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Award-winning columnist Tom Archdeacon — an old-school storyteller in a brand-new venue — writes about sports, the city, southwest Ohio and anything else that catches his fancy… or yours.Home > Blogs > Through the Arch > Archives > 2008 > June > 18
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
BLOG: Ohio’s Top Ten Sports Towns
Here’s my list of Ohio’s Top Ten Sports Towns.
I tried to consider the number of marque teams and events the place has, the success both the teams and the hometown athletes have enjoyed, the attendance and community support for the teams and events and the way sports is woven into the fabric of the community.
It’s a subjective ranking that certainly is up for debate. When I ran it past three veteran sportswriters and a sportscaster I know, they all agreed Cleveland was No. 1 because of the Browns, Indians and Cavaliers, Cleveland State, some great high school teams, boxing, horse racing, until recently an open wheel auto race, several other minor league pro teams and that often-rabid and always-loyal fan base for many teams, especially the beloved Browns.
One writer thought Columbus — with all things Ohio State, the Blue Jackets, Crew, Destroyers and the Memorial, among other things — belonged ahead of Cincinnati.
I disagreed because along with the Reds and their storied history and those soap opera Bengals, Cincinnati has two big-time Division I basketball schools in UC and Xavier, some nationally-acclaimed high school programs and a rich boxing history that includes yet another Olympian — Rau’Shee Warren — for the upcoming Beijing Games.
The sportscaster thought Coldwater possibly could supplant St. Henry, but I countered not only with all those state titles that are listed on big road signs signs when you enter St. Henry, but the foursome of favorite sons, Wally Post, Jim Lachey, Bobby Hoying and Jeff Hartings. And, of course, there’s that shrine of suds and sports celebration, Fish-Mo’s.
Another writer thought Dayton was rated too high. But the Dragons have been sold out for nine years straight years, have several thousand folks on a waiting list for season tickets and were rated by Sports Illustrated last year to have one of the top ten toughest tickets to obtain in all of U.S. sports.
And Dayton Flyers basketball has been among the Top 30 in college hoops attendance for most of its seasons since iUD began playing at the Arena in 1969. Add in Wright State, the Bombers, the storied history of Dayton pro athletes (including Mike Schmidt, Keith Byars and Ron Harper) and its Olympians (start with Edwin Moses) and the stand-out prep teams, especially in track, and I think Dayton has a strong argument for the No. 4 spot.
As for a few other towns I thought might belong on the list: Athens, Oxford, Ironton and especially Youngstown with everything from Youngstown State to middleweight champ Kelly Pavlik.
Any way, here’s my Top Ten list:
— Cleveland
— Cincinnati
— Columbus
— Dayton
— St. Henry
— Akron
— Toledo
— Massillon
— Canton
— Steubenville
