball, Central, with a 30 to 28 victory over Aquinas, clinched the city championship, despite a finaJ. game 39 to 38 loss to South. West cou.Ld have tied Central in the last round of games but dropped their final also to North by a 46 to 42 score. Central's Gene Clark set a new city individual scoring record in 1943 with a 38 point spree as the "Pirates" swamped East 88 to 23. Central's total score also repre­ sented a team total scoring record for city league play.

Central fared rather well in district p~ay but bowed to Newark, the eventual state champions, by 43 to 42 in the sem1-f 1nal round. 99 West won the city baseball championship with a 2 to 1 victory over South. North went to the finale in the district baseball tournament before losing out to Bexley 6 to o. Central continued its track domination in city and district competition by winning championships in both of those meets. North's Bill Butler won the state discus champion­ ship in 1943 with a fine 144 foot effort. The 1943 football league race was an exciting one as East, which had a 7 to 7 tiew1th North earlier in the season, lost a chance to tie the "Polar Bears" for the cham­ pionship when the "Tigers" were held to another 7 to 7 tie by Aquinas. This season's ending tie game gave North a c~ear championship in football. South swept through the league basketball race with twelve straight victories but was upset in the district semifinals 35 to 31. The biggest district upset came when North upset Upper Arlington 37 to 34 with big Jack Jennings of North collecting seventeen points. The "Polar Bears" were beaten by Newark in the semi­ finals, however, and Newark then defeated Aquinas 35 to 31 to annex the district championship. West again won the city baseball championship with an eight inning 5 to 4 victory over South to finish with 100 twelve straight league wins. South won the district baseball championship in 1944. however, with a 3 to 2 victory over Grandview. Central was again represented by a fine track team in winning the Newark and Miami Relays as well as the district and city meets. The district meet was very close­ ly contested between Central and North and found the "Pirates" finishing on top 52t to 51. The meet was decided by the final event, the mile relay. East, thanks to fine individual performances, was runner-up in the state meet in 1944. North and West battled it out for the football championship in 1944 with the deciding game being held at Magley Field on the afternoon of November 17. North High School won the championship with a hard earned 14 to 6 victory over West High School. The game was featured by a first half touchdown by Renick Parkey of West who scored following a blocked Dave Bonnie punt by Carl Hosler. North came back in the second half to score on a pass from Captain Jesse Van Fossen to Dave Bonnie and again on an interception by Bob Jones of a West pass. Hugh Hindman kicked both goals for North. Aquinas won its first city basketball championship during the 1944-45 season by def eating East 41 to 31 in the season's finale. 101 In the district meet at Delaware, the city's last two representatives, Central and North, were eliminated in the semi-finale by Upper Arlington and Newark. Upper Arlington, ied by Don Stewart's twenty points, defeated Newark for the championship as Central defeated North 35 to 31 in the con­ solation game. West went through twelve straight city league victories to win the baseball championship. Bob Phelps pitched the West team to its final victory with a two hit, 4 to 0 victory over Linden. The district baseball championship was won by Linden with Perry Reall on the mound for the Panthers in the 9 to l championship game with Upper Arlington at West. The 1945 track season found a good balance of power in the city league. East won the Miami Relays and Central captured its fifth straight City championship. North's Ralph Schaeffer was high scorer with four firsts, winning both hurdles, the pole vault and high jump. In the district meet, North edged East forthe title by a 53 to 50 score. Central finished third with forty-three points. Fred Johnson, East's fine sprinter ran the 100 yard dash in 9.9 seconds to tie Simpson's district record. East finished second to Mansfield in the state meet by a close 23t to 22 score. Fred Johnson won the 200 yard dash in 2~.9 secondsand was second in the ~00 yard dash. 102 Schaeffer tied for first in the high jump and East's Jim Bailey won the 440 yard dash in 50.9 seconds.

Linden Enters League Play in Football and Becomes a Full­ Fle

Central• e Bob Kaiser won the discus w1 th a throw 01· 144 reet. Jim Seiller of North threw the shot 49 feet 9t inches to win that event. 105 West's 1947 football season was a truly memorable one. They finished a perfect ten game season with an over­ whelming 52 to 0 victory over Jackson and their star end, Jack Thrush, won All-Ohio honors. Central finished on top in the 1948 basketball league race with a fine twenty-one victories, one lost record and went on to win the district tournament, held in the Fairgrounds Coliseum in Columbus. The "Pirates" edged Newark 36 to 35 in the semi-finals and defeated Grandview 59 to 55 in the championship game. In the regional meet at Cincinnati, Central suffered a "cold" night and lost to Hamilton Catholic by a 43 to 37 score. Centrs.J.'s baseball team won the district and region­ al championships behind the fine pitching of Tommy Jones and Dick Malone. In the city league race, however, the ''Pirates" lost a 11 to 0 no hit game to North and pitcher Monte Allison which enabied West to tie them for the league championship. Central won its seventeenth city track title in 1948 by overwhelming runner-up North by a 71-1/3 to 47-5/6 margin. Central's Bob Cooper and South's Frank Zubovitch share high point honors with fifteen apiece. The Pirates also captured the Hiiltop Relays and the District titles this year and Bobby Cooper finished second 106 to Lancaster's Gene Cole in the state 440 yard dash which saw Cole establish a new national record in that event with a 48.o second timing breaking Herb Moxley's twenty year old record. Cooper's time in this race was a very fine 48.7 seconds. West won its second straight city football champion­ ship in 1948 with a ~9 to 0 victory over North, in a game witnessed by 8,000 persons in a heavy downpour. West finished its season with a 32 to 7 victory over Linden. A real oddity occurred this year as East played four tie games during the year. These games include a 7 to 7 tie with Central and ties with South, North and Aquinas. Central repeated as city basketball champions by de­ feating East at East 59 to 51 in a critical game. Alf Harrison led the "Pirates" to victory in this contest. The .. Pirates'' finished their league season with eleven wins and a loss only to South. Central's Dave Caldwell became the new city individu• al scoring record holder as he caged 243 points during league play. Central again won the district tournament by defeat­ ing Delaware 51 to 42 but lost to Toledo Central Catholic in the regionals, 61 to 30. Linden won the city and district baseball champion­ ships in 1949 but was eliminated by Toledo DeVilibiss 7 to 107 2 in the regionals at Findlay. Central's track team captured its third straight Hilltop Relay championship in 1949 and went on to win the Ohio Relays, the city and district meets as well as finish­ ing second in the state meet. Central 1 e Bill Hairston, a sophomore, won the state broad jump championship and the "Pirate's" Bill Smith flashed to a 220 yard dash victory. The city meet found records falling as Don Eitle, West's outstanding sprinter, ran a 9.9 seconds 100 yard dash to tie that reoord and then posted a 49.9 seconds time to break Herb Moxley's twenty-two year old city record in that event. Amazingly enough, this was Eitle's first com­ petitive 44u yard dash race. Bill Smith sprinted a 21.4 second 220 yard dash for a new city record and Minus Sowards or East set a new 220 yard low hurdle record of 24.9 seconds.

The ~949 football season went to the final game or the season to be decided as North and Central each had spot­ less league records before meeting each other. The cham­ pionship game was played at. Central and the "Pirates" scored a convincing 22 to 7 victory over the "Polar Bears." South, with Paul Ebert in the lineup for on.Ly the first round of play in basketball, lost to Central, East and West in the second round to finish as co-champions with 108 East. This was the first co-championship in the city league since 1938 when South and Centrai aha.red the title. East continued on to win its first district title 1n seventeen years by beating North 63 to 45 in the final game. The Tigers won their first regional start at Toledo with a 58 to 45 victory over To~edo Whitmer but lost to Mansfield 42 to 36 to end their hopes for a state titie. Linden won the district baseball championship by de­

feating Upper Ar~ington i2 to 7 but lost in the Findlay

reg1ona~s to Gal.ion by a 7 to 6 score. The "Panthers" also captured their second straight c1ty title with a finai 3 to l victory over West in a game halted by rain in the sixth inning. Linden was beaten only by South in 1950. Cantre.l's powerhouse track squad won its fourth straight Hilltop Relays title by scoring lOo points to

runner-up East's o~. Bill Hairston, the Pirates great star

scored eighteen poln~s in this meet. Oentral also won the Ohio Relays and the Newark Relays and went on to. take their

nineteenth city track championship by scoring ~7t points to East's 55. Hairston was high indiVldual scorer with l 7t points. Central easily defended its district titie in 1950 and Hairston, now a junior, won the state broad jump title for the second straight year. 109 North and East shared the 1950 city league football championship each with five wins and one loss record. East was upset 27 to 0 in its next to last game by Aquinas and needed a victory in their final game with un• defeated North to tie for the championship. The "Tigers" came through in impressive style to smother North to the tune of 27 to o. East won the city basketball championship in 1951 with an undefeated league record and captured the district championship with a final 59 to 38 victory over Central. Rollie Harris, East's junior center was high man with twenty points. In the Toledo regionals East beat Findlay 50 to 39 and again Harris came through with twenty-one points to lead all scorers. The following night the "Tigers" crushed Lima Central 57 to 44 as Romie Watkins scored eighteen points to lead the scorers.

First State Basketball Championship for Columbus Excitement ran high in Columbus as East returned as a representative in the state meet and reached fever pitch as East beat Barberton 58 to 45 in the semi-final game. East's opponent for the state championship game was to be the powerful Hamilton team which had established a tre­ mendous reputation in state tournament play. The final game, carried throughout the state on television found the "Tigers" of East completely 110 overwhelming the favored Hamilton team by a score of 57 to 39. Rollie Harris again led all scorers with twenty-three points. With this victory East became the first Columbus team to win the state basketball championship. The "Tiger" team was made up 01· Romie Watkins, Bill Truss, Bernie Granger, Dick Linson, Rollie Harris and their fine sixth man, Fred Andrews. For the second straight year, Linden won the district baseball championship with a semi-final 8 to 2 victory over Central and a final 10 to 2 win over Upper Arlington. "Schooney" Troutman pitched Linden to their final win. In the regional tournament at Findlay, Linden whipped

Toledo DeVi~ibiss 10 to 1 behind Bob Vannett and won in the finals from Defiance 10 to l with Troutman pitching to enter the state tournament. The "Panthers" gained the state finals with a 4 to l victory over Cleveland East as Vannett again pitched a fine game. The final game for the state championship against Cincinnati Western Hills was rained out on Saturday and postponed until Monday. Rain again forced a postponement until Tuesday and in the long delayed game, Linden lost an eight inning decision to Western Hills by a tight 2 to l score. lll

Linden also won the city championship with an mi­ defeated nine game record. Their final three league games were cancelled as second plaae South had an 8 won 4 lost record and had no chance for the title. The 1951 track season found Central at the peak of its power. The Central team won the Springfield Relays on a cold, rainy, April day. Bill Hairston, now a senior, gave a hint of things to come as he won the broad Jump with a mighty 24 1 4" leap. More amazing was this record since the runway was completely submerged by water.

A Phenomenal Track Record The following week at the Ohio Wesleyan Relays under perfect weather conditions, the "Pirates11 three-man broad Jump team of Bill Hairston, Marvin Hairston and Alonzo Watson laid c~aim to the National team broad jump record with a prodigious 70 1 combined total. This record was the result of a 22'7" effort by Watson, a 22'8i" leap by Marvin Hairston and a tremendous 24'8t11 jump by Bill Hairston which was later to prove to be the best jump by any high school ath­ lete since Jesse Owens in 1933 set his national record. The "Pirates" also won the Newark Relays behind Hairston's l9t points and swept to their fifth straight Hilltop Relays championship with an 109 point total. They lost out by two points to Springfield at the Miami Relays but Hairston set a new Miami Field record (high school and 112 college) with a record 23'i" broad Jump. Central easily won the district meet and also won its twentieth city title at West under the lights. Com­ peting without the services of Bill Hairston, who had suffered a pulled muscle in his leg, the "Piratesu still rolled up 8li points to 51 for second place East. Three days later, in spite of his injury, Hairston won the state broad jump championship for the third straight year.

Eligibility Disputes Again Arise The 1951 footbs.J.l season proved to be one of the most unusual in the history of league play. Central, with four hard-fought victories, seemed well on its way to a championship. Led by such stars as Howard Cassady, Ted Alexander, Bill Hairston, Ray Clark, Don Hadden and Charles Kortzenborn, they had games re­ maining with undefeated East and South. On the day of the East game, officials at East challenged the e~1g1biiity of Ted Alexander of Central, stating he had been in sohooi an extra semester. The "Pirates," pending a decision on the case, were forced to piay without Alexander that night. East, in spite of a touchdown on its first scrimmage play, was defeated by an aroused "Pirate" team 12 to 6 in a raging snowstorm. 113 The following Wednesday, East's protest was upheld and Central 1 s victories over West, North, Aquinas and Linden were reversed. Central, crushed by the news, still managed to finish with a 13 to 7 win over South as West trounced East to assume the defaulted championship. It was then discovered that the city residence of the "Cowboy's" Aurelius Thomas, an Oklahoma native, had never been officially approved by the OHS.AA office and they were forced to forfeit all of their league wins. As a result, East, although beaten by Centra~ and West, was officially proclaimed champions.

A Future All-American Howard Cassady, later to become a two-time All­ American at Ohio State, was selected All-Ohio in 1951. The 1952 basketball season was one of the most un­ usual ones in many years. East, with three of its five starters returning from their state championship team, was expected to be a strong state contender again. Although defeated during the regular season by a fine Central team in a thrilling overtime contest played at the Coliseum, the "Tigers" completed an undefeated regular season schedule as the Central game was forfeited to East because 01·an eligibility dispute over a Central substitute. 114 Jack Keller of South, the son of the former East and Ohio State Olympic track star, set a new city individual scoring record with 254 points in league play.

Aquinas, the Cinderella Team In the district tournament, Aquinas, with a very mediocre record in league play, engineered the most amazing upset in tournament history by beating East 23 to 21. The game was featured by a marvelous exhibition of ball control on the part of the "Terriers." The district finals were an anticlimax as Aquinas continued to surprise by soundly whipping North 40 to 27. Entering the Toledo RegionaJ.s, Aquinas earned a berth in the state tournament with an easy 52 to 32 victory over Toledo Clay. Forward Paul Bean of the "Terriers" led his mates with 20 points 1n this victory. The Aquinas team, carrying a 14 and 11 record into the state meet, met and lost to Cincinnati Withrow 61 to 52 to end its state championship hopes. Aquinas continued its championship aspirations in baseball by defeating North 2 to O behind Jim Raiser's two hit pitching to annex the district championship. Moving to the Findlay regionals, they won their first­ round game 7 to 5 over Lima South but were beaten 6 to 0 by Galion in the regional finals. 115 South clinched a sure co-championship for the city title with a final. 7 to 2 victory over Aquinas thanks to the pitching and hitting of Chuck Robeson.

The following afternoon Central beat North ~4 to 7 to earn a title share with the "Bulldogs." The 1952 track season brought an end to Central's long reign in track as East captured its first Hilltop Relay title in spite of Central Don Moseley's firsts in the 220, 440, broad jump and 440 yard relay. East also won the district championship and then captured their first city title since 1926 in a night meet held at West. East won the 1952 city championship in football with a final 19 to 14 victory over West. The only blot on the "Tigers" city record was a 13 to 13 tie with North. South won the city basketball championship in 1953 with a final Coliseum game win over East. South's perfect league play record was marred by a forfeit loss to Central, caused by the ruling of one of the "Bulldog" players ineligible for playing with an outside team.

TWo boys broke the o~d individual scoring record this year. North's Jim Franklin netted 264 points and East's Mel Braxton scored 270. The "Bu.Lldogs" lost to Newark in the district finals 46 to 4o. ll6 East won its first baseball championship in seven­ teen years as it completed a 9 won, 3 lost record by de­ feating North 4 to 3 in the final league game. East continued to dominate the track picture in 1953 by winning the district meet in a downpour of rain and the following week narrowly won the city meet held at South before several thousand spectators. East finished with 52i points to second place South's 49. Central finished in third place with 45 and West was fourth with 43t. The closeness of this meet made it one of the finest in the league's history. In the state meet, Jack Covington, South's sensation­ al sophomore sprinter, won both the 100 and the 220 yard dashes. The 1953 football championship was not settled until the final game of the season when Central and Linden, both with undefeated league records, met to decide the title issue.

An overt'low 6 1 000 fans crowded the "Pirates" field to see an underdog Panther team win a tight 7 to 6 victory over Central. Linden's winning touchdown, scored on a pass

from Kessler to Lacorte, came only minutes fol~owing a costly clipping pena.Lty that deprived the "Piratesn of a long touchdown run. Paul Snyder's conversion was the point that spelled defeat for Central. 117 North, behind the brilliant all-around play of Jim Franklin, won its first city basketball title in fifteen years, by scoring an 83 to 62 Coliseum victory over East in a triple header game before 5,500 spectators. Four boys for North (Craine, Franklin, Haire and Jordan) all scored seventeen points in this championship game. The "Po.Lar Bears" finished the league season with 80 to 50 victory over Aquinas. They finished with eleven wins and lost only to South. Their overall season reoord was nineteen victories and one defeat. South captured the district championship thanks to a fina~ 69 to 55 victory over North before 7,601 spectators. The "Polar Bears" were handicapped by an arm injury to Jim Franklin, who played with his arm in a cast and still managed to score eighteen points. South's Frank Howard scored thirty-one points to break the district scoring record as he registered 110 points in four games.

South Goes to the State Basketball Finals The "Bulldogs" swept through the regionals at Toledo by beating Defiance 70 to 55 and Toledo Macomber 65 to 56. Howard's 27 points in the Defiance game set a new regional record. In the state meet at Cleveland the following week, South crushed Kent 50 to 35 but lost out in the finals to Hamilton Public. 118 Central and North shared the city baseball ohamp1on­ shlp. In the district tournament ali city teams were eliminated. East won its third straight Hilltop Relay record with a close 77i to 74* victory over second place Central. South, mainiy through the efforts of Jack Covington and Clarence Pointer, upset East in the district meet by scoring 49! points to 35 for East and 32 for Central. The city meet, held at Centre.J. following the state meet, was twice postponed because of rain. East won its third straight city titie w1th 67! points to runner-up Centrai's 49. The oniy record was set by Central' a John Foster in the 180 yard hurdles. South's chances to annex its first c1ty tltle in thirty years were blasted as the1r ace sprinter, Covington, was dropped from the squad ror failure to attend practice. East won the 1954 city football championship with a flnal 48 to 0 victory over South. The ''Tigers" also took the city basketball t1tle with a f1nal 54 to 45 victory over Linden in a Coliseum triple header game. East possessed a 19 and 1 season record and a 11 and 1 league record, having been beaten only by Central during the season. 119 East and Central met in the district finals and the ttTigers" won a hard-fought 42 to 37 victory over the "Pirates." Ea.st, carrying the number one state ranking, entered and won the Toledo regionals with a 66 to 46 victory over Toledo Libbey and a 59 to 54 win over Mansfield. Joe Roberts and Reuben Young led the "Tiger" scoring in these two games. Heavily favored to annex its second state title in four yea.rs, the "Tigers" were defeated by a mediocre Cincinnati Hughes team in the semi-finals, 59 to 58. The district baseball championships again found the city league teams eliminated as Upper Arlington bumped South 2 to o. The city league race was quite close as Central spoiled North's bid for an undisputed baseball title by beating the ":Polar Bears" in their final game 6 to 2 behind Readout's three hit pitching. North finished its season with nine wins and three losses. South and Central, each with one game to play, possessed eight wins and three losses and each needed final game victories to tie North for the title. South assured itself of a share in the title with a l~ to 1 victory over East but Central faltered and lost its title sharing opportunity by losing to Aquinas 2 to 1. 120 East again won the Hilltop Relays with an 87t to 73i margin over second place West. The "Tigers" also won the district meet by scoring 66i points to runner-up Bexley's 23t. East's Jim Marshall's 53'9i" shot put beat Central's Bob Kessler's five year old record by three inches. East also captured its fourth straight city title at Central and in the state meet Jim Marshall won the shot put and Dick Furry of West tied for first in the high jump. The 1955 football season found the city league as strong as any time in the history of the league. East, undefeated in nine games, annexed the champion­ ship and was rated as one of the top fiveteams in the state. North, in spite of a crushing 33 to 20 loss to East in the championship game, finished second in league play, and Central, in spite of losses to East and North, later de­ feated Springfield 16 to 13 at a time when that team was ranked second best in the state. Of the top three teams in the league this year, only North Lost to a non-league foe. East's Jim Marshall and Albert Long and Central's B1rtho Arnold won all state honors in 1955. East again won the city basketbalL championship but faltered in the district tournament and was eliminated. Under a revisedd1.strict-reg1onal basketba.Ll setup, 121 the Central District was allowed two representatives and South and North fought their way to qualifying positions but both were eliminated in regional piay. City league teams faiied for the fourth straight year to capture a district baseball championship as Bexley eliminated Aquinas 5 to 3. The "Terriers," however, did acquire a clear city league title as Linden (who had earlier beaten Aquinas 8 to 0 on John Hunter's no-hitter) upset the contending Central "Pirates11 on Hunter's 1 hit, 1 to O game. The 1956 track season was a rather mediocre one. East again won the Hilltop Relay and the district meet and snatched their fifth straight city title at Central by amassing 95-2/3 points to the second place "Pirates" 37 points.

SUMMARY

This past fifteen year period in the history ot ath• letics in the Columbus Public Secondary Schoolas has com­ pared favorably with other eras. Possibiy football has made the greatest progress, having come from a period when inter­ city competition was often too rugged, to the present time when Columbus meets and def eats some ot the finest teams in the state. Our schools, hampered by no junior high schooi football program to off er early training and development to 122 our athletes, nevertheless produce some very fine athletes, the most notable of this era being Central 1 s Howard "Hopalongn Cassady, two time Ohio State All American. Basketba!l, also enjoying great recent success with East's 1951 state championship team, has produced such stars as Paul Ebert and Frank Howard of South who have gone on to fame at Ohio State. Track has continued in popularity and achievement, al­ though it has never been able to match the great records of the 1927-1930 Central squads which comp1!ed four straight state championships. Recent baseball teams have never duplicated state championships by North in 1940, South in 1932, Central in 1929 and Aquinas in 1928. Financial problems grew more acute as expanding forms of entertainment such as television cut deeply into sports attendance. Sohools with fine stadiums and !ights for night football found it increasingly difficult to maintain these facilities and adjustments were sought in allowances permitted for field maintenance. East and Aquinas, who did not maintain night football facilities, were asked to share in this cost. Triple headers in basketbal!, one of the earliest methods of carrying on league play in the history of the Columbus Pub!ic Schools, were reinstituted at the Fair­ grounds Co~1seum in an effort to bolster sagging 123 attendance figures. This practice, however, did not help to ease the financial problem and was dropped in 1956. The latter part of this period saw the passing from the coaching field such pioneers as Guy Kesler and Dave Parks of Central, Mike Hagely of North and Ralph Webster of East. The combined service of these men to the schools and youth of the city of Columbus totaled over one-hundred and ten years. The contribution that these men have made uo the success of the athletic programs of the city schools is 1mmeasurabie. Their entire lives have been devoted to the youth and to their schoois. The most evident development of this period un­ questionab~y ~ies in the rapid popuiation expansion of ~he city. The Second World War stimulated a tremendous in­ dustrial growth. Huge industries moved in and as the labor demands soared people from all over the country were attract­ ed to find employment. The Columbus school system, wisely foreseeing the need for many more new schools and teachers, embarked upon a· vast building program which is successfully meeting in­ creased enrollment problems. On the other hand, athletic planning has seriously lagged. Two new secondary schools have been added to the city in the last year and it is evident that there will be several more in the immediate future. The junior high 124 school program is also facing serious problems. New junior high schools have been added recently but many old problems are still very evident. A complete lack of any fall ath­ letic program compounds disciplinary problems as healthy, active boys often give vent to their abundant energy in unacceptable activities. The selection of men trained to supervise athletic programs has been overlooked in too many cases when new junior high school teachers were employed and as a result there is a serious shortage of coaches in the junior high schools. Again the policy of no pay for coaches and even a lacK of a compensating schedule has made it extremely difficult to secure or even to interest men who would be capable of developing the youth through the medium of athletics. High school coaches, held only through a genuine love for coaching and the supposed prestige of their posi­ tions, are becoming increasingly dissatisfied with the long hours spent without compensation. Coaches and administra­ tors alike are recognizing that the past few years have created many problems which can be solved only through con­ certed effort. The next severai years wili be most interesting to observe as Columbus enters upon the threshold of this new era. CHAPTER VII

ATHLETICS TODAY IN THE COLUMBUS PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS

The Evolution of Thinking Throughout the preceding pages has been unf"olded the story of the birth and development of four sports engaged in by boys in the Columbus Public Secondary Schools. The evolution of thinking on the part of the ad­ ministrators has been traced from an original attitude of aloofness to one of concern over the rowdyism and lack of direction of the program which resulted in the employment of faculty coaches. Later, the administration, once willing to permit a non-school agency (the City Recreation Department) to ad­ minister league play, settle disputes and to provide play­ ing sites, finally assumed full responsibility for every phase of the expanding program. There was a period in interscholastic athletics where championships were being resolved on a national scale. Theopposition of official high school state and national athletic associations ended this practice. There have been fluctuations of spectator interest, especially in the so-called "Golden Age" of the Twenties. Then a baseball championship attracted 3,500 spectators or a high school football championship game at Ohio State stadium drew 8,ooo. 125 126 Night football, depression-spawned in a desperate attempt to cope with attendance loss, revived spectator interest but also brought about many perplexing problems that m11JSt stilL be resolved. Present day thinking, admittedly better than that seen in the early years of our athLetic history, has yet to display the foresight and planning necessary to elevate the

a~hietic programs of the various schools to a levei at which they may operate to the greatest benefit for all concerned.

Todays Problems Present day probiems are stiil manyfold. Annex­ ations and rapidly expanding enrolLments in some areas are creating demands ror new secondary schools which will create scheduling problems and may make boundary relocations necessary. Custodial services for athletics have never been satisfactorily resolved. Common practice now forces the coaches ofthe various sports to perform much of the common tasks necessary for the execution of a successful program. Coaches, each year faced with heavier teaching loads, still receiveno compensation for the endless hours spent in their coaching assignments. Mid-week basketball contests, long an administrative problem, are gradually being resolved as limitations are 127 being placed upon scheduling. Eligibility disputes, which for years have periodi­ cally harassed the smooth operation of the league, must somehow be brought under control. This problem is one of the major ones now under present consideration. Press releases, once handled haphazardly by the individuals or schools most involved, are now forwarded to the main office for equitable distribution to the three daily newspapers. Mounting costs of athletic equipment, declining attendance and athletic insurance are some of the other major problems faced by the schools today.

The Philosophy Toward Athletics The Columbus School System, to be commended on the one hand for maintaining a sane and rational attitude con­ cerning the relationship of athletics to the total school program, has somehow failed to realize that such a program requires constant and progressive planning. The attitude of de-emphasis has, in many cases, re­ sulted in a failure to provide many of the essential ser­ vices needed to carry out a successful program. The absence of custodial and field maintenance help, poor architectura~ planning in the construction of athletic facilities, severely limited budgets, overloading of coaches' schedules and a lack of long range planning are ~8 some of the items which compound the administrative problems of the athletic program in the city. Only through the un­ selfish efforts of the coaches has the program overcome mediocrity. Happily, the Colwnbus Public School administration is becoming more aware of these problems and is beginning to move in the direction toward their resolution. c. L. Dumaree, an aggressive former principal of Central High School has been appointed as Assistant Super­ intendent of the Columbus Public Schools and many of these old problems fall under his discerning administration. Positive, long range planning, under skilled and ex­ perienced leadership, is necessary to assure the secondary schools of the city of Columbus a new and satisfactory growth and development in the years to come.

Conclusion Today we are in a position from which we may look back over a period or more than sixty years of inter­ scholastic athletic development in the Columbus Public Schools.

Just what does it al~ mean to us today? To some, living in the knowledge of rich fulfillment of long and useful service to the vigorous athletics which we have a~­ ways held so dear, there will bewonderful memories of being a part of the early strugg~es, the strong rivalries, and of 129 enduring friendships formed. To others, the coaches and teachers still on the threshoid of one ofthe finest and most enduring of all professions, this backward look should make them more aware of the intense desire which burned in the hearts and minds of the men and boys who, through their great love for com­ pet1 tive sport, literaliy hacked from the wilderness the fine programs of which we are so concerned today. It should make one both humble and proud; it should make one also fiercely protective of our cherished pro­ fession, ever ready to defend it against the existing evils which are present today. The spectors of commercialism, of subsidization, of "winning at any price," of deceit and trickery and dishonor lurk in our midst and threaten the existence ofall this which we prize so highly. Yes, here it is, presented just as it all happened. It is all so very real that we can hear the crack of the bat in old Neil Park, roar with the crowd at old City Hall as the ball swishes through the net, thrill to the bursting finish of the 100 yard dash at Driving Park and huddle against the chill November wind sweeping across ghostly shadows of Ohio Field! The sweat, the tears and the laughter come alive again--we have seen the birth and the youthfui vitality of a great era! 130 FIGURE 1

COACHING TENURES CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL

FOOTBALL BASKETBALL BASEBALL TRACK c.M. Bookman Fred Hamm Fred Hamm Professor 1906 1908-.1.912 1908-1916 Austi~05 Fred Hamm Harry Priest Stan Warman Fred Ha.mm 1907-1909 1913-1914 1910-1917 1908

HsroldMinnerly Fred Hamm Rudy K1s~r Stan Warman 1910 1915 1918 1915-1918 No team Stan Warman Lyle Kelly Lyle Kelly 1911-1915 1916-J.91~ 1919 1919 Stan Warman Lyle Kel.ly Kent Pfeiffer Kent Pfeiffer l.916-1917 .1.919 1920-1921 1920-1924 Lyle Kelly Kent Pi'eiff er Leon McCarty Guy Keal.er .L9l.~ 1920-1924 1922-1925 1925-1948 Kent Pfeiff er Guy Kesler Ray Cote Frank Howe 1919-1920 1925-1939 1926 1949- No team Sbadel Saunders Dave Parks 1921 .L.940-J.952 1927-1955 Leon McCarty Chuck Koterba Chuck Koterba 1922-J.925 1953-1957 1956- Dave Parks Wayne Rittenhouse 1926-1954 1958 Frank Howe 1955- 131 FIGURE 2 COACHING TENURES EAST HIGH SCHOOL

FOOTBALL BASKETBALL BASEBALL TRACK

Otto Magley Frank Gullem Otto Magley Bob Collins 1905 1910-1912 1903-1905 1913-1914 Pa.Lmer Frank Gullem Bob Collins Frank Gul.tem Cordray 19U9-1913 1913-1915 1910-1914 1915-1917 Palmer Cordray Sylvester Palmer Cordray Sylvester 1914-1916 Noble Noble 1q1fi-1q20 1915-1917 1918-1920 Anthonl Anthonl H. W. Emswiler Doleza John Pixler Doleza 1917 1921 1918 1921 George Strong Bob Karch Edw. Deitrich Bob Karch 1918 1922-1931 1919-1920 1922-1924 An tho~ Palmer Cordray Ralph Webster Dolez Joe Stevens 1919-1920 1932-1948 1921 1925-1931 Rob:. Karch Bue.Ky Walters Clyde Ralph Webster 1921-1930 Clodfelter 1949-1953 1Q~4-1947 1932-1936 Ralph Webster Jack Moore Bucky Walters Jack Landrwn 1931-1956 1954- 1948-1949 1937-1951

Jack Moore Jack Moore Har~ 1957- 1950-1957 McKn ~~4 1952- ~9 Mark FowCh~les er Whitaker 1 19 - 1955-

- 132 FIGURE 3 COACHING TENURES LINDEN-MC KINLEY HIGH SCHOOL*

FOOTBALL BASKETBALL BASEBALL TRACK

Hal Martin Hal Martin Hal Martin Hal Martin 1943-1945 1943-1949 1943-1951 1943 Sam Bob White John Rawn Chickerella Bob White 1946-1950 1950-1955 1952 1944- John Vince Gene Clark Montgomery Chickerella 1953-1956 1951- 1956- Vince Chickerella .1.957-

*School opene in 1942 133 FIGURE 4 COACHING TENURES NORTH HIGH SCHOOL

FOOTBALL BASKETBALL BASEBALL TRACK

Harry swain John Edwards Harry Swain Harry swain 1907-1914 1912-1914 1908-1916 1908-1918 Earl Prugh Chas. Sayre Chas. Sayre Art Kief er 1915 1915 1917 1919-1922 Harry Swain Earl Prugh Art Kief er Mike Hagely 1916 1916 1918 1923-1929 Art Kief er Chas. Sayre Carl Spangler Earl Hickman 1917 1917 1919-1922 1930-1932 E.M. Selby Art Kief er Mike Hagely Mike Hagely 1918 1918 1923-1924 1933-1935 Art Kief er Carl Spangler Art Jones George Haney 1919-1921 1919-1922 1925-1926 1936-1942 Mike Hagely Mike Hagely Mike Hagely Earl Hickman 1922-1952 1923-1925 1927 1943-1945 Hugh Hindman Art Jones Art Jones Carroll 1928-1935 Woodrut'f 1953- 1926-1935 1946-1947 Earl Hickman Mike Hagely Eddie Roush 1936-1946 1936-1937 1948 Bob Sekerak Harl Hickman WooCar~M f 1935-1942 1947-1954 1949-1953 Bernard CellaI Lee Brailey Hugh Hindman 1955- 1943 1954- Mike Hagely 1944-1950 Dick Hindman 1951-

.... 134 FIGURE 5 COACHING TENURES SOUTH HIGH SCHOOL

FOOTBALL BASKETBALL BASEBALL TRACK

John McDonald John McDonald John McDonald Harold Dunlap 1911-1914 1912-1914 19.L2-l913 1920 Tink Sanders Tom Mete alf' Tom Metcalf Herb Bash 1915-1916 1915-1917 1914-1917 1921-J.927 Harold Dunlap Harold Dunlap Harold Dunlap Chic Pearce 1917-1919 19le-1920 19lts-1920 1928-1935 Dwight Pea.body Dwight Peabody Dwight Peabody Kermit Bloser 1920 1921 1921 1936-1939 Herb.Bash Herb Bash Herb Bash Gue Beetham 192.L-1926 1922-1927 1922-1924 1940-1943 Chic Pearce Rodney Ross Rodney Rose Chic Pearce 1927-.L934 1928-1935 1925-1935 1944-1945 Clyde Battin Kermit Bloser Clyde Battin Gus Beetham 1935-1945 1936-1943 1936-1946 1946-1948 Red Trego Pug Hood Dale He.lmick Bob Lewis 1946-1950 1944-1954 1947-1956 1949-1955 Chuck Gilbert John Colmery Bob Fearing Chuck Shaner 1951-1952 1955- 1957- 1956- Gene Yontz 1953-.1955 Bob Duncan 1956- 135 FIGURE 6

COACHING TENURES WEST HIGH SCHOOL

FOOTBALL BASKETBALL BASEBALL TRACK

Lea Leahy Lea Leahy Otto Mag.Ley F~reman 1910 1911-1921 J.9U9-.L912 S agerl930 A.E. No team Wm. Garrett A.B. Oole Buchannan 1911 1922 1913-1921 1931-193_~ Rodney Roes Claude Lea Leahy Wm. Garrett Christman 1912-1919 1923-1924 1922 1934-1935 Wm. Garrett Peg Fuller Rodney Rosa No team 1920-1921 1925-1928 1923-1924 1936-1937

Rodney Rose Buck Lamme Peg Fuller Geo~e 1922-1923 1929 1925-1928 riB~s.:~8ao Peg Fuller Harold Wise Buck Lamme Dale Rose 1924-1927 1930-1938 1929 1941-1942

Buck Lamme Geor~e Harold Wise ~u:f'e Glass 1928 Will~~ 1930-.J.938 19'39-J. ·'3 1943- Harold Wise Rufe Glass George 1929-1937 .J.944-1940 W1.J.11ams ]Q~Q-1942 Ed Alexinas ~or~e Geor~e ams Will ams 1943 (O.t-3.U. J.93ls -1943 1947-1953 student teache1) Dale Rose Ff:d Dale Rose He sohman 1944-1946 1943-1945 1954- Mack Geor~e Pemberton Will ams 1946-1956 1947-1953 Bill Gene Pierce Schmitter 1954-1955 10C::7- Bill Schmitter 1956- FIGURE 7 136 CITY CH.Al:IPIONS bv.t:OUL TRACK YEAR FOOTBALL BASKETBALL BASEBALL l.ts98·99 EAST lts'.-39-1900 NORTH CENTRAL 1900-01 NORTH CENTRAL CENTRAL 1901-02 NORTH CENTRAL EAST 1902-03 NORTH CENTRAL EAST 1903-04 NORTH EAST 19U4-05 EA.ST TI~ l.avLeague EAST 1905-06 NORTH CENTRAL NORTH NORTH lgoo-o7 NORTH NORTH NORTH NORTH 1907-08 EAST SOUTH NORTH 1908-09 NORTH SOUTH CENTRAL 1909-lO N-E-C i'J~1Mie.gue CENTRAL NORTH .L9.L0-J.l NORTH COMMERCE COI 1ii,:ERCE NORTH 1911-J.2 NORTH-EAST COMMERCE COH.Z·1ERCE NORTH 1912-13 EAST-SOUTH COMMERCE EAST NORTH 1913-14 EAST i~fffNAS NORTH EAST 1914-.LS NORTH t:lOUTI-i EAST NORTH 1915-1.6 WEST WEST No Tit.Le NORTH 1916-l.7 SOUTH NORTH NORTH NORTH 1917-lts EAST NORTH 'WEST NORTH 191e-19 NORTH WEST COi·Ev!ERCE NORTH 1919-20 dEST WEST HORTH NORTH 1920-2.L NORTH WEST NORTH EA5T J_Q2-1-22 NORTH NORTH AQUINAS SOUTH 1922-23 Ho TitJ.e SOUTH AQUINAS SOUTH 1923-24 HORTH EAST ·1rEST SOUTH 1924-25 BOUTH SCUTH SOUTH EA5T 1925-26 N-E-S-A NORTE NORTH EAGT 1926-27 S1~8~t1- H SO UTE CENTRAL CENTRAL 1927-2e NORTH SO UTE ~XfrHr". CENTRAL 1928-29 NOHTE NORTE CENTRAL CENTI\AL l929-30 CE~·I'l'RAL CE~: TEAL GOUTH CE:JTRAL J.93U-3.L CE:;JTRAL CENTRAL 1.riEST CENTRAL FIGURE 7 (cont.) 137

SCH~LYE . FOOTBALL !BASKET BALL BASEBALL TRACK 1931-32 CENTRAL NORTH SOUTH CENTRAL KE'..:i:~- 1932-33 EAST CENTRAL NORTH CENTRAL .!!;AU'.r- 1933-34 EAbT l'!li'~JTR AT EAST CE:JTRAL 19'".J4-"3S EAST EAST-V'iEST CENTRAL CENTRAL 1935-36 EAST EAfJT EAST CENTRAL 1936-37 :·rEST ViEST NORTH NORTH GEN'l'nAL- v~J.\l'l'nAL- 1937-~e WEST SCUTn SOIJ'T'H NORTH 193t5-'39 NORTH NORTH NORTH NOR'T'E 19.39-40 NORTH SOUTH -,·1EST NOH.TH 1940-41 NORTH SOUTH ~~~*l'lA~- CENTRAL 1941-42 CEi~TRAL bOUTH -,.iE5T CENTRAL 1942-lf3 AQ •• E •• N. CENTRAL '1iEST CENTRAL 1q47i-44 NORTH SOUTH \v'EST CENTRAL 1944-45 NORTH AQUINAS WECT CENTRAL 194S-L~6 EA.GT-WE&T CENTRAL LI1'J'1iEN 'NE.ST 1946-47 LINDEN EAST LINDEN CENTRAL 'ii~b'l'- lq47-4e WEST CENTRAL CENT RA.I CENTRAL 1948-49 WE5T CENTRAL LINDEN CENTRAL 1949-50 CENTRAL EAST-00UTH LINDEN CENTRAL 1950-51 EAST-NORTE EAST LINDEN CENTRAL li.t..l'n'.KAL- 1951-52 EAST EAST SAnrrµ EAST 19S2-5'3 EAST SOUTH EAbT EA.ST v.t..1'lT!\AL- 1953-54 LINDEN NORTH NOHTE EAST 1954-5'1 EAST EAST SOUTH-NORTf EABT 1955-56 EAST EA5T AQUINAS EAST 1956-57 NORTH

~

I - 138

FIGURE 8 FINANCIAL STATEI"!ENTS TO ILLUSTRATE THE TREJ:vIENDOUS GROWTH OF FOOTBALL DURING THE LAST 45 YEA..qs Central High School 1905 Financial Statement Expenses Receipts i 1.26 - Letter awards $ 22.72 - Sept. 1 balance 9.00 - Football suits & ball 3.00 - Subscriptions 6.25 - Circleville game 25.95 - Circleville game 9.90 - North game 13.50 - Season tickets 13.95 - Lancaster game 43.90 - North game 7 .oo - East game 6.60 - Lancaster game 7.46 - Incidentals, postage, 24.1* - East game telephone $139.S - Total Receipts 50.00 - Salary of coach; 104.82 - Total Expenses Rastus Lloyd $ 35.04 - Net Receipts, $104.82 - Total Expenses 1905 Central High School 1949 Financial Statement Expenses Receipts i 1,500.00 Federal tax $13,203.00 Ticket sales 150.00 City tax & guarantees 8.00 Withholding tax 745.00 Field & 2,500.00 Visitors share stadium 500.00 Meals & travel rental 1,400.00 Equipment 003.00 Concessions 700.00 Cleaning & repair ...... ,...,,__..,.._ & programs 582.00 Banquet $14,55.L.OO Total 122.00 Lights Receipts 1,491.00 New trophy cases & awards 12,898.00 TotaJ. 1,680.00 Stadium maintenance __,,..._,...,,==--~ Expenses 450.00 Band $ 1,653.00 Net receipts 500.00 Police 1949 315.00 Officials 300.00 Teachers 200.00 Janitors ~oo.oo Misc. $12, 98.00 Total Expenses 139 FIGURE 9

NOTABLE FL-ZSTS IN COLUI'1BUS AT:-a.ETICS

First scholastic football team •.•••••••• Central 1892 First interscholastic foot- ball game •.•••.•••..••...... ••.•••••• Central vs. North le92 First city basketball league •..•••••.••• 1899 (Central, East & North represented­ Established by F.C. Gugel of Y .M.C .A.) First night footba~l game •••..•••....••• 1902 Ohio Medics vs. Otterbein won by Medics 39-0 at ~eil Park First All-High football team •••••....••. 1903 (Central, East, North represented) First annual interscholastic track meet (Forerunner of the state meet) •••••••• 1905, Under the auspices of Denison Univ. - held at Idlewilde Park - 10 schools entered First city interscholastic track meet ••• 1906 (Central, East & North competing) First Official O.li.S.A.A. state track meet ••••.••.••..•..••.••••.•••••.••••• 19oe, at Denison Univ., won by Columbus North First state basketball tournament ••.•••• 1909, at Ohio Wesleyan Univ. First city interscholastic baseball league ••••••••••....•••.•••••••.•••..• 1910 (Central, East, North, South & West represented-won by Central First meeting of football coaches to set up definite schedules ••••••••••••• Dec. 20, 1916 at the Athletic Club (Palmer Cordray in charge) First all-star basketball team to play city champions (West) •••••.•••.••••••• 1916 All-Stars - 31 ·west - 23 First all-star football team to play city champions (~ast) ....•.....•....•. 1917 All-Sters - 7 East - 0 140 FIGURE 9 (cont.) First annual city track meet unQer Bd. of Educ. supervision. Held at Ohio State University •••••••••••••••• 1920 Firet year for basketball. & baseball league supervision by Bd. of Educ •••• 192l. First state basketball tournament under O.H.s.A.A. direction ••••••.•••• 1923 at o.s.u. First year for Little Brown Jug trophy symbolic of East-North football victory •...... 1925 First high school night football game in Col.wnbus ••••••••.•••..••.•.•.••••• 1929 at North North - 20 Bexl.ey - O First city track meet hel.d on high school track ••.•••.•••.•••••••••••.•• 1931 at Central, won by Central. First state baseball championship under O.H.3.A.A. direction •••••••.••• 1~2t$ Won by Aquinas 141

FIGURE 10

COLUMBUS STATE CHAMPIONSHIP AND STATE RUNNER-UP TEAMS

YEAR SCHOOL SFORT STATUS 1907------North------Track------Champions 1908------North------Track------Champions 1910------North------Track------Runner-up 1911------North------Track------Champions 1912------North------Track------Runner-up 1913------North------Track------Runner-up 1914------East------Track------Champions 1917------North------Track------Runner-up 1918------East------Track------Runner-up 1926------East------Track------Runner-up 1927------Central------Track------Champions 1928------Aquinas------Baseball------Champions 1928------Central------Track------Champions 1929------Central------Baeeball------Champions 1929------Central------Track------Champions 1930------Central------Track------Champions 1931------Central------Track------Runner-up 1932------Central------Track------Runner-up 1932------South------Baseball------Champions 1932------North------Basketball------Runner-up 1939------North------Track------Runner-up 1940------North------Baseball------Champione 1944------East------Track------Runner-up 1945------East------Track------Runner-up 1947------Central------Traok------Runner-up 1949------Central------Track------Runner-up 1951------East------Basketball------Champions 1951------Linden------Baseball------Runner-up 1954------south------Baeketball------Runner-up 14.2

FIGURE 11 PLAYING SITES - PREVIOUS TO 1926

FOOTBALL

Ohio Field Parsons Avenue Field Neil Park Recreation Park (Whittier & Jaeger) Franklin Park Deaf & Dumb Field Young's Westerns Indianola Park Ft. Hayes Barracks Sunshine Park Ohio Stadium West Side A. c. Field FIGURE 12 PLAYING SITES - PREVIOUS TO 1926

BASKETBALL

Old Y.M.C.A. (Site of present Dispatch building) Old City Hal~ (Site of present Loew's Ohio Theatre) East Side Market Hal~ (Mt. Vernon & 20th St.) Edminston & Johnson Business College Gymnasium Broad-Oak Rink Barracks East State st. Coliseum (just east of Fourth St.) Memorial Hall Schiller Park Shelter House Goodale st. Armory 7th Avenue Armory Glenwood floor West Side Shelter House (State & Skidmore - present Boys Club) Godman Guild Fairgrounds Coliseum 144

FIGURE 13 PLAYING SITES - PREVIOUS TO 1926

BAS EBA.LL

Linwood Field Capital University Western League Park Interstate League Park Neil Park Barracks Blind School Lazarus Clippers Grounds (Parsons Ave. & Jenkins) Old Recreation Park (Livingston Ave. i block E. of High St.) Driving Park North High Field (King Ave. & Tisdale St.) Youngs Westerns Field Aquinas Field Federal Glass Field Lincoln Park 11th Ave. Field Sunshine Park o.s.u. West Side A.C. Field State Hospital Franklin Park 145

FIGURE 14 PLAYING SITES - PREVIOUS TO 1926

TRACK

Driving Park Civic Park (Junction of Scioto & Olentangy Rivers) Ohio Field North High Track (King Ave. & Tisdale St.) Ohio Stadium Old South High School 146

FIGURE 15 SCHOOL ORIGINS CENTRAL - 1862 - Opened building at Sixth & Broad Sts. 1893 - When North Opened, Central changed to Asa Lord High School ie95 - Asa Lord changed to Central again 1910-1924 - Changed to Commerce High School 1924 - Present building opened on Washington Blvd. NORTH - 1882 - Freshman class in 2nd Ave. or Irving School 1891 - Moved to 8th Ave. or Lowell Building 1893 - Opened in buiiding at 4th and Dennison Aves. (present Everett Jr. High School) 1924 - Present building opened on Arcadia Ave. SOUTH - 1895 - Temporary South High School in Ohio Ave. building 1896 - Moved to buiiding on Fulton Street i897 - Pupils returned to Central High School 1900 - Opened at Bruck & Deshler Avenues (Present Barrett Jwiior High School) 1924 - Present building opened on Ann st. EAST - 1897 - Ohio Avenue Bu1iding (South) changed to East High School 1898 - Felton Ave. Building - opposite Monroe Ave. lb99 - Frankl.in Ave. East or Wilson Ave. (Present Franklin Junior High School) 1923 - Present building opened on East Broad st. TRADES - 1906 - Front & Long Ste. (Site or present YMCA) ~916 - Moved to new building on Spring Street 1926 - Merged with Centrai High School 1955 - Again merged with Centrai

~YEST - 1908 - Opened at Central Ave. (Present Starling Junior High School) 1929 - Present building opened on Powell Ave. LINDEN - 1942 - Present site on Duxberry Ave. EASTMOOR - 1955 - Present site on Weyant Ave. 147

FIGURE 16 COLUMBUS ALL-HIGH FOOTBALL TEA.MS (Note: Symbols are to be read as follows -- Aquinas-A.; Central-C; East-E; Linden-McKinley-L; North-N; Trades-T; West-W) 1903 l909 LE - Bentley - C E - Brldge - N LT - O'Hara - C T - Shelter - N LG - Cherry - C G - Nash - N C - Watson - N C - Smith - C RG - Henry - N G - Snyder - N RT - Gibson - E T - Eichenlaub - E RE - Morris - N E - J.Thomas - E QB - Reel - E B - Carroll - E ill - Justice - E B - Sapp - N RH - Miles (c) - N B - Bradley - E FB - Peach - E B - Potts - C

12Q1 1912 LE - Pratt - N E - Murphy - E LT - Oare - N T - Dunn - A LG - Reichenbach - E G - Thurman - E C - Coville - C C - Herr - N RG - Gowdy - N G - Seddon - N RT - Paven - E T - H.Courtney - C RE - Eberle - E E - Hunter - N Q.B - McClure - N B - Gaulke - s LH - Bradford - E B - Rice - A RH - Cooke - N B - Ruh - S FB - Lemon - E B - Schwartz - N lfil 1908 E - Davis - E LE - Eberle(c) - E T - Hohl - N LT - Oare - N G - Lind - E LG - Barricklow - N C - Vorys - E C - Smith - C G - Harlor - E RG - Clarke - N T - Courtney - E RT - Pavey - E E - Robinson - W RE - E.Stowe - N B - Harley - E QB - Foster - N B - Rhodes - N LH - Sapp - N B - Lum - E RH - Cooke - N B - Schwartz - N FB - E.Thomas - E 146

FIGURE 16 (cont.)

1914 1918 E - GordOrl - A E - Palmer - W T - Lind - E T - Lindsey - W G - Kreiger - N G - Galentine - N C - Scanlon - A C - M.Galbraith - N G - Skimmings - N G - Day - E T - Derr - N T - Friend - E E - McDonald - N E - Glassman - C B - Harley - E B - Scott - N B - Rhoades - N B - Geer - N B - Walters - N B - Isabell - E B - Turner - N B - Kurtzha~tz - W

1916 ~ E - RobiriSon - S E - Palmer - W T - Rohr - W T - Friend - E G - Davies - E G - Beck - W C - Skeeton - S C - Huf'fman - s G - Wood.ruff - N G - McDowell - E T - Thurman - E T - Sohweinsberger - S E - Fuller - E E - Dolling - E B - Cott - W B - Charles - W B - Long - E B - Geer - N B - Waldner - S B - Ga.st11 - S B - Churches - H B - Kurtzholtz - W

1917 1920 E - Wiper - N E - Gallagher - A T - Churches - N T - Schweinsberger - S G - Lindsey - W G - Hottle - N C - Hecux - E C - Christman - W G - Pixley - E G - Welch - A T - Elgin - E T - Jackson - N E - Fuller - E E - Joseph - E B - Hainer - W B Brashear - s B - Sheard - N B - Schell - C B - Long - E B - Chard - N B - Geer - N B - Murtha - A 149

FIGURE 16 (cont.)

1922 1929 E - Hamilton - E E - D. Brown - N T - Whittaker - E T - Riddle - S G - Snyder - S G - O'Shaughnessy - A C - Devore - N C - Hoff - S G - Gibbs - Trades G - Thomas - C T - Nesser - N T - G.Brown - C E - Evans - C E - Mileuanisch - s B - Zuber - E B - Ehrensberger - N B - Mitchell - N B - Waller - C B - Dolby - E B - Bellman - S B - Waid - N B - Deshler - C

1927 1930 E - Miieusnisch - S E - Phil Bucklew - N T - Allen - N T - Earl Knisley - W G - Thomas - A G - Boyden Wiliiams - C C - Ehrensberger - N C - Dana Deshler - W G - Crohi'ield - N G - Gordon Reichart - S T - Austin - S T - Denver Havens - C E - Haubrick - N E - Neil Decenzo - C B - Smith - C B - Ray Wills - W B - Draudt - S B - Eddie Waller - C B - Carroll - N B - Fred Ehrensberger - N B - BeckWith - A B - Bernie Deshler - C 1928 122! E - M1leusn1sch - S E - Dave Raines - C T - Allen - N T - GeraldDonavan - S G - Baller1no - E G - Robt. Johnson - W C - Ehreneberger - N C - Emelia DePietro - C G - Dubois - N G - John Ballerina - E T - Austin - S T - Bob Buckholtz - N E - McPhail - A E - Nick Strauss - S B - Smith - C B - John Coverdale - S B - Carroll - N B - Bob Starrett - E B - Wetzel - N B - Bill Karversales - N B - Hinchman - N B - Woody Wills - W 150

FIGURE 16 (cont.)

~ ill2 E - Thomas - E E - Harvey Eader - E T - Donavan - S T - Pius Litzinger - A G - Apple - N G - Tom Day - E C - Casey - W C - Harold Marx - E G - Maggied - E G - Joe Aqueo - C T - Deshler - W T - John Vagnone - A E - Raines - C E - Bi~l Wilie - W B - Starrett - E B - Earl Compton - E B - Willis - E B - Nate Noble - E B - Mccarroll - N B - Val Boehm - A B - Purnell - C B - Don Claypool - N

ill2. ~ E - Don Reed - E E - Bob Donald - N T - Lawrence Michaelis - w T - John Vagnone - A G - Sol Maggied - E G - Ray Underwood - W c - Perry Ayers - E c - Mar Brandenberger - W G - Dick Ross - N G - Blaine Courtwright - c T - Dave Deshler - W T - Lou Posey - S E - Homer Beachler - w E - Bob Wiley - W B - Bernard Solomon - s B - Frank Richey - W B - Clifford Baye - W B - Charles Larkin - W B - Eddie Slavens - E B - Joe S1gnoracci - A B - Bob Wiley - N B - George Meyers - S

1934 1221 E - Focht - W E - Jack McClain - S T - Neely - E T - Howard Gentry - W G - Goldberg - S G - Robt. Farrow - S C - Robison - N C - Robt. Carpenter - W G - Banks - E G - Richard Kimbrel - W T - Hoffman - W T - Roy Stout - N E - Litzinger - A E - Howard Harrison - W B - Butler - E B - Frank Richey - W B - Francis - W B - Ronald Fowler - A B - Poeschel - S B - Loren Staker - E B - Maloney - N B - Robt. Richardson - W 151

FIGURE 16 (cont.) 1938 1941 E - Don Russell - C E - D~Fieher - S T - Dick Zimmerman - N T - BiLl Crabtree - E G - Bob Farrow - S G - Irv Wimbley - C C - Bob Kerschner - A C - Bob Henning - C G - Bob Wingo - C G - Harrison Douglas - E T - Howard Gentry - W T - Remo Notturiano - C E - Dick Stuart - N E - B1Ll Cochran - N B - Jerry Moore - S B - Jim Murnane - A B - Ronnie Fowler - A B - Waiter Justice - E B - Dick Burgett - N B - Tom Carter - C B - Bill Purpura - E B - John Van Horn - E

1222 1942 E - Biil Hart - W E - Wi.Lbur Armstrong - E T - Lance Hall - N T - Bob Stuart - N G - John Melfi - C G - Harry Ackley - N C - John Kilgore - N C - Don Schwartz - N G - Carl Gunning - E G - Gene Rand - E T - BiLl Garnes - W T - Remo Notturiano - C E - Bill Garland - C E - Karl Irwin - A B - Dick Burgett - N B - John Wright - N B - Clarence Nonnemaker - s B - Jim Clark - N B - Ned Bell - W B - John LuciJanic - A B - John O'Connor - C B - Bill Reeder - A

1940 ~ E - Chas. Snyder - W E - Daie Bonnie - N T - BiLl WiLlis - E T - Paul Freshman - N G - Bill Craig - N G - PauJ. Falter - A C - Elmo Koons - W C - Metere ALDan - W G - Irv Wimbley - C G - Guy Chambers - E T - Jack Redd - N T - Sheldon O'Hara - N E - Bob Ford - N E - Everett Chandler - E B - Dick Dierker - W B - Harry McKnight - E B - Jack Clifford - A B - Ira BlackweiL - W B - Bob Lonis - N B - Jesse VanFossen - N B - Phil Drake - N B - Dave Bonnie - N Hon. member Jim Clark - went to army eariy in Nov. 152.

FIGURE 16 (cont.)

~ !.ill E - Da.J.e Bonnie - N E - Jack Thrush - w T - Jack Jennings - N T - John Tetlow - N G - Virgil Crawford - w G - Curt Westerman - w c - Geo. Hale - E c - Dick Backus - N G - Chuck Gilbert - N G - Merrill Wells - E T - Clancy Beigler - c T - Chuck Weeks - W E - Donn Hainer - W E - Bill Buckingham - w B - Dick Slager - W B - Jim Slager - W B - Jesse Van Fossen - N B - Dick Thomas - E B - Renick Parkey - W B - Bob Logan - C B - Dave Bonnie - N B - Starling Hutt - w

~ 1948 E - Tom Bain - E E - Chas. Morlan - C T - Hugh Calland - N T - Don Shifflette - N G - Bob Reed - L G - Jim Milenkovich - s c - Lester Wilson - c c - Dave Drenan - N G - Geo. Phillips - E G - Dick Archibald - E T - Dick Lang - A T - Chas. Weeks - W E - Bob Miles - W E - Don Speakman - W B - Dick Slager - W B - Paul Theisen - W B - Norm Devine - E B - Gene Morgan - C B - Jack Delaney - A B - Dick Culbertson - w B - Herb Fink - N B - Roger Moritz - N

1946 E - Neil Duf ore - L OFFENp T - Carl Hosler - W E - Joe Jester - N G - Tom Palmer - W T - Jerry Hoffman - C c - Ralph Watts - W G - Don Vollmuth - L G - Bil~ Lewis - E c - Bob Epps - W T - Bernie Bellisari - A G - Bob Kessler - C E - Pat Tonti - A T - Dave McBride - N B - Dick Widdoes - N E - Louis Sharp - E B - Bill Corotis - E B - Zack Willson - N D - Bruno Masdea - W B - Marion Wright - S B - Bob Walston - L B - Jim Spung - N B - Adam Smith - C 153

FIGURE 16 (cont.)

1949 (cont.) DEFENsr- OFFEN~ E - George Goldberg - S E - K. Wolfarth - S T - Andy Watzek - A T - v. Bellisar1 - A G - Rudolph Stewart - E G - C.Kortzenborn - C C - Ronnie Sprouse - C C - D. Papai - S G - Herb Jones - N G - D. Hadden - C T - Dave O'Connor - S T - D. DeBolt - S E - John Masdea - A E - T. Johnson - W & Howard Jackson - C B - R. Reckling - A B - Emelio Ricevato - C B - c. Hunter - W B - Tom Kearns - A B - H. Cassady - C B - Minus Sowards - E B - B. Weinrich - N B - Joe Bourne - N DEFENSE E - G. Custer - L T - H. Jones - N G - R. Burton - E OF FENS~ C - D. Radcliffe - E E - J. Masdea - A C - P. Evans - N T - L. Toone - E G - E. Gleibs - W G - D. Orcutt - W T - J. Corrova - A C - R. Webster - E E - B. Truss - E G - J. Boggs - A B - C. DeMattis - L T - H. Jones - N B - R. Clark - C E - R. Ruh - S B - J. Johnson - W B - R. Reckling - A B - B. Hairston - c B - J. Schmidt - A B - D. Wirtz - S B - v. Rhea - E B - B. Weinrich - N DEFENSE OFFE~ E - W. Smith - E E - J. Trabue - W T - D. Linson - E T - A. Thomas - W G - T. Bauer - N G - B. Hudgens - E C - K. MiLler - N c - H. Billingsley - N G - D. Dent - C G B. Higgins - A T - D. DeBolt - S T - w. Collins - E E - B. L1ssko - A E - N. Ingram - E B - E. Mackey - E B D. Orr - W B - R. James - W. B - D. Wright - E B - G. Popovich - L B - B. Sowards - E B - H. Cassady - C B - B. Karow - N 154

FIGUR& 16 (cont.)

~ (cont.) DEFENHE OFFEN~ E - c. Sauvage - L E - N. Harris - E T - J. Corrova - A T - w. Cochran - L G - J. Rickenbacher - E G - K. Shuman - N G - B. Grate - s C - L. Karnes - E T J. Fleming - C G - B. Wilson - E E - c. Brockmeyer - C T - D. Watkeys - A B - J. Scott - E E - A. Garey - L B - E. Wirtz - S B - E. Webster - E B - D. Papai - S B - G. Bennett - C B - R. Grant - W B - P. Robinson - E B - J. Lacorte - L B - J. Morlan - C DEFENSE E - J. Flacche - A OFFENS~ T - J. Marshall - E E - P. Snyder - L G - L. Banks - E T - R. Holderman - C G - D. Greer - W G - D. Woodring - L T - J. Nowell - E C - G. Roszman - C E - D. Deshler - W G - D. Peake - s B - c. Garwood - C T - B. Higgins - A B - P. Black - S E - D. Harris - C B - J. Tatum - E B - c. Kessler - L B - D. Devereaux - A B - B. Smith - E B - T. D1Sabato - A B - J. Lacorte - L B - J. Morlan - C 1955 DEFENSE OFFE:rmr:- E - J. Flacche - A E - T. Goble - A T - J. Floyd - N T - D. Chandler - C G - L. Banks - E G - B. Arnold - C G - D. Greer - W 0 - J. Lake - N T - B. Higgins - A G - B. Cook - E E - P. Jackson - N T - J. Nowell - E E - D. Bargdill - C E - A. Long - E B - G. George - L B - G. Clinard - N B - S. Webb - C B - B. Cole - N B - T. Disabato - A B - R. Bellisari - A B - T. Ongaro - W B - L. Haase - L B - C. Peake - S 15·5

FIGURE 16 (cont.)

1955 (cont.) DEFE~ E - A. Garey - L T - B. Weber - N G - T. Pentello - c G - G. Nebinger - w T - J. Marshall - E E - N. Kee - E B - J. Bargd111 - c B - R. Wilkey - s B - M. Genereaux - A B - B. Conley - W B - G. Walker - E 150

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Annual Report of the Public Schools, New York: The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, .1.929, Bu.Ll. No. 23. Deschner, Ramy B., The Evolution of Sports, St. Louis, Mo.: Fred Mede.rt Manufacturing Co., .1.946. Forsythe, Char.Les, Administration of High School Ath.Letics, New York: Prentice Hall, Inc. 1954.

~' Central High School Yearbook, 1924. Lee, Alfred E., History ofthe City of Columbus, v. l. Menke, Frank G., TheEncyclopedia of Sports, New York: A. s. Barnes & Co., 1953. Recreation Program, Summer 1953, Columbus Recreation Dept. Bull. Savage, Howard J., American College Athletics, New York: The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teach­ ing, 1929, Bull. No. 23. School Athletics Problems and Policies, Education Policies Commission. National Education Association of the United States and the American Association of School Administrators, 1201 Sixteenth Street, N.W., Washing­ ton, D. C. Scott, Harry A., Competitive Sports in Schools & Colleges, New York: Harper & Brothers, 1951. Superintendents Annual Report, Columbus Public Schools, 1916. The Columbus Citizen The Columbus Dispatch The Ohio High School Athlete, v. XII, no. 3. The Ohio State Journal Wi.1.liams, Jesse Fairing and Hughes, Wm. Leonard, Athletics in Education, Philadelphia & London: w. B. Saunders Company, 1931.