Wilbur ‘Lank’ Coven, Elyria High School
Considered one of the greatest track and basketball stars ever produced by the city of Elyria is Wilbur ‘Lank’ Coven. Coven qualified for state high school track meet in four events and scored in three – including a second place finish in the high hurdles. Coven competed against future Olympian Harrison Dillard in the high hurdles and never lost. He scored eight of Elyria’s 10 points in 1939 and all of his team’s points (3½) in 1938 including a 2nd place finish in the high jump. In basketball, Coven was just as impressive. As a senior, he scored 277 points, the most in a single season at Elyria at the time. He was named to the All-Lake Erie League team three years and was selected to the second team All-Ohio in 1939 before accepting an athletic scholarship to North Carolina. The Associated Press limited its selection to just five players putting Coven in a select group state-wide. He later transferred to Toledo University before entering the service and starring on the Army team in Mississippi. After his military service, Coven played briefly at Baldwin-Wallace before turning pro with the Rochester Royals of the National Basketball League. The Royals won the NBA title in 1946-47, beating the Chicago Bears – led by George Mikan – in the finals. Coven left the Royals for the new World Basketball Association but the league folded before it started. Coven, who by that time was married and had a family, called it a career. His two sons — Rick and Greg — both played key roles on successful Elyria basketball teams. Wilbur passed away December 7, 1998 at the age of 78.
Hayden ‘Daddy’ Evans, Elyria
It was only appropriate that the nickname “Daddy” was given to Hayden Evans. He was the father of bowling in Elyria. Evans was a driving force behind the recreational sport that was at one time THE sport in the city of Elyria. When Evans arrived in Elyria from Toledo in 1916, he worked for the Overland Co. and was sent to organize the company’s sports programs. That included bowling and Evans managed the lanes on Clark Street. He was one of the original organizers of the Elyria Bowling Association which was chartered in 1936. He served as the organization president in 1940-41 and took over the secretary duties in 1943. He held that post until 1964. Evans was instrumental in setting up the by-laws of the EBA and helped organize the annual banquet – one of the best of its kind anywhere. He put together the annual bowling yearbook and was one of the individuals responsible for building an official organization for the city’s junior bowlers. On the lanes, ‘Daddy’ wasn’t bad. He averaged around 175 and was a member of the ITS Rubber Plant team which set a team record in 1945 of 3,183 that stood until 1963. Evans was the first member inducted into Elyria’s Bowling Hall of Fame in a surprise ceremony at the 1965 Banquet of Champions. Evans has a scholarship in his name given to the most deserving junior bowler.
Leroy Johnson
On the tennis court, Leroy Johnson was king. Johnson accomplished a record of excellence unequaled before or since. On the tennis courts of Elyria, Johnson was unparalleled. Johnson’s feats included a string of nine straight city singles titles stretching from 1948 to 1956 and 12 consecutive doubles crowns from 1946 to 1958. In all, he won 11 city singles titles, 12 doubles and one mixed doubles. He also won the Duluth, Minnesota city title when he was stationed there during his military service. Johnson also promoted the sport of tennis as a member of the city tennis commission by arranging tournaments, promoting free tennis lessons and clinics and working to install the all-weather clay courts at West Recreation. His prowess wasn’t confined to the tennis courts. Johnson played football, basketball and baseball as a youngster growing up in West Palm Beach, Florida. He played semi-pro baseball in West Palm Beach and had a brief fling in the minor leagues before an arm injury sidelined him. Later, he became a standout fastpitch softball player in the area. At the YMCA, Johnson won every handball and table tennis tournament held there from 1946 to 1958. As with tennis, Johnson helped organize tournaments and exhibitions. Johnson was also a novice golfer – winning Class A and B golf titles in the General Industries shop league. He teamed with his wife, Gerry, to win a mixed doubles bowling tournament at the Slovak Club in Lorain.
Eddie Wingard, Elyria High School
Who could fill the shoes of Wayne Embry after the legendary star center graduated from Miami of Ohio after the 1957-58 season? The answer is Elyria’s own Eddie Wingard. Wingard may not have matched Embry’s scoring total, but the 6-foot-6 senior averaged 12.1 points a game, led the Redskins in rebounding, field goal and free throw shooting and made the Mid-American All-League team. Miami finished with a 14-11 record overall and tied for the MAC title with Wingard its MVP. Wingard was Dale Reichenbach’s first big man for the Pioneers in building the foundation for Reichenbach’s outstanding career. At Elyria, Wingard set records for career and single season scoring and his 32 points against Bedford early in his senior season set the single game mark as Elyria won, 87-39. Wingard was also an outstanding high jumper for the track team and played end and quarterback for the football team. Wingard coached high school basketball at Yellow Springs where he had four winning seasons in his six years at the helm. He was also the head baseball coach and the athletic director. Later, after earning his master’s degree from Miami and a Ph.D. from Ohio State, Wingard became Dean and Professor in the College of Education at Central State University.
Jack Yarsa
Longevity certainly defines the softball career of Jack Yarsa. Still pitching in the city leagues well into his 70s, Yarsa won over 2000 games as a softball pitcher with at least 20 no hitters and 50 one-hitters among his accomplishments. He once hurled 34 straight shutout innings and in the 1940s, pitched in eight games in a week’s time – winning seven of them. Jack participated in every state ASA tournament from 1933 to 1976. In 1975, he pitched Rosie’s Pizza to the Lorain County Blue Ribbon Softball Championship by winning two games on Sept. 8, 1975 – 4-2 over First Federal and 3-2 over Adam’s Café. He was called the ‘Satchel Paige’ of area softball diamonds. Born in Joliet, Illinois, Yarsa moved to Lorain in 1917 and has been a Lorain County resident since. Before competing solely in softball, Yarsa was a standout tight end in football and a good ballhandler in basketball.
Harold Block, Elyria High School
A player, a coach, an official – Harold Block did it all until his untimely death in 1970. He was a standout in baseball, basketball and football at Elyria High from 1928-31 and was acknowledged as Findlay College’s No. 1 athlete. He could have played professional baseball but opted instead for a career in education, coaching, and officiating. Block coached for 20 years at the prep level, guiding Elyria High to sectional and district championships in basketball and tutoring such greats as Vic Janowicz and Tony Curcillo as an assistant football coach. He also officiated for 20 years, heading a five-man crew that handled Buckeye Conference and Ohio Conference football games.
Gerald Gaines, Elyria
Gerald “Gerry” Gaines was king of two courts – tennis and basketball – in his youth growing up in Oberlin. Gaines had no peer during his celebrated career at O
berlin High School. He was instrumental in Oberlin’s 1926 Class B state basketball championship. Oberlin made the state finals four years in a row starting in 1924 and Gaines was a member of three of those teams and was selected to the all-tournament team all three years and was the leading scorer in two of them – missing by just two points of making it three. He was the first to be named to three straight All-State teams, a feat not accomplished again until Jerry Lucas came along in the 1950s. His cage success continued with Republic Steel’s “Steel and Tubes” team that won the industrial and city league titles in 1930. “Steel and Tubes” made it all the way to the YMCA state finals before losing. But Gaines gained his greatest notoriety in Elyria on the tennis court. He won two city singles championships in 1948 and 49 and a string of six straight doubles crowns (1948-1953). He combined for two more doubles championships in 1963 and 1970. He won the Lorain County singles titles in 1953 and the 1974 Lorain County Sesquicentennial doubles crown. He also played football and ran track at Oberlin and once long-jumped 22-feet – still considered a tremendous feat to this day. After retiring from Republic Steel, Gaines became the assistant tennis pro at Sugarlane Racquet Club.
James Ross, Elyria
Consistency marked the golf exploits of James Ross, one of the greatest all-time amateur golfers 
ever to play the game. Ross won more than 35 golf championships and finished runner-up in a dozen others. He was a standout on Ohio State’s University golf team. Ross began his golf career as a 15-year old – winning two straight Elyria Country Club Caddie titles and two straight Cleveland District Golf Association Caddie Championships in 1951 and 52. As a sophomore at OSU, he finished second in the Ohio Intercollegiate Tournament. He won the first of two ‘Varsity O’s’ as a Buckeye. In 1967 and 1972, Ross won qualifying rounds in sectional competition for the U.S. Open. Ross was the first Elyrian to win the Cleveland District Golf Association 72-hole event in 1967. He was Oberlin Golf Club champion six times and runner-up three. He was also a champion golfer at the Oak Hill Country Club. Ross has also won the Lorain Invitational, the Lorain County Amateur twice, the first-ever Lorain County District Tournament Champion of Champions and countless best-ball tournaments. He managed to win all those championships and titles in spite of his full-time duties as a Certified Public Accountant that prevented him from going down south to ‘work on his game’ in the winter months.
Lou Rotunda, Elyria Catholic High School
For better than 50 years, Lou Rotunda has been known by many simply as “Mr. Elyria Catholic”. He is the founder and sponsor of the 
annual Lou Rotunda Award given to the school’s outstanding scholar-athlete. It remains the most coveted award at EC. Rotunda coached the freshmen basketball team for 40 years, compiling a record of 419-223. He had only four losing seasons. He was also the assistant Athletic Director for 30 years. Rotunda was equally important to the CYO program in Elyria. He started and coached the St. Mary grade school football team for eight years. He headed the CYO basketball program for 10 years and is a past president of Senior CYO. Rotunda is a member of the Lorain County Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame (Class of 1994) and was inducted into the Elyria High School Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame in 2000. He received an honorary Elyria Catholic diploma in 2001. For his unselfish devotion to the youth of Elyria, he was awarded the first Eagle of the Cross. Rotunda continued to serve the young people of Elyria Catholic and the city of Elyria through 2011 and was always willing to lend an ear or to give advice when it is sought. He rarely missed an athletic function at Elyria Catholic. Rotunda continued to serve as a trustee for the Elyria Sports Hall of Fame up until his death in August, 2011.
John Sheldon, Elyria High School
John Sheldon and Elyria High Football are practically one in the same. From the first day he put on an Elyria High uniform in 1938 until his retirement as 
an assistant coach in 1975, Sheldon had football flowing through his veins. As a student, Sheldon was a three-year starter for the Red Raiders – as Elyria High was known in those days. After a stint in the service for World War II, Sheldon entered Bowling Green State University where he earned three letters and played on the undefeated 1948 Falcon team. But it was in coaching that Sheldon became synonymous with Elyria High football. He joined the varsity staff as a line coach in 1950 and for two and a half decades produced some of the top lineman in the school’s history. He was intense, demanding and thorough. “I’m a holler type of guy,” he once said. “I used to get right down there to show them what they were doing wrong.” The ‘highs’ of coaching came on game nights, but Sheldon’s enjoyment of his work extended to daily practices. “After (the game) was over, whether you won or lost, that was the climax,” Sheldon said. “But I enjoyed every minute of it, working day-in and day-out on the practice field.” Sheldon’s influence continued in the classroom where he taught math, physical education, and directed Elyria’s premier Industrial Arts program. Right up until his death in 2009, Sheldon continued to support the Pioneer football team.
Fred Lehmann
Labeled the “baby fullback” back in the 1930s at Carnegie Tech, Fred Lehmann was no infant w
hen it came to football. Lehmann did it all for Carnegie Tech in an era when Tech played all the football giants of the day – Notre Dame, Pitt, Holy Cross, Michigan State, Duquesne, and Purdue. He competed in college at the tender age of 17, 18, and 19 – having three double promotions during his school days in Elyria. He ran, passed, received, returned kicks and was an outstanding defensive player at Carnegie. Lehmann impressed Notre Dame and Temple players and coaches. He was named to each of those school’s all-opponent team. Lehmann was a true scholar-athlete as he made the honor roll on the nationwide Beta Theta Pi team in 1935 and 1936. He was invited to play in both the East-West Shrine game in San Francisco and the Philadelphia Inquirer game – pitting a college all-star squad against the Philadelphia Eagles but he declined both invitations for personal reasons. At Elyria High, in spite of his young age, he was among the scoring leaders in the Lake Erie League. His touchdown against Sandusky helped Elyria pull a 14-13 upset victory over the Blue Streaks in 1932 breaking Sandusky’s 13-game win streak. Elyria’s long-time coach, Roy Clymer, called Lehmann ‘one of the best football players I’ve ever coached.’ Lehmann also captained the basketball team. After graduation at Carnegie Tech, he coached the freshman team in 1937. That group eventually played in the Sugar Bowl against Texas Christian. Later, Lehmann became an executive with the B.F. Goodrich Co. in Akron.
Byron Morris
Wheth
er on the tennis or basketball courts or the baseball diamond, Byron Morris became one of Elyria’s best multi-sport athletes. Morris earned nine letters at Elyria High – four in tennis, three in baseball and two more in basketball before going to excel at the College of Wooster where he earned seven more letters – three in baseball, and two each in tennis and basketball. Morris’ 1.12 earned run average in 1954 is still the standard for the Scots. He was awarded “The Manges Prize” after his senior year – given to the outstanding athlete at Wooster. In Elyria, Morris won the city junior tennis championship three years in a row from 1949 to 1951 and he nearly won the men’s title in ’51 – losing in the finals to fellow Hall of Famer Leroy Johnson. In baseball, he hurled a pair of no-hit shut-outs for the Post 12 American Legion summer team. On the hardwood during the 1950-51 season, Morris scored 27 points in a victory over Fremont and scored 21 against favored Cleveland West at the Berea District to lead Elyria to a 69-56 victory. The Pioneers and Cowboys combined to set a tournament single game scoring record at the time and Elyria’s 224-point total for the four-game tournament set a single team mark at the time (56 points a game). He retired as head of the admissions department at his alma-mater in Wooster where he graduated in 1957. His brother Donald is also a member of the Elyria Sports Hall of Fame.
Frank MrukowskI (1914-)
Joining his son Bill in the Hall of Fame to become the first father-son combination so honored, Frank Mrukowski certainly doesn’t need to take a back seat to an
yone. The senior Mrukowski participated in five different sports at EHS in the 1930s, but his specialty was football. During the 1933 season, Mrukowski set a Lake Erie League record with 100 points that included a 94-yard touchdown run against Toledo Central Catholic and a 50-yard field goal against Lorain – a record kick that still stands today for Elyria High School. Mrukowski played in an era of single platoon football – playing both ways. He was a linebacker on defense and a blocking halfback his junior year and fullback his senior year. Russ Davies – the Chronicle Telegram Sports Editor at the time – described him this way: “Mrukowski could do most anything with the football. He could run, pass and kick with almost equal ability. As a defenseman, he had no superior.” He was voted to the second team All-Ohio, missing a first team rating by just one vote in an era when only 11 players were named to the first team. Mrukowski was the center on the basketball team two years and once participated in a boxing tournament – reaching the finals when, suddenly, the tournament was cancelled with no champion. In the spring, Mrukowski played softball on weekdays, baseball on weekends while also participating for the high school track team. He once raced against the legendary Jesse Owens. Mrukowski retired from Republic Steel in 1976 after 40 years of service.
Dwight “Ike” Truby
It may 
have been just one grand season that pushed Dwight “Ike” Truby to his place in Elyria’s Sports Hall of Fame – but it certainly was “the big one”. It’s impossible to talk about Elyria football without talking about the 1947 season when Truby coached the undefeated Pioneers. He joins a number of his players off that squad into the Hall. Truby was a great athlete himself – earning all-Ohio honors in basketball on Dover’s Class A state champions in 1927. He went on to be named all-state at Wittenberg in football. He was an assistant coach to John Brickels at New Philadelphia for two undefeated teams in 1934 and 1935. He took over the head coach position at Fostoria for seven years with three of his teams posting perfect seasons. In 1943, Trubey came to Elyria and was 27-16-2 in his five seasons. Four of his teams had winning years. He left Elyria after that famous ’47 season to become an assistant coach at Purdue and went on to assist his former college roommate Bill Edwards at Vanderbilt for two more years. He returned to Elyria and worked for the All-American Company before ‘retiring’ to become a clerk with the Municipal Court.
Ray Wilson (1922-1970)
Seldom has one man been appreciated by so many. From the time he arrive
d in Elyria in 1950 until his untimely death at the age of 48 in May, 1970, Ray Wilson was a coach and friend to countless young men. For Wilson, the kids always came first whether it was baseball, football or hockey. He was a living definition of the word ‘discipline’ and believed there was no substitute for hard work. He led by example and demanded no less from the kids he worked with. They loved him for it. Charles Raymond Wilson (he never used his first name), assisted on the football team from 1954-64, and as head coach of the baseball team, he compiled a 60-26 mark from 1954 to 1961. In ’64 he moved to Northwood Junior High to coach football and track and organized the city’s amateur ice hockey program. He was recognized as ‘Mr. Hockey” in Elyria and was instrumental in getting the ice rink opened at North Recreation. During the summer months, Wilson, who was born in New Philadelphia and grew up in Cleveland, worked in the recreation department in Shaker Heights where he was director of the Red Raider Summer Camp. He also was involved in local sandlots at the Hot Stove, American Legion, and Class A levels.
George Phineas Guthrie (1904-1972)
It seemed most appropriate that Elyria’s lone Olympic performer would be selected to enter Elyria’s Hall of Fame in 1976 – the Bicentennial celebration for the United States.
“Phin”, as he was known in his day, was a hurdler extraordinaire at both Elyria High and Ohio State. He died of a heart attack in 1972 leaving behind a legacy that included a performance in the 1924 Olympics. Guthrie was a 20-year old collegian when he competed at the Paris Olympics. He won his preliminary heat to qualify for the 110-meter high hurdles. In the finals he finished third behind USA teammate Dan Kinsey (from Oberlin)and Sidney Atkinson of South Africa but was placed sixth for knocking over three hurdles — still good for an Olympic diploma. Guthrie was one of the top hurdlers in the country during the mid-1920s. In 1925, he tied the then world record of 14.4 in the high hurdles and also set an indoor 40-yard hurdle mark of 5.4. He captained the Buckeyes track team that year and won the Big Ten hurdles championship. He would have liked to have tried out again in 1928 but financial responsibilities forced him to seek work and prevented him from training properly. Guthrie won one NCAA outdoor high hurdles, and finished second in another. He won a national AAU indoor hurdle race and another outdoors, and scored in three other national hurdle races. He won four Big Ten titles and set eight Ohio college outdoor and two indoor records. He was inducted into the Ohio Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1981.
John Kostyo (1916-)
It was the 1940 Blue-Gray Classic game in Montgomery, Alabama where the North recorded a 14-12 victory. The difference? Two extra points by a small, 165-pound kid from Elyria named John Kostyo. Kostyo, known as the ace, competed from Wittenberg University. “I held my own,” Kostyo said. “I played halfback on defense and intercepted a pass.” There were players from Notre Dame, Michigan and Illinois on that team but Kostyo was right there with them. At Elyria, Kostyo played two seasons of varsity football and finished 8-1-1 his senior year. He earned All-Lake Erie League honors. He accepted a scholarship to Wittenberg and started his junior and senior years. He was the high scorer for small schools in the state of Ohio. He was the team’s MVP and was named to the UPI All-Ohio and All-Ohio Conference teams.
Eugene Myers
Like any other kid in his era, Eugene Myers was up by 9 a.m. and down to the ballpark. Back home fo
r a quick lunch and then back to the ballpark. Home for supper and back down to the ballpark until dark. Myers was no different from any other kid except for his ability. Myers’ best sport was baseball even though Elyria High did not field a team for three of the four years Myers attended. He played football and basketball as well for EHS and fondly remembered the 1932 Lorain game played on Thanksgiving morning. Fred Lehman, Elyria’s star player, was injured and couldn’t play quarterback so Myers got the call to start – his first heavyweight start in his high school days. (It was an era when many schools fielded two football teams – one lightweight, one heavyweight.) Elyria won the game, 26-0. “We had Frank Mrukowski, Bill Jones, and Fred Carlton in the backfield,” Myers said. “We really took it to them.” When it came to choosing a college, his neighborhood buddy – Alex Clowson – paved the way. Myers played football and basketball at Ohio State as a freshman but concentrated on baseball after that. He played second base for the Buckeyes and is only one of 13 players to be named captain for two consecutive years (1937 and 38). He signed a contract with the White Sox in the spring of 1940. He competed in many very good leagues in the area and later competed in softball. One area sports writer rated him ‘the best defensive infielder’ in the Tri-County League. Myers passed away on January 26, 2011, at age 95. This picture from his basketball days at Elyria High was provided by his family.
Dr. Al Robinson
Woody Hayes, the legendary Ohio State football coach, once told Al Robinson 
Wilbur Vaughn
Called the cornerstone at Elyria High School, Wilbur Vaughn spent 39 years as 
a teacher and coach at EHS. His coaching career spanned 29 years and four sports. He taught math full time until his retirement in 1957. He remained a substitute teacher until 1970. He first came to Elyria in 1918 as a math teacher and athletic director. He coached football for six years, basketball for three, eight years as swimming coach and 25 as the track coach. His fondest memory was the 9-0 victory over Lorain in 1918 in his first year. He gradually paired his coaching duties and stepped down as athletic director in 1923. He had the privilege of coaching such Hall of Famers as George Phineas Guthrie, Vic Janowicz and Joe Scott during his career.
Harold “Dinger” Dangerfield (1903-1963)
Whenever the history of Elyria High football is talked about, inevitably Harold “Dinger” 
Russ Doan
Prior to Russ Doan’s emergence as Elyria High’s athletic director in 1955, there was little
consistency in the athletic programs in any phase. Doan changed all that, directing Elyria’s athletic programs to one of the best and most envied in the state. Under Doan’s leadership, Elyria had undefeated football teams, state tournament basketball teams, conference champion baseball teams, a state wrestling championship and state honors in track and tennis. Doan built a solid coaching staff that had an outstanding state-wide reputation. Under Doan’s leadership, Elyria was the only Buckeye Conference school to win championships in every sport. He retired in June, 1979 after 40 years in the education field – 25 at EHS. Prior to coming to Elyria, Doan spent 16 years at Wadsworth where he was athletic director, head wrestling and baseball coach, and assistant football coach. His 1942 Wadsworth wrestlers won the state championship. Doan was an outstanding athlete at Ravenna and Paris High Schools and captained the wrestling and baseball teams at Kent State. He earned four varsity wrestling letters (1936-39) and three baseball letters (1937-39). He lost only two matches in a four-year career and was undefeated as a junior. He was the Ohio Conference’s batting champion in 1938. He won Kent’s Award of Merit in 1964 and was inducted into the Kent State Hall of Fame in 1982. Doan also played semi-pro baseball around a stint in the Navy. Doan passed away in 2015.
Don Gleisner
Another member of Elyria’s fabled undefeated 1947 football team was its quarterback – Don Gleis
ner. Gleisner ma
y not have drawn the attention of Vic Janowicz or Tony Curcillo on that team, but he was intrumental just the same in helping the Pioneers win the Lake Erie League championship and finish rated as the second best team in the state behind Barberton. Gleisner went on to Vanderbilt (right) of the Southeastern Conference where he played safety and was named to the All-SEC team. Gleisner set a school record with five interceptions his junior year and rewrote the record a year later with seven picks his senior season. He made game-saving interceptions against Mississippi and LSU and earned individual citations for performances vs. Chatanooga and Alabama. Gleisner switched to defensive back because Vandy had eventual pro quarterback Billy Wade calling the signals. Gleisner played in the North-South game at the Orange Bowl in Miami and had feelers from the Cleveland Browns, Green Bay Packers, Chicago Cardinals, Washington Redskins, and the Chicago Bears along with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. He signed and played with the Bears but an injury cut short his pro career. Gleisner was president of the All-American Company – now owned by Riddell – the nations leading athletic equipment supplier and reconditioner. He passed away in 2012.
Bill Mrukowski
One of the legendary names in Elyria sports history, Bill Mrukowski was a 3-sport star and contributor during
some of the brightest years – athletically – the Pioneers have ever enjoyed. Mrukowski played on an 8-1 football team ranked fifth in the state, two consecutive Buckeye Conference champion basketball teams and a district champion baseball team. A fullback and defensive back, “Mruk”, as he was nicknamed by fans and sportswriters, was named to the All-Ohio football team alongside classmate and fellow Hall-of-Famer Walt Rock. In basketball, Mrukowski played a prominent role in three district champion teams, helping the Pioneers to an undef
Jeri Pomeroy
an selected for the Elyria Sports Hall of Fame. Pomeroy, an outstanding bowler and softball player, was recognized as one of Elyria’s outstanding bowlers for nearly 30 years. She won the Margaret Henke Trophy signifying her as having the highest average among women keglers. Her 179 average in 1964-65 was the highest recorded in that era. She won the state singles championship at the tender age of 19 and won the all-events championship in the city tournament six times. She rolled 600 series 24 times in 20 years. She was the Elyria Women’s Bowling Association’s first Hall of Fame inductee in the Superior Performance category. Pomeroy was twice a member of the winning team in the city tournament and won the doubles title in 1960-61 with Pat Sanicky. In 1956 she was on the championship team in the Inter-City Tournament at Fremont in 1955. She finished fourth in all-events in the state tournament in 1945, the year she won in singles. In softball, Pomeroy played three times in the World Series and twice in the National Tournament. She was an all-tournament third baseman in the 1950 National Tournament in Phoenix competing for the Chevrolet Queens out of Oklahoma City. Pomeroy graduated from Elyria High in 1943 (right) where she received the VFW award for outstanding performance in athletics as well as patriotism and Americanism.
Russ Davies (1906-1973)
For nearly half a century, Russ Davies enlightened Elyria readers through hi
s columns in the Chronicle-Telegram. Davies was sports editor for 25 of those years – retiring as Sports Editor in 1955 but continuing to write a weekly column for the C-T. Davies was known by thousands of readers for his “Rustlin’ Through Sports” column and covered thousands of sporting events from high school football and basketball to the pros. He wrote about countless athletes and personalities. He was Lorain County’s chief sports historian, one of the first members of the Football Writers Association of America and a charter member of the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame. He retained his memberships and a vote for the Heisman Trophy, college football’s most reknown award, until his death in 1973.
George Day (1886-1976)
Talk about
one of Elyria’s greatest athletic boosters and the name George Day is right at the top of the list. Day continued to support Elyria athletics right up to his death. He was a key figure in the Pioneer Club, serving as its president. He purchased countless trophies for championship recreation teams, donated scoreboards for the local YMCA and recreation center gymnasiums as well as American flags for both Ely Stadium, the Knights of Columbus Field and George Daniel Field. He rarely missed an Elyria High football, basketball or baseball game – home or away – and the baseball field at Ely Stadium bears his name – George Day Field – as a tribute to his support. Even at his senior age, Day was a standard of physical fitness – completing a five-year jogging project that carried him 2,500 miles at the age of 88. He was named Mr. YMCA in 1966 and was an end on one of Elyria High’s earliest football teams – graduating in 1903.
Art Hudnutt (1929 – 2006)
The year was 1962 at the prestigious Western Amateur Golf Championship in 
Michigan and the champion was Elyria’s own Art Hudnutt. The year before, reknown golfer Jack Nicklous won the event, a year later Tom Weiskopf. Hudnutt’s name was in pretty fast golf company. Locally, Hudnutt was the Elyria Country Club champion 11 times from 1954 to his induction into the Elyria Sports Hall of Fame in 1974 and only once in that time did he fail to qualify for the finals. Hudnutt qualified for the U.S. Amateur four times and competed in the British Amateur at Carnoustie, Scotland, winning his first two matches. In Ohio Amateur competition, Hudnutt got to the semi-finals at Toledo Country Club in 1966 before losing to eventual champion Bobby Littler. After the tournament went from match to medal play, Hudnutt finished in the top 20 in 1971. He has won numerous titles in the Cleveland District Golf Association competition. Hudnutt is a Hall of Fame inductee at his alma mater Ohio Wesleyan, where he participated in golf and swimming. For many years, Hudnutt served as Master of Ceremonies for the Elyria Hall of Fame banquet.
Herman “Shorty” Lappin
Literally thousands of Elyrians – young and old – owe their first taste of competitive sports to Herman “Shorty” Lappin. Credited with starting Elyria’s Little League program in 1950, Lappin was involved directly with the local program for three decades. Lappin served as 
West Little League president for 16 years and was District Administrator for 21. The field behind the old General Motors plant on Telegraph Road served Little League West’s Majors for three decades and was named after Lappin. Lappin began his baseball journey as a youth baseball coach for a Class F team in 1942. In 1949 he began the midget program in Elyria and a year later Little League. Elyria had only one Little League in 1950 but it soon spread to each side of town. Little League South won the city’s first state title in 1958. North followed suit with championships in 1961 and a senior championship in 1967. West not only won the state crown in 1969 but came a whisker from winning the national tournament at Williamsport, Pennsylvania. That team is enshrined in the Elyria Sports Hall of Fame. Those feats would have never come to pass had it not been for the foresight and hard work of Herman “Shorty” Lappin.
Dale Reichenbach (1919-2001)
Elyria became a basketball hotbed shortly after Dale Reichenbach arrive
d on the scene in 1953. “Rick”, as players, fans, and fellow coaches affection
ately knew him, took only three years before starting Elyria High on a string of success in basketball unequaled in Lorain County annuls. From 1957 through 1964, the Pioneers won the local big school district championship – a streak of eight years under Reichenbach’s tutelage – twice qualifying for the state tournament’s final four. After a one-point loss in the sectional final in 1965, Reichenbach returned the district trophy to Elyria in 1966 – the final year of his brilliant 13-years at EHS. Reichenbach’s teams won 221 games, lost only 78 and won the prestigious Buckeye Conference championship four times. At one point, Reichenbach’s teams won 28 consecutive league games – a record for the league. Overall, in 19 seasons of coaching, Reichenbach compiled a 343-107 record, a winning percentage of .762. His 1958-59 team was unbeaten during the regular season and was inducted into the ESHOF in 1999. At Grand Rapids in 1951, his team won the Class B state championship with a 29-2 record. He had four other teams win at least 20 games and in his 13 years at Elyria, only one had a losing record. As a high school player at Blufton (1937 graduate) he led his team to the state tournament and eventually played and graduated from Blufton College in 1941. Reichenbach was also inducted into the Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame in 1995.
Bill Barton (1923-1999)
Elyria High’s football program was floundering when Bill Barton arrived on the scene in 1955. The Pioneers had only two winning seasons since the glorious undefeated 1947 squad led by Vic Janowicz. Twenty-three seasons later, Barton had amassed 152 wins, lost
only 64 with nine ties. To put that in prospective, the next best coaching record at Elyria was Roy Clymer’s 64-37-6 over 11 seasons in the 1930s and 40s. Barton led Elyria to three undefeated campaigns (1968, 69 and 71) in an era prior to the football playoffs. The Pioneers were ranked as the 2nd best team in the state two times (1969 and 19
71) and were 3rd in 1964, 4th in 1968, 5th in 1972, 8th in 1958, and 10th in 1959. Playing in what was arguably the best football conference in the state at that time, Elyria won or tied for five Buckeye Conference championships. During a five-year span (1968-1972) Barton’s teams won 46 games and lost only four. Against Elyria’s biggest rival – Lorain – Barton was 15-6-1, winning 14 times in 16 years at one point. Three of his biggest successes came against state power Sandusky. In 1962, Barton sent his winless (0-7-1) team against the undefeated and highly ranked, Earl Bruce coached Streaks and trailed 20-0 after three quarters before Elyria rallied to tie the powerful Blue Streaks, 20-20. In 1964 Elyria pounded the undefeated Blue Streaks, 32-6, at Sandusky in a game Barton later called ‘my sweetest victory’. In 1969, Elyria drove for the winning touchdown in the final minutes to preserve its unbeaten season with a 13-12 victory over Sandusky at Ely Stadium. Barton had previously coached at both Tallmadge and Wadsworth (his alma mater) and wound up with a career mark of 187-82-9. Barton was the starting quarterback at Kent State and led the nation in punting in 1948.
Alex Clowson
Left-hand hitting Alex Clowson twice led the Big Ten in hitting with averages of .429 in 1932 and .397 in 1933 for Ohio State in 1932 and 1933. He was captain of the Buckeye
Baseball team in 1934 and finished his Ohio State career with a .301 average as a senior. He also competed on the Buckeye freshman basketball team and later was an assistant baseball coach at Ohio State for 10 years. At Elyria High, Clowson was a multi-sport talent – playing well on the diamond, the basketball and tennis courts, and the football field. As Captain of the 1930-31 basketball squad that finished the season 14-7, he became Elyria’s first All-Lake Erie League selection in 1931. He played for fellow Hall-of-Famer Jack Ambrose’s American Legion teams. A knee injury prevented Clowson from further competing professionally in baseball in 1939 after he had signed with the Cleveland Indians. Clowson’s last stop in the minor leagues was Mansfield, where he was player-manager. Clowson served in the Army Air Corps during World War II.
Tony Curcillo
Not all th
e talk in Elyria in 1947 was about the great halfback Vic Janowicz – the eventual Heisman Trophy winner at Ohio State in 1950 because Elyria High had an incomparable one-two punch in their football backfield. At fullback was Tony Curcillo who went on to make quite a name for himself. Curcillo, a junior on the unbeaten ’47 team, averaged five yards a carry and scored six touchdowns in earning All-LEL honors along with Janowicz. In ’48, Curcillo again averaged five yards an attempt and doubled at linebacker for the Pioneers. He followed in Janowicz’s footsteps to Ohio State where he played quarterback, fullback and linebacker for the Buckeyes. He was the first starting quarterback to play for Woody Hayes at Ohio State. In 1951 against Iowa, Curcillo threw four touchdown passes and rolled up 292 yards in the air as Ohio State won easily, 47-21. He was an All Big-10 selection twice and gained honorable mention status in the All-American voting. At the 1952 East-West Shrine game, it was Curcillo’s block of an extra point that was the difference in East’s 14-13 victory. He played a year in the NFL for the Chicago Cardinals and later was an All-Canada choice for the Hamilton Tigercats in the Canadian Football league and played on the Grey Cup champions in 1957. He retired after the 1958 campaign. He and his wife reside in California.
Robert Jabbusch (1923-2008)
In 1914 t
he Big Ten Conference initiated a Medal of Honor to be presented annually at each of its member schools to the senior who demonstrated the greatest proficiency in scholarship and athletics. For the 1947-48 school year, Elyria’s Robert Jabbusch won the award at Ohio State as a guard on the football team and an engineering student. Jabbusch’s Ohio State career was split due to World War II. Jabbusch was a starting for Paul Brown’s 1942 National Champions and he played in the 1944 College All-Star game against the Chicago Bears before entering the military. He came back to Ohio State and was captain of the 1947 Buckeyes and was called the best lineman in the country by Brown. Jabbusch was drafted by the NFL’s New York Giants and the All-American Football Conference’s San Francisco 49ers but opted instead for an engineering career. Jabbusch was captain of Elyria High’s 1940 football team and was an All-Lake Erie League selection.
Louis Kolopus
If you grew up in Elyria during the 1940s, 50s, and 60s, the name Lou Kolopus is a familiar one. Kolopus was Supervisor of Health and Physical Education for the Elyria City Schools. He organized the football, basketball and track programs in the elementary schools, retiring in 1972. Kolopus distinguished himself in virtually every field of athletics. As an athlete, he was the only underclassman on the legendary 1923 Elyria High football team. He threw the shot put and the discus for the track team. At West Virginia Wesleyan, he played football, basketball and tennis as well as being a member or the boxing team. As a coach, Kolopus tutored the football team at Wellsburg, West Virginia and organized the six-man football squad at Avon in 1939. He was an assistant coach at Oberlin College and assisted Elyria head coaches Roy Clymer and Ike Trubey. He coached basketball and track at Avon – never experiencing a losing season. He started the boxing program at Oberlin College where he coached the sport for two years. As an official, Kolopus worked high school and college football games for 37 years beginning in 1934. He also officiated high school basketball. He was secretary-treasurer for the Northern Ohio Officials Association, serving one year as president. For many years Kolopus directed the district tennis tournament.
Jack Ambrose (1893 – 1987)
Considered by many to be the greatest athlete in Elyria’s history, Jack Ambr
ose was prolific in basketball, football, baseball, track, tennis, hockey, and golf. He participated in all those sports at various levels. He quarterbacked a professional football team, pitched in an afternoon baseball league, and was a guard on a local cage squad. His Fort Wayne Friars uniform has been enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton. He was instrumental in starting the American Legion baseball program here locally as well as organizing church basketball leagues and benefit football games in his era. He also coached briefly at Elyria High shortly after World War I.
Vic Janowicz (1930-1996)
Undoubtedly the best-known athlete the city of Elyria has ever produced, Vic Janowicz won the 1950 Heisman Trophy – 
signifying the country’s best collegiate player while performing for the Ohio State Buckeyes. Janowicz played on Ohio State’s Rose Bowl champions in 1950 and was the MVP in the East-West Shrine Bowl game at San Francisco, the Hula Bowl game in Hawaii, and the College All-Star game in Chicago. Janowicz went on to play both professional baseball with the Pittsburgh Pirates and professional football with the Washington Redskins. Janowicz was a 3-sport star at Elyria High – leading the Pioneers to a 9-0 finish in 1947 and earning a spot on both the 1946 and 47 All-Ohio football teams. EHS won the prestigious Lake Erie League crown in 1947 and finished 2nd to Barberton for the mythical state championship. In basketball, Janowicz held the season and career scoring marks at the time of graduation. His professional career was cut short by an automobile accident prior to the 1956 football season. Janowicz is also enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame and the Polish American Hall of Fame. Janowicz graduated from Elyria High in 1948. He died February 27, 1996 – a day after his 66th birthday.
Walt Rock
Born November 4, 1941 in Cleveland, Walt Rock became a household word for toughness at Elyria High in the late 1950s. A professional football All-pro lineman (1965 Pro Bowl) during his 11-year career with the San Francisco 49ers (1963-1967) and the Washington Redskins (1968-1973), where he was a member of George Allen’s fabled ‘over the hill’ gang. Rock was an outstanding end for Elyria High’s football team and center on the Hall-of-Fame 1958-59 basketball team where he was the leading scorer and rebounder. He was an all-conference lineman at the University of Maryland (right). He was nicknamed Walt “Hard” Rock by the Chronicle Telegram reporters of his era. Rock currently resides in the Washington D.C. area where he owns a garage door company. Rock graduated from Elyria High in 1959. While at Elyria High, Rock scored 393 points (16.4 ave) had 326 rebounds (13.5) and had 35 assists for the once-beaten Pioneer basketball team of 1958-59. Rock’s personal best was 31 points against Findlay, an 80-53 Elyria win. As a junior, Rock scored 131 points with a high-game of 22 at Ashland, Elyria’s only regular season loss in his final two years of varsity competition. But it was on the football field that Rock really showed his greatness. He earned a scholarship to Maryland as an end on the Pioneers’ once-beaten football team. He caught a 55-yard TD pass from Richie Poad to help beat Fremont Ross. 24-20. In an era when Elyria rarely threw the ball, Rock led the team in receptions with 11 totaling 298 yards — an average per catch of over 27 yards. He teamed with Bill Mrukowski on both the basketball and football teams and his graduating class of 1959 is still considered the best athletically Elyria High has ever produced. After a distinguished career at Maryland, Rock was drafted by the AFL Kansas City Chiefs in the second round (16th overall) but decided to sign with the San Francisco 49ers of the NFL, who picked Rock in the 2nd round (21st overall) in the 1963 player draft. In five years with the 49ers, Rock started 56 of 63 games. In fact, Rock started his final 56 games as a member of the 49ers. He was named to the Sporting News All-Conference first team in 1966. He joined the Washington Redskins in 1968 and appeared in 74 games for Washington — starting 47. A series of ankle sprains brought an end to his career following the 1973 season. He started the 1972 Super Bowl for the Redskins vs. the Miami Dolphins.
Joe Scott (1916-1971)
For 34 years, Lorain County Athletes took aim at Joe Scott’s 6-foot-5 high-jump mark without success. It wasn’t until
the ‘Fosbury Flop’ method was initiated that Scott’s mark fell. Scott was not just a high jumper. He excelled in track, basketball and football as well. As a sprinter, Scott ran the 100-yard dash in an incredible 9.6 seconds and the 120-yard high hurdles in 14.4 seconds – both records in the 1930s. He also managed to throw the shot put 44 feet and the discus 156 feet. Scott was the main cog on Elyria’s state qualifying basketball team of 1936 and was a halfback and punter for the football team. He went on to Western Reserve University where he participated in both basketball and track – compiling 669 points for the track team. Scott won the United States Decathlon Championship – a 10-event test to determine the best athlete in the country – in New York City in 1938 and successfully defended his title a year later in Cleveland. After serving his country during World War II, Scott came back and played a year of professional basketball. He died May 25, 1971. Scott graduated from Elyria High in 1936.
A.N. Chick Smith
For 32 
years, A.N. “Chick” Smith was a football and basketball official for area high school, Mid-American and Big Ten athletic game
s. He was president of both the Ohio Football and Basketball Officials Association and the Northern Ohio Football and Basketball Associations. Smith was a former commissioner for the Ohio Athletic Conference and vice-president of the College Division Commissioner’s Association. He coached Elyria High football for three seasons (1929-1931). His 1929 team came from a 19-6 deficit to defeat Lorain, 20-19, before over 6,000 fans at Recreation Field in Lorain. His 1930 team won its first seven games before losing its final three.
