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Among the notable natives of Belmont County are many athletes. To say sports are popular in the Ohio Valley and that hometown rivalries still exist would be an understatement.
These natives made names for themselves on or coaching college or professional sports teams in the arenas of football, baseball, basketball, and wrestling. *Updated April 25, 2024.
Nicknamed "Knucksie," Phil Neikro was a former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1997. Niekro's 318 career victories are the most by a knuckleball pitcher, and he ranks 16th on the overall, all-time wins list. The Blaine native also won the National League Golden Glove Award five times. Niekro pitched for 20 seasons for the Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves. During his tenure in Atlanta, Niekro was selected for five All-Star teams, led the league in victories twice, and earned run average once. Niekro was also a key to the only two division titles Atlanta won before 1991. Phil and his brother Joe Neikro amassed 539 wins between them, the most combined wins by brothers in baseball history. Phil Niekro's 121 career victories after the age of 40 is a major league record. His longevity is attributed to the knuckleball, which is a difficult pitch to master but is easy on the arm and often baffles hitters due to its unpredictable trajectory.
Robert Edward "Bobby" Douglas (born March 27, 1942, in Bridgeport) is a retired American freestyle wrestler and coach. He competed as a featherweight at the 1964 and 1968 Olympics and placed fourth in 1964. He won a silver and a bronze medal at the 1966 and 1970 world championships, respectively, and retired later in 1970. After that, Douglas coached several U.S Olympic teams, is one of only four collegiate coaches to win more than 400 dual meets, and won an NCAA team national title at Arizona State. His coaching accomplishments include 13 NCAA champions, 110 All-America performances, and 68 conference titles.
Douglas added to his legacy by coaching Cael Sanderson to a gold medal in the 185-pound weight class at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece. Douglas was named the 2004 USA Wrestling Freestyle Coach of the Year. In January 2005, Douglas was honored with the Edward Clark Gallagher Award, which is presented annually to the Oklahoma State wrestling alumnus who exemplifies the spirit and leadership eminent in the tradition of champions. He also received the 2005 Iowa State Alumni Association Impact Award. Douglas was inducted into the NAIS Hall of Fame in 1985, the Arizona Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1999, the Dan Brands Hall of Fame in 2002, and the OVAC Hall of Fame in 2004. In his career, he has coached many Olympians who placed in the top three in the world.
Douglas has written several books on wrestling techniques: Takedown I, Takedown II, Pinning and Olympic Technique, Take It To The Mat, Wrestling Skills and Drills, and The Last Takedown. He is one of a handful of gold-certified U.S. coaches.
John Steven Pramesa, a Barton native (August 28, 1925 – September 9, 1996), was a catcher in the Major Leagues from 1949-1952 for the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds. He threw and batted right-handed, stood 6 feet 2 inches tall, and weighed 210 pounds.
National Basketball Association Hall of Famer John Havlicek won eight NBA championships with the Boston Celtics and was named Finals MVP in 1974. When he retired after the 1977–78 NBA season, Havlicek was the Celtic's all-time leading scorer, a distinction still held at the time of his death in 2019.
He is widely considered to have been one of the greatest players in the history of the game and was inducted as a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1984.
Nicknamed "Hondo" (a nickname inspired by the 1953 movie of the same name starring John Wayne), Havlicek revolutionized the "sixth man" role in the NBA. He was known for his stamina which he attributed to a childhood spent running everywhere he needed to go on Route 40.
He also won a national championship for The Ohio State University. Havlicek was named as an alternate of the 1960 United States national team that competed in the 1960 Summer Olympics. Havlicek grew up in Lansing, where his parents ran a general store. Havlicek was a three-sport athlete at Bridgeport High School where he was a boyhood friend of Baseball Hall of Famer Phil Niekro.
Clyde Thomas was an all-state athlete in basketball and football at Bellaire High School. After a stellar high school career, he ran back for Ohio in the 1958 OVAC All-Star football game alongside quarterback John Havlicek.
Clyde played college football for Ohio University and starred on the undefeated Mid-American Conference Championship team as a senior in 1960. An All-American, Clyde was mentioned in a 1960 issue of Sports Illustrated as “being the biggest frog in a small pond” after helping Ohio University win a Conference Championship and a Small School National Championship (an award that no longer exists today).
His professional career began with the Vancouver British Columbia Lions-Canadian Football League in 1961. In 1964, Clyde began playing with the semi-professional football tea,m the Wheeling Ironmen. In 1965, Clyde made it to the NFL and signed with the Philadelphia Eagles. He returned to Wheeling in 1965 to play for the Ironmeg through the 1969 season. He retired from the Ironmen as the franchise’s all-time rushing leader. Thomas was inducted into the American Football Association’s Minor Football Hall of Fame in 2000.
King Solomon "Sol" White (June 12, 1868 – August 26, 1955) was a professional baseball infielder, manager, and executive and one of the pioneers of the Negro leagues. An active sportswriter for many years, he wrote the first definitive history of black baseball in 1907. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006.
Born in Bellaire, White made a name for himself locally and regionally for his ability to play many positions. He is perhaps best known for writing History of Colored Base Ball, also known (on the title page) as Sol White's Official Base Ball Guide.
Lou Groza, nicknamed "The Toe," was a football placekicker and offensive tackle who played his entire career for the Cleveland Browns in the All-American Football Conference (AAFC) and the NFL Groza grew up in an athletic family in Martins Ferry.
Samuel Pond "Sad Sam" Jones was a pitcher with the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, St. Louis Browns, Washington Senators, and the Chicago White Sox between 1914 and 1935. He was born in Woodsfield but lived in Barnesville. His sharp breaking sharp-breaking curveball also earned him the nickname "Horsewhips Sam." His habit of wearing his cap down low to shield his eyes gave him a downcast look and, he was dubbed "Sad Sam" by a New York newspaper reporter.
Samuel "Toothpick" Jones, born in Stewartsville (Belmont County), was a pitcher with the Cleveland Indians, Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals, San Francisco Giants, Detroit Tigers, and the Baltimore Orioles between 1951 and 1964.
During his career, Jones was known for his sweeping curveball, in addition to a fastball and changeup.
He was given the nickname "toothpick" because he always had a toothpick hanging out of his mouth. The press sometimes called him "Sad Sam" due to his mournful appearance.
Jones led the National League in strikeouts and walks three times: in 1955, 1956, and 1958. On May 12 of the first of these three seasons, he no-hit the Pittsburgh Pirates 4–0 at Wrigley Field, becoming the first African American in Major League history to pitch a no-hitter.
His greatest year came with the Giants in 1959, when he led the league in both wins with 21 (tying him with Milwaukee Braves starters Lew Burdette and Warren Spahn) and ERA with 2.83. He was named 1959 National League Pitcher of the Year by The Sporting News but finished a distant second to Early Wynn of the Chicago White Sox for the Cy Young Award. He was named to the NL All-Star team twice, in 1955 and 1959.
Ralph D. Vince (March 18, 1900 – October 29, 1996) was a football player for the Cleveland Indians, Cleveland Bulldogs, and the Cleveland Panthers. He later coached at Baldwin-Wallace College and John Carroll University. Outspoken and inventive as a coach, he was the inventor of the face mask. The original he created is on display at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. He also originated the practice of putting an armband of plays on his quarterbacks' wrists, now a common sight in the game. He attended Washington and Jefferson College and played in the 1922 Rose Bowl. He is distinguished as being the first Italian to play in the NFL.
Thomas Clark "Parson" Nicholson (April 14, 1863 – February 28, 1917) was a baseball player whose career spanned from 1887 to 1899. He played principally as a second baseman and in the minor leagues. He did play three seasons in the majors for the Detroit Wolverines in 1888, the Toledo Maumees in 1890, and the Washington Senators in 1895.
Nicholson was born in Blaine, Ohio, in 1863. He received the nickname "Parson" because he refused to play baseball on Sundays.
Fred Negus (November 7, 1923 – April 18, 2005) played college football for Wisconsin and Michigan and professional football in the All-American Football Conference and the National Football League.
Negus was born in Colerain and began his college football career with the University of Wisconsin. As Wisconsin's starting center in 1942, the Associated Press selected hiAll-Bigirst-team All-Big Ten Conference player. He was inducted into the U.S. Navy and was assigned to the V-12 Navy College Training Program at the University of Michigan. While at Michigan, Negus played for Fritz Crisler's 1943 Michigan Wolverines football team; Negus was the starting center on a Michigan team that compiled an 8–1 record, outscored opponents 302 to 73, and won the Big Ten Conference championship (in a tie with Purdue).
John Louis Blatnik was born on March 10, 1921, to Slovenian immigrants in a small community known then as Goosetown, a close-knit neighborhood just outside Bridgeport, Ohio.
Blatnik started in the minor leagues before and after serving in the South Pacific during WWII. Blatnik finally made the big leagues in 1948, joining the Phillies as a reserve outfielder. Somewhere along the way, he picked up the nickname “Chief,” though Blatnik said he never knew why.
In 1949 Blatnik was relegated to the bench. After limited action, Blatnik was sent to the Toronto Maple Leafs of the International League, where he batted .294 with 15 homers and 80 runs to warrant a late promotion back to Philadelphia. Blatnik hit 1-for-8 in six games with the Phillies but did appear on his first (and only) baseball card that year with the Bowman company. Unfortunately, his name was incorrectly spelled “B-L-A-T-N-I-C-K” on the card front.
Blatnik saw few opportunities in the Phillies’ magical Whiz Kids year of 1950. Appearing in only four games in the first month of the season, he was hitting .250 on April 27 when he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals. After hitting just .150 in seven games with St. Louis, on May 14, Blatnik played in his final big-league game before being sent to Houston of the Texas League. He turned in a .252 batting average with nine home runs and 42 RBIs. Blatnik spent the next six seasons in the International League for various teams.
He retired from professional baseball after the 1956 season at age 35 and settled in Lansing, where he helped start Colt and Pony baseball leagues in the Ohio Valley.
George "Chappie" Johnson Jr. (May 8, 1877 – August 17, 1949) was an African American baseball catcher and field manager in the Negro leagues. He played for many of the best teams from 1895 to 1920 and crossed racial boundaries as a teacher and coach.
Johnson was born and raised in the village of Bellaire. In 1895, he debuted at the age of 17 with the Page Fence Giants, where he played shortstop, left field, then first base then moved to catcher, where he stayed for most of his career. Most of the team moved to Chicago and formed the Chicago Columbia Giants in 1899.
Johnson last played for a major team in 1919 (the eve of the organized Negro Leagues) and continued as a manager through 1939, even managing teams using his name, such as the "Dayton Chappies" and the "Chappie Johnson Stars." He died at 72 in Clemson, South Carolina.
William Park Kennedy, born Oct. 7, 1867, in Bellaire, was a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball. From 1892 through 1903, he played for the Brooklyn Grooms/Superbas (1892–1901), New York Giants (1902), and Pittsburgh Pirates (1903). A four-time, 20-game winner, Kennedy batted and threw right-handed. He was nicknamed "Roaring Bill" and "Brickyard." He was more commonly called "Roaring Bill" and earned the nickname due to his loud booming voice and tendency to become temperamental on the field.
Kennedy posted a 187–159 record with 799 strikeouts and a 3.96 ERA in 3030 innings pitched over a 12-year big-league career. Kennedy was a dominant pitcher in his first four seasons with Brooklyn, winning 25 games in 1893 and 24 in 1894. After averaging 17.5 victories over the next four seasons, he rebounded to win 22 in 1899 and 20 in 1900. However, while pitching in 1901, he was bothered by arm problems and finished 3–5 in eight starts. He signed with the New York Giants at the end of the season.
In 1902, Kennedy made his first start with the Giants and pitched a shutout against his former team, 6–0, on four hits, his only win in a Giants uniform. The Pittsburgh Pirates then purchased Kennedy.
In 1903, Kennedy went 9–6 in 18 starts for the Pirates team that won the National League pennant. On his 36th birthday, Kennedy pitched in the first World Series. In Game Five, with Pittsburgh up three games to one, Kennedy faced Cy Young and the Boston Americans. Kennedy and Young each pitched five scoreless innings until Honus Wagner committed two errors, and Boston scored six runs. After giving up another four runs in the seventh, Kennedy was replaced. This was to be his final career game in the majors.
Kennedy died from tuberculosis in his hometown at the age of 47.
Johnny "Butch" Niemiec, born March 21, 1901, was a football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Columbia College (now known as Loras College) n Dubuque, Iowa, from 1934 to 1937.
Niemiec played college football at the University of Notre Dame from 1926 to 1928. He led the Fighting Irish in passing in 1927 and 1928. His pass to Johnny O'Brien won the legendary "Win One For The Gipper" game for coach Knute Rockne.
Niemiec coached at Steubenville High School and Bellaire High School in his hometown.
He died on June 16, 1976, at the age of 75.
Reyman Edward "Bud" Bonar, a football player and coach, began and ended his career at Bellaire High School. As a senior at BHS in 1926, Bonar was the football team captain and quarterback. His team posted an undefeated record of 9-0-1 and was the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference championtransferredtheOhio Valley Athletic Conference. After graduation, he enrolled at West Virginia University but later would transfer to Notre Dame.
He was the quarterback for Notre Dame under head coach Hunk Anderson. His career highlight occurred when his drop-kick extra point enabled Notre Dame to defeat 9-0 Army by the score of 13-12 on December 2, 1933, in Yankee Stadium.
After graduation, Bonar played one year of professional football in the CFL before becoming an assistant coach at the University of Cincinnati. He would return to coach the team at his old high school from 1949 to 1958 and would win the OVAC championship twice, in 1950 and 1954. and
Bonar held the position of Bellaire's athletic director when he died of a heart attack in 1970, purportedly while watching a Notre Dame vs. LSU broadcast Notre Dame vs. LSU game.
George Cheroke, was a two-sport athlete at Shadyside High School and The Ohio State University who played on the first Cleveland Browns team. In high school, he was a football and wrestling standout for the Tigers, which produced the area’s first wrestling power under coach Art Kirkland. The four-year grappler won the one-class Ohio heavyweight title in 1940 after capturing the 1939 crown at 165 pounds. As a sophomore, he placed third at 154 pounds.
Cheroke, nicknamed Chief, also was a stellar 5-foot-9, 185-pound football guard. The three-year gridder, and two-time team captain, earned All-Valley honors as a two-way standout. The Tigers went 9-1 and 7-2-1 his final two seasons.
He enrolled at Ohio State to compete in both football and wrestling. Playing for coach Paul Brown, the sophomore moved into starting lineup in the fifth game after a teammate injury. He left OSU before the 1942 season to serve in the Air Force during World War II.
After his discharge in 1946, he again opted to play for Paul Brown, who was starting the Cleveland Browns in his first year in All-American Conference. Cheroke played in 12 games for the 13-2 record Browns, which defeated New York, 14-9 in the championship game. After one season, he re-enlisted in the Army for a 20-year career, retiring in 1965 to enter business in California. He passed away in 1986.
Frank John "Skeeter" Scalzi (June 16, 1913 – August 25, 1984) was a professional baseball player and manager. A shortstop and third baseman, Scalzi threw and batted right-handed. Born in Lafferty, Ohio, Scalzi attended the University of Alabama where his roommate was the future longtime Alabama Crimson Tide head football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant. His 17-year baseball playing career, which began in 1936, was almost exclusively spent in the minor leagues. The exception was an 11-game, 18-at-bat trial with the 1939 New York Giants of Major League Baseball. Scalzi collected six hits, all singles, for a batting average of .333, with one stolen base. He started four games at shortstop during his stint with the Giants.
Scalzi became a minor-league manager in 1947 and worked in that role for 12 years in several organizations, most notably the Chicago White Sox farm system, through 1960. Skeeter Scalzi died in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at the age of 71.
Bill White (born May 1, 1860, in Bridgeport) was a professional baseball player who was mainly a shortstop in the Major Leagues for nine seasons from 1879 to 1888. During his Major League career, he played for three different franchises: the Pittsburgh Alleghenys in 1884, the Louisville Colonels from 1886 to 1888, and the St. Louis Browns, also in 1888.
He led the American Association (AA) in putouts among shortstops for three consecutive seasons, from 1886 to 1888, and in 1887, he led all AA shortstops in assists and double plays as well. He was a member of the St. Louis Browns when they were champions of the AA, and went to face the New York Giants in a post-season exhibition set of games known as the "World Series". Although the Browns lost the 10-game series, White played in every game.
William Kermit Jobko (born October 7, 1935, in Bridgeport) was an NFL football linebacker who played nine seasons for the Los Angeles Rams (1958–1962), the Minnesota Vikings (1963–1965), and the Atlanta Falcons (1966). He played college football at Ohio State, where he became a starter on the offensive line for the 1954 and 1957 national championship teams. In 1957, he received All-American and team's most valuable player honors.
In 1968, he served as the Falcons' assistant linebackers coach under head coach Norb Heckerin. In 1969, he was hired as a Falcons college scout. From 1978 to 1989, he was the Falcon's director of pro personnel.
Thomas Harp (born 1927 in Barnesville) is a former college football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Cornell University (1961–1965), Duke University (1967–1970), and Indiana State University (1973–1977), compiling a career college football record of 61–82–4.
A stand-out player at Barnesville High School, he was recruited by Hall of Fame coach Sid Gillman to play football at Miami of Ohio and lettered as a freshman fullback before he was drafted into military service for two years with the Navy. Returning home in 1948, he enrolled at Muskingum College and played quarterback and fullback on two Ohio Athletic Conference title teams in 1949-50.
After graduation, he turned to coaching and became head coach at Carrollton High from 1951-53 with a 20-6-1 record. He became one of over 100 coaches to apply for the vacant Massillon Washington High head coaching job and landed the job vacated by Brilliant native Chuck Mather. Harp coached Massillon for two years to a 17-2-1 record and the state No. 1 and No. 2 rankings by The Associated Press.
Joseph L. Sheeketski (April 15, 1908 – April 22, 1995) was a football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at the College of the Holy Cross from 1939 to 1941 and at the University of Nevada, Reno from 1947 to 1950, compiling a career college football record of 39–29–3. Sheeketski attended prep school in Shadyside. He played halfback at the University of Notre Dame from 1930 to 1932 and graduated from the university in 1933.
Ramon Edward "Ray" DeCola (September 17, 1930 – April 3, 2017) was a football coach. A native of Shadyside and a 1953 graduate of West Liberty University in West Virginia, he began his career as a high school coach at various stops including New Albany, St. Mary's, Johnstown, and Urbana in Ohio where he accumulated a record of 177–54–6 over 24 seasons.
From 1985 to 1987, he was the head coach of the resurrected football program at Urbana University in Urbana, Ohio where compiled a 9–9–1.
Stanley Joseph Olejniczak (May 31, 1912 – March 1979) was a football tackle who played one season with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He played college football at the University of Pittsburgh and attended Bellaire High School. He later changed his last name to "Olenn" after his football career.
Jim Keane (January 11, 1924 – March 8, 2011) Born in Bellaire, Keane played seven seasons for the Chicago Bears (1946–1951) and the Green Bay Packers (1952).
He remains the only player in Bears history to lead the team in receptions for four straight seasons, something he accomplished by catching a league-leading 64 passes in 1947, 30 in 1948, 47 in 1949, and 36 in 1950.
When he left the Bears following the 1951 season, Keane was the franchise’s all-time leader with 206 receptions and ranked second behind Ken Kavanaugh with 3,031 receiving yards.
Keane still holds the Bears' record for most receptions in a game. He set the mark by catching 14 passes in a 35–28 road loss to the New York Giants on October 23, 1949.
Jim's brothers were also professional athletes. Mike played for the Chicago Cubs and Tom Keane played four years with the Los Angeles Rams including their 1951 NFL title win. Tom was named All-Pro twice and played in the 1953 Pro Bowl. He ended his career with the Chicago Cardinals in 1955 and was an assistant coach from 1957-1959. He was head coach of the Wheeling Ironmen for two years before moving back to the NFL as an assistant coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1965. From 1966-1985 he coached for the Miami Dolphins including the 1972 undefeated team under head coach Don Shula.
Lester Nelson "Les" Carney, born March 31, 1934, in Bellaire, is a retired American sprinter who won a silver medal in the 200 m at the 1960 Olympics, ahead of two team members who beat him at the Olympic trials. He won another silver in this event at the 1959 Pan American Games. Carney also played American football at Ohio University and was drafted by the Baltimore Colts in 1958, but they never played professionally.
The Indian Creek High School track field in Jefferson County bears Carney’s name.
Charles Edward Seabright (February 13, 1918 – March 18, 1981) was born in Wheeling and later moved to Bridgeport. He spent the majority of his professional career with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Seabright played offense and defense with the Steelers from 1946 to 1950, including stints as the starting quarterback. Seabright started every game for the 1947 Steelers in a season that ended in a one-game playoff to the eventual champion Philadelphia.
Seabright, who wore number 33, was one of the last NFL players to play both offense and defense. In addition, Seabright is recognized as being the last professional football player to be a quarterback in the "single-wing" formation, the precursor to the T-formation regularly used by all NFL teams. Seabright began his professional football career with the Cleveland Rams in 1941. However, he left football from 1942-1944 to serve in combat in World War II.
James Alfred "Jim" Bradshaw (born January 13, 1939, in St. Clairsville) was a safety for five seasons for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He graduated in 1958 from St. Clairsville High School and in 1963 from the University of Chattanooga, which later became the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
John "Katz" Kadlic, of Bellaire, was an All-American quarterback for the Princeton Tigers in 1933 when they went 9-0 and were named co-national champions along with Michigan. According to Princeton’s Greatest Players, 1931-1955 | Tigers Football (princetontigersfootball.com), Kadlic was a three-year starter, was third-team All-America in 1934, and earned the Poe Cup, the highest honor for a Princeton football player in 1934.
“One of the finest passers ever seen in Palmer Stadium, as well as a brilliant defensive player,” wrote A.G. Murray Jr. in “Going Back.” “A field general of the (Donold) Lourie-(Dan) Caulkins stripe.”
Kadlic, Bud Bonar, and Miller Munjas, All-Americann quarterback for Pittsburgh in 1930, were the three natives who earned Bellaire the All-American Town nickname coined by sportswriter Francis Wallace.
John Chalmers Tschappat, Jr., born June 22, 1896, in Bellaire, played the tackle position for the Dayton Triangles of the American Professional Football Association (later renamed the National Football League) during its second season in 1921.
Tschappat played college football at West Virginia Wesleyan College in 1916. In 1918, Walter Camp Spalding's Official Foot Ball Guide named Tschappat to its All-West Virginia eleven. Tschappat also studied chemistry as a special student at Ohio State University in 1917.
During World War I, he served in the United States Army Medical Division from June 1918 to March 1919 and returned to Ohio in 1919 after his discharge. He served as the line coach for the
Bellaire Athletic Association team during the 1919 season.
Don Fleming, born in 1937 in Shadyside, was an NFL defensive back for three seasons during the early 1960s. Fleming played college football for the University of Florida before playing for the Cleveland Browns. His professional football career was cut short by his death by electrocution in 1963. The Browns retired Fleming's No. 46 in memory of him. Fleming Field at Shadyside High School, Fleming's alma mater, is named in his memory. When the Browns practiced at Western Reserve Eclectic Institute (Hiram College), the field house they used also carried Fleming's name.
Ken Vargo, born in 1934 in Martins Ferry, played for the Ottawa Rough Riders. He played college football at The Ohio State University from 1953-1955. Captain of the 1955 Buckeyes, Vargo started three seasons as a center and played linebacker. His interception was the turning point in OSU's 20-10 victory against Iowa in 1955. He also was a member of the Buckeyes' 1954 national championship team. Vargo was selected in the ninth round of the 1956 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears; Vargo instead played three seasons with the Ottawa Rough Riders of the Canadian Football League. He was named an all-star for the 1956 CFL season.
Fred Bruney, a Martins Ferry native, played halfback on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball for The Ohio State University Buckeyes from 1950 to 1952. He scored six touchdowns for the Buckeyes in the 1952 season, but he was known primarily for his defensive play. He had 17 career interceptions, which remains second in the Ohio State record book. Bruney was selected first-team All-Big Ten in 1952.
Bruney was drafted in the third round of the 1953 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns. On September 22, 1953, he was traded to the San Francisco 49ers. His NFL career included the San Francisco 49ers, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Los Angeles Rams. In 1960 he joined the Boston Patriots of the upstart American Football League, where he played for three seasons and was a two-time AFL All-Star selection. Bruney went on to have a coaching career in the NFL, retiring in 1997, with the longest tenure as a player and coach in pro football.
Stan Goletz, born in 1918 in Cresent, was a pinch hitter for the Chicago White Sox in 1941. His nickname was "Stash."
Bill George, born in Bellaire in 1865, played for the New York Giants from 1887 to 1889 and then for the Columbus Solons of the American Baseball Association for a year. He batted right-handed and threw left-handed. As a pitcher, he was fast but inaccurate and still holds the record for most walks issued by a pitcher in a single game. Read more about George here.
Dan McGrew, born in 1937 in Martins Ferry, was drafted by the Detroit Lions in 1959, but in the following year was taken by the Buffalo Bills during their inaugural season, when he played in all 14 games and was their starting center. Although he ended up as an All-AFL 2nd team member, he was replaced the following year by rookie Al Bemiller and never played in another game in the NFL.
During his college years, McGrew was a center at Purdue University. McGrew went on to play on the semi-pro level with the Wheeling Ironmen. On June 13, 2009, McGrew was one of eight new members in the 29th class to be inducted into the Minor Pro Football Hall of Fame.
John Lipon (November 10, 1922 – August 17, 1998)was an MLB shortstop for the Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Browns, and Cincinnati Redlegs over the course of nine seasons (1942; 1946; 1948–1954). The native of Martins Ferry, Ohio, threw and batted right-handed. He served in the United States Navy during World War II in the Pacific Theater of Operations, as an aviation machinist's mate, third class.
Read about more recent athletes from Belmont County here.