Basketball Team Pictures from the Sandusky Business College

Sandusky photographer W.A. Bishop took two pictures of the Sandusky Business College basketball of 1913-14. The varsity team is pictured above and the junior varsity is below.

               

Several individuals have been identified in the team picture of the 1920-21 Sandusky Business College basketball team. Seated in the front are: Willard Grathwol, Fred Meinzer and Art Wintersteller. The second individual in the back row is W.O. Loudenslagel, president of the college at that time. Mr. Loudenslagel was once a student at Sandusky Business College, and later became an instructor.  In 1918, he purchased the college, and he served as president until it ceased operations in 1949. Harry Miller is also in the back row, but it is not known which of the other three men he is. 

Below is the 1928 basketball team. Though none of the students have been identified in this picture, President Loudenslagel is the man in the suit and tie at the far left.

        

We have one photo of the women’s basketball team from the 1922-23 season in our collection; none of the women are identified, however.

         

There are several names written on the back of the original photograph of the 1930-31 men’s basketball team of the Sandusky Business College. The team players were: Paul Scheid, Edward Hinde, Duane Rogers, Burrell Braver, Charles Zimmerman, Robert Smith, Abe Grathwol, Ralph Rhodes, James Kelley, Robert Holzmiller, and William Bluhm.  W.O. Loudenslagel is at the far left of the picture.

    

Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center to learn more about the people and businesses who have made Sandusky and Erie County home.

A Sandusky Team at the American Bowling Congress Championships, 1961

Though these men have not been identified, it appears that they were all on a bowling team during the American Bowling Congress Championships held in Detroit, Michigan in 1961. The same men are in the picture below.

An article on the sports page of the March 31, 1961 issue of the Sandusky Register reported that the Sandusky Bowling Association was going to be sending a squad of bowlers to the American Bowling Congress to be held in Detroit at the “glamorous Cobo Hall.”

If anyone knows who the men are in the group photograph, please leave a message in the comments field of this blog post.

Sandusky High Schools Girls Basketball Team of 1922

These young ladies were on the Sandusky High School girls basketball team during the academic year 1921-1922. In the back are: Hyacinth Brownworth, Ruth Thom, and Coach, Mrs. Carl Mackey. In the front are; Elsie Hofer, Betty Grulich, Ruth Laux, Vesta Dwelle, and Alyne Wiedenhaefer. All the members of the team earned a letter at an assembly held at Sandusky High School in March of 1922.

Hyacinth Brownworth, later Mrs. John Rheinegger, served as the Clerk of the Board of
Education of the Sandusky City Schools for several years. In 1957 Hyacinth Rheinegger was honored at a dinner party for “the meticulous and efficient way” she ran her office. Several school officials, past and present, attended the dinner at the Rockwell Springs Trout Club in her honor.

 

Holzaepfel Kodaks Baseball Team

In the 1910s, the Holzaepfel store sponsored a baseball team known as the Kodaks. When you look closely at the players, the name Kodaks is printed on the center of their uniform tops, and the large H on their uniform stands for Holzaepfel.

In another team picture of the Holzaepfel Kodaks, the name of the teams appears in cursive writing on the players’ uniforms.

 The Holzaepfel Brothers store was an official processor of pictures taken with Kodak film.

From 1908 through the 1950s, the Holzaepfel Brothers store was at 157 Columbus Avenue. In the early years, the store was listed as a business that sold novelties, but by the 1920s the store was known for selling sporting goods, and of course for processing Kodak film. Though you cannot read the name Holzaepfel Brothers, the business was in the building where the words Sporting Goods appear, on the west side of Columbus Avenue in this picture taken in 1955.

From the 1960s through the 1980s, the Holzaepfel Brothers store was at the northeast corner of Columbus Avenue and Market Street. Many area athletes bought their letter sweaters at the Holzaepfel Brothers store.

Huron Parks Basketball Team, 1912-1913

While the players in this picture of the Huron Parks basketball team of 1912-1913 have not been identified, we know the last names of the team members from an old newspaper clipping. According to the November 16, 1912 issue of the Sandusky Star Journal, the last names of the players were: Oesterle, Pietschman, Schnell, Hallet, Simon and Kurtz.

Local photographer N.J. Abele created these picture postcards in 1912. On Thanksgiving evening in 1912, the Huron Parks were defeated by the members of the St. John’s Athletic Club basketball team at St. Mary’s Hall.

Esmond Dairy Baseball Team

The Esmond Dairy baseball team is pictured above on the grounds of the Ohio Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home. In the 1920s, the Esmond Dairy sponsored baseball, football, and basketball teams. An article in the May 15, 1922 issue of the Sandusky Star Journal reported that the baseball fields at the Ohio Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home were a big improvement over the baseball field at Huron Park, where they had been playing. While we do not know exactly which players are in this photo, you can read about historical baseball games played in Sandusky on microfilmed copies of the Sandusky Register and the Sandusky Star Journal at the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center.

From about 1919 through the 1970s, Esmond Dairy was located at 1610-1616 Campbell Street in Sandusky. 

Eagles, Sandusky Aerie No. 444, Bowling League Champions in 1929

During the 1928-1929 bowling season, the Sandusky Eagles had eight teams in its league. Each team was named for a different portion of the eagle: Heads, Tails, Claws, Spurs, Feathers, Beaks, Legs, and Wings. Winners of the Eagles Bowling League in April, 1929 were the Heads. Members of the team included: Frank Golden, Dr. John J. Atkins, Robert Giessman, Ralph Andrews, Edward J. Shafer, and Herman Popke. Dr. John J. Atkins was the Eagles physician, but he had to step down in September, 1929 due to poor health. Bowling has been a popular leisure activity since the late nineteenth century, and is enjoyed by individuals in over ninety countries.

Ernest Siggens: Star Athlete, Mayor of Sandusky

Ernest V. Siggens, who was known as Ernie, was born in Sandusky on May 7, 1897 to George and Emily Siggens. He was a star of the Sandusky High School football teams of 1914, 1915, and 1916. From 1923 to 1925, Ernie played in the backfield for the Sandusky Maroons. (He is seen at the far right of the front row in the photo below, which was taken in 1923.)

Other teams which Ernie Siggens played for included the Parks Junior Basketball Team, who were the area champions in the 1913-1914 season, and the Sandusky Elks baseball team.

During World War One Ernie Siggens served in the United States Army from May to December, 1918. For several years, Ernie was the proprietor of the Siggens Electric Service store on Wayne Street in Sandusky. On January 1, 1932, Mr. Siggens was elected Mayor of Sandusky. He remained in that office January of 1934. On April 12, 1935, Ernest V. Siggens died at Good Samaritan Hospital following a brief illness. He was only age 37 at the time of his death. Mr. Siggens was survived by his wife, the former Mildred Atwood, a daughter, Mary Jane Siggens, and his mother, Mrs. Emily Siggens. Burial was in Oakland Cemetery. A touching tribute to Ernie Siggens appeared in the April 12, 1935 issue of the Sandusky Star Journal.

Winter Sports in Sandusky -- Tom Root Photos

In the spirit of the season, here are a couple of views of winter sports in Sandusky Bay in January 1958. These photos also serve as an introduction to a recent acquisition by the library of the Tom Root Aerial Photographs, a collection of images taken by local photographer Thomas Root from 1949 to 2000. The collection is in the early stage of processing, but we can show you a sample here of scenes in Sandusky.

The first image shows ice boaters on Sandusky Bay, January 12, 1958.

The next image, from the same day as the one above, shows many ice skaters along the shore.

Mystery Photos Bonus: Can you identify exactly where these scenes are? One of these should be relatively easy; the second is more difficult -- you'll probably need a really good monitor on your computer to help you figure it out. Feel free to post your answer in comments. (The answer is now posted in the comments.)

Sandusky High School Football, 1912

The Sandusky High School football team about 1912:Pictured are:
Top row: C. E. Fleming, Leonard Osberg, George Singler, Frederick Slackford
Middle: Charles Abele, Frank Field, Howard Earnshaw, Wilbur Schoepfle, Estes Drake, Bob Judson
Front: Bill Busch, Roy Hazen, Wilson Harris, Gene Close, Don Hand, George Giesler, Art Wieland

Charles E. Fleming would go on to teach chemistry at Sandusky High School for thirty four years. Leonard Osberg served three two year terms as the Mayor of Vermilion in the 1940’s. Robert Judson retired as plant manager from the American Crayon Company in 1964, having been with the company for forty seven years. Wilbur Schoepfle was a Navy Ensign during World War One. He majored in mechanical engineering at the University of Michigan. Wilbur moved to California, and lost his life in an automobile accident in Orange County, California in 1941. The football team photograph pictures the young men with all their hopes and dreams ahead of them, years before the two world wars were thought of, and without the responsibilities of a job and family.

Visit the Archives Research Center of the Sandusky Library to learn more about the history of the people who have made Sandusky and Erie County their home.

London Gant, Sandusky High School Star Athlete

London Gant was born to Abe and Ida Sherman Gant in 1912 in South Carolina. According to an article in the May 31, 1962 Sandusky Register, London’s grandparents, Lucas and Ida Gant moved to Sandusky in 1917, after their family home was mysteriously burned one night. Mrs. Ida Gant had been born into slavery in Oconee County, South Carolina, and her age was given as 101 years old when she died in 1962 in Sandusky. Many of the men in the Gant family worked at Farrell Cheek, a company which recruited workers from the Southern U.S. states.

In 1933, London Gant graduated from Sandusky High School. A charter member of the Sandusky High School Athletic Hall of Fame, London earned twelve letters, having lettered for four years in three different sports, football, basketball, and track. Butch Wagner wrote in London Gant’s Hall of Fame Profile, which appeared in the April 14, 1990 Sandusky Register that “Gant was a powerhouse fullback in football, an all-league guard on the basketball team and a record-setting field event performer on the track team.” One of London’s teammates, John Weis, was quoted in the Register article, “London Gant was strictly power and he ran the ball from long punt formation quite a bit. When he picked up steam nobody was going to take him down unless it was around the ankles.” In the October 1929 football game between Findlay and Sandusky, the Blue Streaks won 19-7. London Gant scored all three touchdowns.
The New York Times carried an article about London Gant on December 11, 1930. It seems that an opponent of the Sandusky Blue Streaks football team doubted whether London was young enough to be eligible to play high school football. While we do not know if an X-ray was actually taken, Dr. T. Wingate Todd of Western Reserve University suggested that an X-ray measuring bone density could confirm London’s age. An article in the Elyria Chronicle Telegram on September 18, 1931 stated that London Gant of Sandusky High School was “easily one of the most feared backs on any scholastic team in the state.” London’s name appears right above the name of Jesse Owens on a web site which features Ohio high school athletic records from the Chicago National Interscholastic Championships. In 1932, London Gant threw the javelin 186’ 6.00.,” while Jesse Owens set records in 1933 for the 100 yard dash, 220 yard dash, and the long jump.

Following graduation from Sandusky High School, London Gant attended the University of Cincinnati, where he was only the second African American athlete to compete at that school. An injury cut his football career short in Cincinnati. On December 19, 1964, London Gant passed away following a battle with cancer. Butch Wagner wrote in April, 1990 about London Gant, “His memories and feats continue to live on in the archives of Sandusky High School annals.”

George “Johnny” Nichols, Light Heavyweight Champion

George “Johnny” Nichols won the Light Heavyweight Championship in the National Boxing Association’s tournament finals in Chicago on March 18, 1932. Johnny Nichols is pictured below with his long time manager Jack Singer.
The March 19 Sandusky Star Journal reported that Nichols had only a “100 to 1” shot to win. Johnny defeated Dave Maier in the fight, but judge’s decision was not unanimous. Two referees voted for Nichols, but another judge, John Houghteling, cast his ballot for Maier. The crowd stood and cheered for Johnny Nichols when N.B.A. president John V. Clinnin linked the gold championship belt around the winner’s waist.

George “Johnny” Nichols was born in Sandusky to Italian immigrant parents. He did much of his boxing in Buffalo. The Sandusky Register Star News said in a 1957 article that Johnny Nichols fought from 1927 through 1937, sat out a year, and had one final fight in 1939. Nichols had boxed in many towns including Boston, Miami, Los Angeles, Denver, and Houston.

Finding vital records about George Nichols proved to be a challenge. The May 10, 1957 Sandusky Register Star News stated that Johnny Nichols was born June 9, 1908. However, the Social Security Death Index gave July 10, 1907 as the birth date for John Nichols who died in 1986 in Sandusky, Ohio. The birth record at Erie County Probate Court (Volume 4, page 98) lists “Philip Joseph Nicolasi” being born Jul7 10, 1907 to Thomas Nicolasi and Ida Demmas Nicolasi. (Ida’s maiden name was probably Demma.)

The obituary of John G. Nichols in the September 27, 1986 Sandusky Register listed John G. Nichols’ parents as Thomas and Ida Nichols, and his wife as the former Bertie Horn. The 1910 U.S. lists his parents as Thomas and Ida Nicholas; but the 1910 Sandusky City Directory contains a listing for Thomas and Agata Nicolosi.

Variations in given names, surnames, and birth dates are all too familiar in family history research. Don’t rule out any data. The best thing to do is to keep a record of all the dates and spellings that are found, and document the source of each. Johnny Nichols was definitely born in Sandusky to Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Nicholas, but through the years names were changed. Johnny’s mother name was listed as Mrs. Ida Nicholas in her 1936 obituary, but Johnny’s name was listed as John G. Nichols with the Ohio Department of Vital Statistics at the time of his death in 1986.

An interesting sideline about Johnny Nichols is his brief marriage to Kit Klein. The New York Times reported in 1935 that the national speed skating champion had married George Nichols, a boxer from Sandusky, but they had never actually lived together.

Olde Broderson, Baseball Player

Olde Broderson was born in Germany in August of 1888 to Carsten and Catherine Hansen Broderson. The family emigrated to the United States in 1890. By 1900 the Brodersons had a family of eight children and resided in Sandusky.

Olde’s job was at the car shops of the New York Central Railroad, but in his free time he loved to play baseball. He was a member of several different area teams throughout the years, playing for the Shamrocks from about 1911 through 1914. A columnist for the Sandusky Star Journal wrote in 1921 when Olde played for the Griswold-Wags team, “We’ve been watching Broderson play ball for several years, been amazed at the unusual sight of seeing a man improve with every season and often wondered if 'Brod' hadn’t discovered that spring of perpetual youth that Balboa, or maybe it was Ponce De Leon, went after.”
On the afternoon of Sunday, June 21, 1925, Olde Broderson was in the lineup as catcher for the Kelleys Island baseball team the Chinks. In the seventh inning, Suhr, the third baseman for the opposing team, was on third base, and attempted to slide home on a base hit. Olde was trying to block Suhr’s run for a score, and the two players collided. Olde received internal injuries from this accident. His teammates escorted him home on the steamer Chippewa. Olde remained in constant pain, and died the following day.

Olde’s obituary said that he was “one of Sandusky’s oldest active baseball players.” Six members of the Chinks team served as pallbearers at the funeral. Representatives from all Sandusky baseball teams attended the funeral services, where a huge floral tribute honored Olde.

Olde Broderson is buried at Oakland Cemetery. He was survived by his wife and three sons, seven siblings, and both his parents. He was sadly missed by his family and friends.

Winter Races on Central Avenue

An earlier blog entry reported on horse racing at the original Erie County Fairgrounds, located at what is now Cable Park in Sandusky. But there also has been horse racing on the other side of town, but of a different sort. For a few winters around 1900, Central Avenue, between Monroe and North Depot Streets, became known as the "speedway," where local stables brought their best horses and drivers for races on the snowy pavement. (Central Avenue had only recently been paved.)

An article in the Register newspaper on December 18, 1901 described plans for a season of racing on the Avenue, described as "without a doubt one of the best in this section of the country. It is about a half mile long and is plenty wide enough for four horses to come down abreast." (You can see from the photo above that this was an accurate claim.) It described the leading stables in the area, and the prospects for racing that season.

Do you think today would be a good day for a sleigh race?

Horse Races in Sandusky

Although we have not had horse races in Sandusky for quite a while, the trotters were popular in town for many years, beginning about 150 years ago.

When the Ohio State Fair was held in Sandusky in 1858 the new fairgrounds (off Wayne Street, where Cable Park is today) included a state-of the-art race track. The Sandusky Register previewed the racecourse in its August 7, 1858 edition, declaring that it "will be one of the finest courses in the state." It was a mile-long oval, fifty feet wide, "with a 'home-stretch' of 100 rods" (2.5 furlongs, or 550 yards). Its inaugural races were held on September 2, 1858, with races all during the state fair in September. Entrants in those early races appear to have been mostly residents of nearby communities who wanted to show off the quality of their horses and their racing carts. Winners at the fair's races received purses of $50.

By 1874, the Sandusky Trotting Association was established to manage the races. The first meet sponsored by the Trotting Association began at 10:30 AM on Wednesday, August 1, with eight horse races, and human foot races in between. (Foot races were frequently held on the track.) The highly popular Great Western Band performed throughout the day. (You can see the band marching in an 1876 parade on the track in the image above.) Each race was run as a best-three-of-five, or two-of-three, series of heats. One of the races was a match race between Gottlieb Epple's double team and Clark Center and his horse, Silversmith Maid -- a race the Register said was run as a "side bet." After losing the first heat, Silversmith Maid won the next two races to take the prize. (Sadly, there was no indication as to how much was bet.)

Additional newspaper articles show that the races were still popular into the 1920s, with a track record $5000 purse (worth about $50,000 today) offered on July 30, 1924.

It's Baseball Season!

Baseball has long been a popular sport in Sandusky. It was played by both the prisoners and the guards at Johnson’s Island Prison during the Civil War. The Bay City Baseball League was organized here in April 1868, while in March 1886 William J. Stoffel purchased several lots bordering Central Ave., Osborn and Prospect Streets to be fitted up as a baseball park. The streetcar line ran close to these grounds, so fans could come to the games from far and near. Here is a view of the Central Park ballfield around 1940:

The Detroit Tigers of the American League were the opposition for the Sandusky team when League Park opened at the corner of Columbus and Perkins Avenues on April 22, 1907; future Hall of Famer Ty Cobb played right field for the Tigers. An estimated crowd of 2200 fans were at the game that day. Herman Schleman’s “Sanduskys” were defeated 18 to 1 by the Detroit team. Herman Schleman later went on to manage the Telling Strollers in Cleveland.

Elmer Smith, a Sandusky native, hit the first grand slam home run in World Series history when he played for the Cleveland Indians in 1920. Other major league baseball players born in Sandusky are George “Jerry” Upp, Elmer Miller, and Alva “Al” Halt (pictured below, at around age 20, with the Sandusky BPOE Elks Team in 1910, four years before he entered the major leagues; unfortunately, although we know the names of the players, we do not know which person is which).

The Martins and Shamrocks were popular baseball teams in Sandusky in the 1910’s. (Below: the Shamrock baseball team, Sandusky city champions, 1912.)

Ernie Nimmons, an outstanding Sandusky High School athlete in the late 1940’s, played for the Indianapolis Clowns in 1952.

Baseball continues to be played in Sandusky in several area leagues, with youngsters as young as age five playing T-ball. To read more about baseball in Sandusky, you can view the sports pages from our local newspapers in the Archives Research Center.

Baseball on the beach at Cedar Point, date unknown.

Football Season!

In commemoration of the big football game coming up this weekend (no, not Manchester United v. Chelsea -- that's later in the month; I mean the one between those schools on US 23) , I thought I'd show some scenes from early football in Sandusky.

The image above is of the very first Sandusky High School football team in 1901. (Did you know that SHS had a basketball team before it had a football team?) The 1901 team went 2-1, defeating Cleveland West (16-5) and Norwalk (10-5), but losing to Toledo Scott, 34-0.

The 1906 SHS team (pictured here) was Sandusky's first undefeated team, winning all five of its games without allowing a single point. They defeated Fremont twice, Lorain Senior twice, and Norwalk.