Sport History
African Americans in Toledo Sports
From Moses Fleetwood and Welday Walker and the 1883 Toledo Blue Stockings, to the African American sparring partners who helped train Jack Dempsey for his crushing defeat of Jess Willard in 1919, to the various twentieth century football players at the University of Toledo and Toledo high schools, African Americans have played a large part in the athletic successes of Northwest Ohio. This exhibit will highlight some of the great African American athletic pioneers from Northwest Ohio. This is just a small selection of the many athletes who shaped Toledo baseball in the early part the twentieth century. [Exhibit link]
Memories of Semi-Pro Basketball in Toledo: Twisters of 1961-62 and Tartans of 1962-63
As the statistician for Toledo’s minor league professional basketball teams in the early 1960s, I was able to meet some future NBA stars, a few college superstars, several former University of Toledo players, and many other athletes with backgrounds ranging from true gentlemen to dangerous criminals. This essay presents my recollection of the players and teams. [Exhibit link]
Toledo Athletes
The pages that follow are intended to be a comprehensive listing of Toledoans and northwestern Ohioans who have achieved a certain measure of national fame in the world of sports. The listing is a work in progress and the author welcomes additional information about the people listed (e.g. school attended for those whose information is not provided) or those that should be added to the listings. The list is divided by sport and each sport is divided into two sections – Toledoans and northwestern Ohioans. To determine whether someone should be listed requires a determination of what is a Toledoan or someone from northwestern Ohio and what constitutes fame. [Exhibit link]
Toledo Baseball 1880 - Present
The Toledo Mud Hens have had a long and storied history in Northwest Ohio. The club has pushed the color barrier when other teams were trying to exclude African American players, served as training grounds for future Hall of Fame players and managers, and has seen revitalization recently with two consecutive championship seasons. [Exhibit link]