Remembering fine athletes
To the editor: In The Blade 175th Anniversary Edition was a list of the 100 best Toledo athletes ever. All fine athletes.

I grew up in a neighborhood of athletes. In the 1920s, `30s and `40s, the best athletes in Toledo came from my East Toledo neighborhood of Birmingham.

Starting in 1918, the “Birmingham Boosters,” the semi-pro football team, won the city championship and won it each year for the next 15 years.

In the 1930s, the Waite High Football teams won the city championship seven times. Two years in the middle 1940s, they were rated the best football team in Ohio and possibly the best in the country. They beat all the powerhouses in Ohio. For example, they beat Massillon 56-6.

My neighborhood fast-pitch softball teams were very successful too. VFW Post 4906 had teams in Class “A.” They won the city championships year after year. In 1947, they were also state and national champions.

In 1948, the VFW Class “A” and “AA” won the city championships and our neighborhood Class “B” team, called the “Hart Motors” won 18 straight games to win the championship.

About three months ago, The Blade had a feature article about an outstanding football running back from my neighborhood. He was the first athlete in the country to blacken his cheeks.
Louis Agoston
Toledo

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