The
earliest days of interscholastic athletics in Ohio�s
high schools, most probably starting in the immediate
post-Civil War years, were a bit disorganized, to say
the least. Boys (girls would have to wait a while) from
one school would get a team together and challenge the
boys from a neighboring school. No coaches, no set
schedule, no uniforms and probably no practices, either.
As time marched on, more and more schools began to
participate in these interscholastic sporting events,
which most likely consisted mainly of track and field
events or baseball in those earliest days. These
activities were totally unsupervised by school
authorities, many of whom felt that they had no place in
a young person�s education. Some administrators went so
far as to prohibit the contests altogether.
However,
as the popularity of these sporting events grew among
Ohio�s high schoolers, as demonstrated by their spread
to schools throughout the state, many school authorities
began to feel a need to organize these interscholastic
sporting events. The Western Ohio Superintendent�s Round
Table took the lead in this movement as early as 1887,
but nothing of any consequence was done about the
situation for almost another 20 years. Finally, in
October of 1906, the Round Table of the Central Ohio
Teacher�s Association endorsed a plan that had been
adopted by the Western Ohio Superintendent�s Round Table
earlier that same year. By this plan interscholastic
athletics were formally made a part of Ohio�s high
school landscape. As Paul E. Orr wrote in his 1956
history of the OHSAA, �renewed enthusiasm was aroused
(in interscholastic athletics) and many, many schools
all over the state entered the new organization with
great zeal.�
The
newly established Board of Directors, whose duty it was
to supervise athletics across the state, held its first
meeting on November 9, 1907, now recognized as the birth
date of the Ohio High School Athletic Association.
George R. Eastman of Dayton Steele High School served as
president, with W.H. Rice of Chillicothe serving as
secretary-treasurer and William McClain of London, S.H.
Layton of Piqua and F.C. Kirkendall of Piqua also
present. At its very next meeting, held on December 26,
1907, the Board of Directors set the date for its first
championship event, a state track and field meet to be
held on May 23, 1908, at Beaver Field at Denison
University in Granville, Ohio. Over 100 athletes,
representing 23 of the then 30 member schools,
participated in the meet. North High School of Columbus
amassed the most points and �won the loving cup which
was awarded as a token of the championship of this, the
first state-wide contest� of the Ohio High School
Athletic Association.
The
enthusiasm generated by that first event quickly spread
across the state, and many more schools quickly joined
the organization.
The next
several decades saw the OHSAA continue to grow its
organization, putting into place much of the �machinery�
that would run the OHSAA on a day to day basis, as well
as help to lay the foundation for future changes and
expansion of its programs. By the mid 1930s the
organization had become recognized as a highly
respectable and influential organization on the state
high school scene. One of the most significant changes
in the organizational structure of the OHSAA took place
in 1925, when the business affairs of the Association
were transferred from the Board of Directors to a
full-time commissioner. The first commissioner was Mr.
Horace Raymond (H.R.) Townsend, who held that post from
1925 until his death in 1944. The current commissioner,
the ninth, is Daniel B. Ross, Ph.D.
Among
the other areas to which the OHSAA directed much of its
attention during these years were officiating and the
overall health and well being of student-athletes.
While
the state track and field meet was very popular and
remained an annual event, it would not be until 15 years
later when the next state championship tournament was
announced, that being for boys basketball. Boys golf was
added to the �tournament trail� in 1927, with boys cross
country, boys swimming and diving and baseball joining
the tournament list in 1928.
Unfortunately, the young ladies of Ohio would still have
to wait another five decades to participate in their
first state-wide tournament. This had less to do with
OHSAA policies and desires, and more to do with the
overall question, in the public eye, of the advisability
or inadvisability of the participation of young girls in
interscholastic sports in general. A survey by the OHSAA
of the state�s high schools in 1937 showed that 55
percent of the schools provided interscholastic
basketball for girls, but that same survey also showed
that 67 percent of the responding schools favored
dropping the sport for girls. Based in part on this
survey, interscholastic basketball for girls was
discontinued at OHSAA member schools in 1940. This was
the death knell for all interscholastic sports for
girls, at least in Ohio. It would be another quarter
century or more before interscholastic sports for girls
once again became �popular,� and almost 35 years before
state tournaments for girls made the scene. Ironically,
the OHSAA now sponsors 24 championship sports, 12 each
for boys and girls. As the saying goes, �You�ve come a
long way, baby!�
The war
years of 1941-45 provided some areas of particular
concern for the OHSAA. First and foremost was whether or
not the state tournaments, and athletics in general,
should be discontinued for the duration of the war
because of the restrictions placed on the general
populace due to rationing. However, President Franklin
D. Roosevelt and most of his administration urged that
not only should the athletic programs be maintained, but
that they be expanded as �a war defense measure.� The
Board of Directors concurred, stating that �from a
psychological standpoint, athletics in the face of the
national emergency can be justified,� and the member
schools were urged to continue their athletic programs
as a patriotic duty.
However,
as the war dragged on, it became increasingly difficult
to continue with interscholastic sports, much less
expand them. Rationing of rubber and gasoline made the
use of school busses for transportation to events almost
impossible, and many schools were without their coaches,
who were now serving in the armed forces. However,
except for the state cross country meets in 1942 and
1943, all of the state tournaments went on as usual.
The
situation started to return to normal on September 1,
1945, when the restrictions on the use of school busses
were lifted. Coaches started returning to their schools
the following spring when they were discharged from
military service following the conclusion of the war.
In the
years following WWII, the OHSAA dealt with many issues,
a number of which had been tabled due to the war. These
included such things as practice sessions, schedules,
out-of-state play, length of seasons, etc. The question
of allowing girls to participate in interscholastic
sports again came up, with limited activity under very
strict rules being granted � but still no state
tournaments. By early 1956 less than half of the schools
in the state were providing interscholastic sports
opportunities for their female students.
With the
exception of wrestling in 1938, no new sports had been
added to the OHSAA�s tournament list since the late
1920s (although boys gymnastics was held between 1926
and 1937, was reinstated in 1965 and dropped again after
the 1994 championships). All of this changed during the
decade of the 1970s, when the proverbial floodgates
opened and 12 new sports were elevated to state
championship tournament status, nine of which were
girls� sports.
The
importance of this newfound recognition of Ohio�s female
athletes not withstanding, the biggest of these new
tournaments was that for football, which was established
in 1972. This represented the third, and final, phase in
how the state high school football champions were
determined. The first phase saw the state champion
being declared by acclimation; that is, if enough
football authorities (schools, newspapers, etc.) decided
that a certain school was the champion, then it was
pretty much accepted by one and all that they were the
state champion. This process lasted between 1895-1946.
In 1947 started the era of the �poll champions,� the
winner being decided by a vote of selected newspaper
writers and coaches from around the state, the vote
being conducted by both the Associated Press (AP) and
United Press International (UPI). This system decided
the �official� state football champion until 1972, when
the state playoffs began. The AP poll is still
conducted, but the officially recognized state football
champions are those teams that win the title through the
playoff process. While the number of football playing
schools has not changed much since 1972, the playoff
format has progressed from 12 total qualifiers in three
classes to 192 qualifiers in six divisions.
Only
four sports have been elevated to state tournament
status since 1985: girls soccer (1985), girls golf
(1993) and boys and girls bowling (start of 2006-07
school year). There are several other sports that are
currently being participated in by anywhere from a
handful to over 100 schools. Among them are lacrosse,
crew, boys volleyball and rugby.
Over the
last several decades the OHSAA has continued to monitor
high school athletics in the state, changing and
amending the rules and regulations of the Association as
needed. Its motto of �Respect the Game� places an
emphasis on good sportsmanship, ethics and integrity
when it comes to how schools, coaches, athletes and
parents conduct themselves when participating in the
arena of high school athletics. When needed, the OHSAA
has not failed to act in levying penalties on those who
violate these principles. The Association has also
established many awards to honor those who uphold the
highest standards of this motto, as well as for those
who contribute to the betterment of the organization and
athletics in Ohio�s high schools. In addition, the OHSAA
grants over $100,000 annually in scholarships to
deserving student-athletes to help further their
education and athletic endeavors at the college level.
The Ohio
High School Athletic Association is one of the oldest
and most respected organizations of its type in the
country. While it was established to organize high
school athletics in Ohio, it is best known through the
championship tournaments that it sponsors throughout the
school year. With the schools divided by size into as
many as six divisions, these tournaments give every
student-athlete in the state a chance at winning a state
title. At the bigger schools this helps to solidify the
school�s family, while at the smaller schools, whole
communities come together to cheer on and support their
local athletes.
Perhaps,
however, the true value of the OHSAA, what it has done
in the past and what it strives to do into the future,
is best stated as follows:
�The
purpose of interscholastic athletics is to enrich a
student�s high school experience; promote citizenship
and sportsmanship; instill a sense of pride in
community; teach lifelong lessons of teamwork and
self-discipline, and help young people grow physically
and emotionally. In short, interscholastic athletic
programs are an extension of the classroom and exist to
prepare students for the next level of life, not the
next level of sports.�
Note:
Former OHSAA Associate Commissioner Fred Dafler
contributed to this article. |