In the middle of the 20th century, the thriving metropolis of Cleveland, with three daily newspapers bearing its name on their mastheads, was blessed with a coterie of sportswriter/columnists who could coax the keys of their typewriters to produce the news, the insights, the drama, the joys and the sorrows of their special world with the very best in the nation. Among this special group was the man whose somber face graced the top of a regular column entitled “Plain Dealing”, the man seemingly known to everyone simply as Cobby. Gordon Cobbledick was the sports editor of the Plain Dealer from 1946 until his retirement in 1964. Before that he had covered the Cleveland Indians for 25 years with his signature story perhaps being the news of the team’s rebellion against manager Oscar Vitt in 1940. Shortly thereafter he would turn war correspondent, writing from the Pacific Theatre during World War II, then returning to become PD sports editor soon after. During his long career he served a term as president of the Baseball Writers Association of America and in 1977, nine years after his death, he would become the first Ohio writer to be inducted into the writers wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Another posthumous honor would come his way in 1982 when he was inducted into the Journalism Hall of Fame. Born in Cleveland, Cobby was the holder of a masters degree in mining engineering from Case Tech, where he starred in football. He continued to make the city his home until moving to Tucson, AZ shortly before his death in 1969.
(Deceased)
As a 6-6 250 pound defensive lineman, NFL scouts would probably toss him back into the deep end of the talent pool today. But when Al Baker came out of Colorado State University as a two-time all-conference choice in both football and basketball, the Detroit Lions were only too happy to reel him in as their No. 2 pick, the 40th choice overall in the 1978 draft. He repaid their confidence with a spectacular inaugural season, leading the NFL with 23 quarterback sacks, (the first of five consecutive years he would top the league in that category), and earning Defensive Rookie of the Year, Lineman of the Year, and first team All-Pro laurels. Two more All-Pro seasons would follow during his five years with the Lions. Traded by Detroit to St. Louis, he spent four season with the Cardinals, then was traded to Cleveland in 1987, left to join the Minnesota Vikings in 1988 and returned to the Browns for the 1989 and 1990 seasons. During his 13-year pro career, he was credited with 148.5 sacks and in 2004 he was picked by Sports Illustrated as the ninth Greatest Pass Rusher in NFL history. When he retired after the 1990 season, the Florida native and one-time New Jersey high school star elected to remain in Cleveland, stressing an affinity for the area and its residents. He settled in Avon where he owns and operates Bubba Q’s Restaurant and Catering. The restaurant won several “Best in Cleveland” awards and has also developed a reputation for feeding the homeless. He and his wife Sabrina are the parents of two children, Brittany Bo and James Landon.
George Chandick’s outstanding 18-year post-college career as a player and player-coach in the Greater Cleveland Basketball League set the tone for a lifetime of devotion and service to athletics in the Greater Cleveland area. A lengthy list of achievements and honors as a coach, official, team sponsor and participant, George embraced a variety of sports, from youth baseball and track and field to horseshoes. His tenure as Council President and later Mayor of Seven Hills, and as a teacher of elementary physical education for 38 years in the Cleveland Public School System enhanced, rather than stemmed, the tide of his activities on behalf of young athletes.
From 1955 to 1985, the road to participation in any City of Cleveland recreational activity for Clevelanders of all ages went through City Hall’s Room 8 and Mary Jane Boldin. As the Cleveland Recreation Department’s Secretary to the Director of Organized Sports, she shouldered the bulk of the day-to-day responsibilities for everything from finding teams for people to join to locating sponsors and funding for those teams. Her efforts in support of Director John S. Nagy were instrumental in the growth of the city’s summer playground Junior Olympics program. She also served with distinction as secretary and/or board member for a myriad of MUNY and AAU programs. In 1986 she was inducted into the Cleveland Men’s Slo-Pitch Hall of Fame.
At 16, Jenny Fish Baker was already a world class women’s speed skater. Thus her selection to the 1968 U.S. Olympic Team as a Baldwin-Wallace College freshman was no surprise. Nor was it a surprise when she earned Olympic Silver in the 500 meter sprint at Grenoble, France. She began her glide to the Olympics in 1961 at the age of 12, winning the Ohio indoor championship and the Cleveland Press Silver Skates Midget-Novice title. She repeated in the Juvenile division the next year, adding the Ohio outdoor championship. In 1964 she won Ohio and National indoor and outdoor Junior championships, then added the U.S. National Open indoor and outdoor titles. She won the Junior Division indoor and outdoor championships again in 1965 and in 1966 she became the U.S. National Intermediate Champion indoors and outdoors.
A Pennsylvanian who moved to Cleveland to play for the American Hungarian team, George Caraffi and his brother Ralph were the city’s best soccer players of the 1920’s. Originally a defender/midfielder, he gained his greatest fame as a center forward. He twice scored seven goals in a game, but his biggest goal came on June 23, 1929; the winning goal against Hakoah of New York, the U.S. National Champions. In the Western finals of the 1928 National Challenge Cup, he scored two overtime goals in a 4-1 victory and the clinching goal in a 2-1 win in early rounds, and the goal which gave his team a short 3-2 lead in overtime of the finals.
From August 1972 through October 1990, Frederick Baker drove in 184 races, winning 88, placing second in 30 and third in 18. During his memorable career he qualified for the pole position 69 times and established 25 lap records. In 1980 he earned acclaim as the worldwide Jaguar Driver of the Year and also earned C Production National Champion laurels. He placed seventh in the 1989 international Porsche Turbo Cup Invitational held in Kylami, South Africa. Closer to home, he three times won the famed Nelson Ledges 24-Hour Endurance Race.
One of the most prolific scorers in Cleveland high school basketball annals, Phil Argento astounded fans with a 66-point outburst against Cleveland South in 1964. He played for Cleveland West High from 1962 through 1965, twice winning all-scholastic honors. Phil went on to play at the University of Kentucky for fabled coach Adolph Rupp from 1967-1969. He became a starter as a sophomore and captained the Wildcats as a senior. Drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers, he played instead in the National Amateur Basketball League for five seasons and later became a high school coach.
Armand D’Anna starred in Greater Cleveland’s strong Class A amateur baseball program over parts of three decades, pitching in 17 national tournaments and starting for famed Rosenblums in the first amateur night game at Cleveland Stadium. He began his amateur career in 1936 fresh out of Shaw High, pitching for the Class A champion Fisher Foods team. After playing pro baseball for two years, he returned to pitch for Fisher Foods, Factory Furniture and Rosenblums from 1940 to 1952 with a four year time out for World War II service. He also coached Rosenblums for three years and was a head coach for 27 years in the Euclid Boy’s League.
Rarely does a Division III basketball player make it to the NBA. Barry Clemens not only made it, but carved out an 11-year career, including two seasons, 1972-73 and 1973-74, with the Cavaliers. Clemens was born in Dayton and grew up on a 200-acre farm in Xenia, Ohio. At Xenia High School, where he graduated as the Salutatorian in 1961, Clemens starred in basketball while also running track and cross country. Recruited by numerous Division I colleges, including Ohio State and Ohio University, he instead chose to attend Division III Ohio Wesleyan. In four seasons at OWU, Clemens finished as the school’s and Ohio Athletic Conference’s career leader in scoring, leading the Battling Bishops to a 71-23 record. His career high at OWU of 41 points came against Baldwin-Wallace in January 1965. The New York Knicks made Clemens, a 6-6 forward, the 19th pick of the 1965 NBA draft. It was a draft that also included Bill Bradley, Rick Barry, Walt Frazier and Billy Cunningham. In 11 seasons with five teams, used primarily as a reserve noted for his deadly perimeter shooting, Clemens averaged 6.7 points and 3.2 rebounds. Today, he is Managing Director for Wachovia Securities and lives in a Cleveland western suburb with Vivian, his wife of 42 years. They are the parents of three children: Justin, Jennifer and Matthew.