One of the first great female tennis players, Mary K. Browne was a three timesNational Singles champion and five time National Ladies Doubles champion, won the Ladies Doubles championship of England at Wimbledon and twice captained the International Wightman Cup Team. She was also the first female tennis player to turn professional, started the first woman’s tennis clinic in America and was one of the first women to be enshrined in the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
Robert Busbey won All-American designation three times in the free style sprints at Cleveland State University (then Fenn College) in 1948 and 1949. The dominant swimmer in the Greater Cleveland area from 1946 to 1950, he lost only four races in four years of collegiate competition against some of the best swimmers in the country. Robert broke over 100 records in NCAA and AAU competition, including a national record in the 50-yard freestyle that stood for 12 years.
One of the first nationally-acclaimed swimmers from the Greater Cleveland area Ted Abrams set an American and world record in 1924 for the “plunge for distance”. His mark of 84 feet, six inches has never been broken.
An outstanding diver, Rose Boczek Burke won the national indoor championship for the ten foot (three-meter) board in 1928. A medal winner in Senior Championships from 1926 through 1929, she was also the Indoor and Outdoor Senior AAU State champion in 1926-27-28-30. Rose won numerous regional and inter-sectional titles between 1926 and 1930, and was founder and coach of the Ohio Women’s Swimming Association in 1935.
Leo Dorsey was an outstanding forward, starring on leading teams in the Muny League from 1922 to 1930. A top scorer in Cleveland for many years, he averaged 19 points a game in the days when teams scored a total of 35 to 40 points. His clubs won six Muny crowns. Leo was a member of the Fairplay team that played the first basketball game ever in Cleveland Public Hall on January 30, 1922.
One of Cleveland’s all-time great players, Al “Oppie” Dorenkott was a member of several of the city’s outstanding teams that won numerous Muny League titles in the 1920s and early 1930s. He was invited to join the famous Rosenblum-Celtics team in 1932, but declined. A guard, Oppie excelled in rebounding and was a superior play maker.
A member of the East Tech and John Carroll Halls of Fame, Peter Amico went on to coach football, basketball and baseball for 25 years. He has officiated both football (45 yrs) and basketball (47 yrs) at the junior high school, high school and college levels. A rules interpreter of football and basketball rules for 25 years, Peter has received appreciation awards from The Cleveland Touchdown Club and The Basketball Coach’s Association.
David Dickenson played on and captained the University of Virginia tennis team and in 1962 moved to Cleveland. He became the Greater Cleveland Men’s Champion in 1962, 1963 and 1964, and the Ohio State Claycourt Champion in 1962. He coached the Northeastern Ohio Junior Davis Cup Team in 1963 and 1964. David won the National 50’s Claycourt Championship in 1989 and has played in numerous national and international tennis competitions. He and his wife Francis are a nationally ranked senior mixed doubles team.
Born in Pennsylvania, Ralph Caraffi came to Cleveland in 1925 to play soccer for the American Hungarians and scored three goals in his first appearance to signal what was to be an exceptional career spanning several years. His team reached the Western Finals of the National Challenge Cup two out of three years, won the Ohio State Cup competition in 1926, 1927 and 1929, and was National Runner-Up in 1930. Ralph was elected to the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1959.
Drafted out of Illinois by the Cleveland Browns in 1971, Doug Dieken became a stalwart member of the team, at one point playing 203 consecutive games and starting the last 194; both Browns records. He was the Offensive Captain in 1976, 1977 and 1982 and was voted Offensive Player of the Year by the media in 1975 and 1983. Doug was a Pro Bowler in 1980. He currently does radio and TV sports.