1937 Bearcats Baseball Team
Did you know Elizabeth Township High School sent a baseball team to the Ohio State High School Baseball Tournament in the spring of 1937?
The 1937 Bearcats baseball team was the best baseball team in Elizabeth's history. They were led by the pitching of Ed Shingledecker, George Morrow, and Elwood McDaniel. The team was coached by Russell Huffman.
The Ohio State Athletic Association Baseball Tournament was different in 1937. There were only two divisions, Class A for larger schools, and Class B for smaller schools.
After Elizabeth won the Class B district championship, they advanced to what was called the State Quarter-finals. In the state quarter-finals, they played Thurston of Buckeye Lake and won 4-2. In the state semi-finals, they beat Navarre of Tuscarawas County, 5-1. Unfortunately, the Bearcats' dream season did not end the way they would have liked. They lost 7-6 to Holgate in extra innings in the Class B state championship. They were the first team in any sport from Miami County to play in a state championship.
The team only lost 2 games the entire season, the first game to Piqua (6-3), and their last game in the state class B final to Holgate in extra innings ( 7-6).
We would love to have a picture of this great team but have yet to find one. However, we have the accompanying picture of the pendant players received to commemorate the experience.
Below is a list of team members from 1937 Bearcats Baseball Team, along with the year each one graduated:
| Elwood McDaniel-1938 |
Dick Reaver-1938 |
Ben Widener-1939 |
Dean Schlisler-1939 |
| John Sayers-1937 |
Ed Shingledecker-1937 |
Howard Myers-1939 |
Firman Berner-1939 |
| Bill Sayers-1937 |
George Morrow-1938 |
Robert Ochs-1939 |
Carl Wallace-1939 |
| Gilbert Urick-1937 |
Roy Benham-1938 |
Marvin Curtis-1939 |
Roger Rasor-1940 |
| Arthur Benham-1937 |
Richard Gundolf-1939 |
Wiliam Mott-1939 |
William Curtis-1940 |
