Tim Raab - Powerhouses of Ohio High School Football: The 50s and 60s

Published by The History Press

Charleston, SC

www.historypress.com

Copyright 2019 by Tim Raab

All rights reserved

First published 2019

e-book edition 2019

ISBN 978.1.46714.232.8

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019937035

print edition ISBN 978.1.43966.743.9

Notice: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. It is offered without guarantee on the part of the author or The History Press. The author and The History Press disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

In memory of
Antony Tony Raab
19732007

CONTENTS

FOREWORD

Growing up in Lancaster, Ohio, football has always provided a rite of passage for boys to transition into young men. While many people debate all the things football isnt and all the dangers it can cause young people, there are still so many important lessons that only it can teach.

My father has been a high school football coach for the better part of thirty years. Since starting his coaching career at New Lexington, a small rural Ohio community tucked south of I-70 and east of State Route 33, he has personally witnessed the changes in society and how they have affected the development of young men. Football has become the last bastion of rugged physicality, teamwork and sacrifice for the common good to help develop our nations young men. Long gone are the days of the military draft and morning Phys Ed calisthenics. Those now belong to yesterday.

But it is yesterday that our nation must never forget. It is our history that defines us as a nation, as a state and as a community. Much of that community history was written through the gridiron. The identity of many of the communities throughout the state once resided in their industry and their football programs. The successes of both seemed so intertwined that they often defined the culture of everyone who lives there.

In my hometown of Lancaster, Ohio, it was no different. Like in much of the state, the factories roared and the football was rough. Those men took pride in their toughness and grit. Whether it was Cleveland, Massillon, Toledo or Steubenville, those tenets remained the same and united entire generations of men throughout the Buckeye State.

Thus, I was honored when Tim Raab asked me to write this foreword to his new book, as it vividly captures what football meant to Ohio towns large and small during a transitional time after World War II and then up to the era of the playoff system in 1972. Tim shares the same sense of the values I dothat football imparts growth lessons on young kids just entering manhood, draws all peoples together for a common cause and creates a unique sense of camaraderie rarely found elsewhere. The books research is comprehensive, and the descriptions of the players, coaches and games are colorful and exciting. All of this and more is in Tims book.

Ohio high school football not only changed my life, but it also provided the opportunity for my family to change their entire trajectory of our future. I look forward to sharing the folklorish stories with my sons and one day watching their transition to manhood on Ohios football fields.

BOBBY CARPENTER

Columbus, Ohio
September 2018

Bobby played high school football for the Golden Gales of Lancaster High School and went to The Ohio State University, where he starred for four years as a linebacker, eventually being drafted in the first round by the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League. His career spanned playing time with the Cowboys, Lions, Rams, Dolphins and the Patriots. After his NFL retirement, he returned to Ohio State, where he obtained an MBA in finance and strategy from Ohio States Fisher School of Business, where he also teaches part time at the business school. He hosts a local sports radio show and works with ESPN providing color commentary for college games on the weekends. He writes a blog and prepares regular podcasts, all found by going to bobbycarpenter.com. He lives in central Ohio with his wife and four children.

PREFACE

In this book I will profile some of the great teams and personalities of Ohio high school football during the 1950s and 1960s. It was a different time and place, and these teams established Ohio as a leader in how the game was played and coached, as well as served as innovators in safety, rules and how the game was administrated. It was a seminal period in Ohio high school football history.

Many of those great teams are still famous in Ohio and some nationally. Some are forgotten, one-hit wonders or no longer in existence. Many of the players and coaches were made equally famous and were catapulted to the major college and professional ranks. By providing the reader a year-byyear snapshot from just two decades of a few teams and personalities of the pre-playoff era, I hope to whet your appetite for more, to get to know the heritage and traditions that make up Ohio high school football and attain an appreciation of how much this sport means to this state.

I made my selections based on each teams success in the decade in which they are described and/or how interesting their stories would appeal to the reader. All records were cross-checked as much as possible using multiple sources, and any errors or omissions are mine alone. Enjoy, and remember: if it hurts, put ice on it and get back in there!

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Putting together a book like this was a dream of mine for many yearsbut where and how to begin? Certainly, newspapers were excellent sources, and I did go through an awful lot of microfilm in libraries around the state. For those libraries I did not get to in person, I relied on the good graces of the reference librarians in towns large and small. I have to say that I have never met a more cooperative group of people overall than reference librarians. They gave me the type of service on the other end of a phone or an e-mail as if they were just waiting for my call and champing at the bit to begin searching for those little nuggets that prove so valuable to the writer. This personal service was outstanding, and I would like to thank the following as representative of them all for helping me make this book come alive: Rebecca Larson-Troyer, reference librarian, Local History Department, Barberton Public Library; Amanda Dias, reference assistant, Rodman Public Library, Alliance, Ohio; and Ron Davidson, archives librarian, Sandusky Public Library, Sandusky, Ohio. Please support them and your local library!

I also want to mention Carol Copley, senior staff assistant, Sports Information Office, University of Notre Dame, who helped me with information on Augie Bossu.

Standing tall among the school administrators I spoke to was Carol Bebout, the former principal of Marion Harding High School in Marion, Ohio, who over two years gave me much encouragement from our first casual discussion of the project right up to the end, prompting and pushing me to make it happen. Thanks so much, Carol!