Max Matusoff was one of the best athletes of Stivers’ early, glory days. He earned varsity letters in baseball, basketball and football. Stivers won the state championship in basketball in 1919, Max’s senior year. The Tigers went undefeated that year with a 20-0 record. The championship game against Cleveland East Tech was won 25 – 22 with Stivers having only four players on the court for the final eight minutes. Three of the Tigers seven players had fouled out. Max’s brother, Jake, also a Hall of Fame inductee, scored the final 4 points of the game.
Max was also a stand out performer on the baseball diamond and captain of the team his senior season. After graduating from Stivers, Max enrolled at what is now the University of Dayton where he played at least one season of baseball and basketball for the Flyers. Subsequently, Max enrolled in the Ohio State University and continued to be active in sports. He played 2 seasons of basketball and 3 seasons of baseball for the Buckeyes. He was active in Zeta Beta Tau fraternity and Varsity O and graduated with the law school class of 1926. The next year Max married his wife of 43 years, Lenore Weiss.
After practicing law in Columbus for about 5 years, Max moved the family to Cleveland and started selling life insurance. In about 1946 the family name was changed to Matson. Max was very successful selling insurance and in 1954 sold more than 12 million dollars worth which at that time was believed to be a world record. In 1960 he moved his offices to Park Avenue in New York City. There he specialized in investments and mergers.
Max became a scratch golfer who qualified to play in the U.S. Amateur tournament but decided to pass on the opportunity. For several years he won the club championship at the Oakwood Country Club in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. He played with pros Sam Sneed and Tommy Armour, and celebrities Bob Hope and Perry Como. Max died August 1, 1970, at the Hollywood Country Club near Deal, NJ after shooting a round of 74.
Lenore and Max had 2 sons, Robert Ira and Joseph Richard, both of whom are Harvard graduates.