Stivers 1921 Basketball Team

The 1921 Stivers Basketball Team won 23 games and lost none. In the process, the Tigers beat arch rival Steele for the City Championship, beat the 1920 National Champion, Wingate, Indiana, beat Toledo Woodward for the State of Ohio Championship, and beat Chicago’s powerhouse, Oak Park, by a 34 to 29 score.

The Tigers were without starters, Fred Sifford and Jake Matusoff for the State Tournament but were still able to capture the championship. It was their third straight state championship and fourth in six years.

1921 Season Recap

Player roster – Jake Matusoff (Captain), Harry “Smoke” Schwab, Harvey “Hoss” Schwab, Denver Young, Harold Davy, Herman “Whitey” Poock, Fred “Toe” Sifford, Vernon Timmerman, Ralph Stevenson, Edward “Red” Welsch

Coaches – Willard Marquardt, Guy Early

Regular Season Scores

  • Stivers 67 vs. Antioch 21
  • Stivers 53 vs. Lebanon 16
  • Stivers 64 vs. Fremont 7
  • Stivers 50 vs. Alumni 25
  • Stivers 85 vs. Columbus 10
  • Stivers 43 vs. Akron 21
  • Stivers 62 vs. Lancaster 11
  • Stivers 49 vs. Piqua 12
  • Stivers 57 vs. Youngstown 19
  • Stivers 38 vs. Steele 20
  • Stivers 34 vs. Wingate, IN 24
  • Stivers 56 vs. Marietta 18
  • Stivers 43 vs. Middletown 13
  • Stivers 73 vs. Toledo Waite 25
  • Stivers 20 vs. Steele 19

State Tournament Results

  • Stivers 25 vs. Worthington 5 Delaware, Ohio
  • Stivers 24 vs. Columbus South 6
  • Stivers 28 vs. Canal Winchester 17
  • Stivers 21 vs. Crooksville 11
  • Stivers 12 vs. Delaware 6
  • Stivers 13 vs. Steele 11

State Championship

  • Stivers 26 vs. Toledo Woodward 19
  • Stivers 34 vs. Chicago Oak Park 29

The team was rewarded with a trip to the east coast with stops in Buffalo (Niagara Falls), New York City, Pasaic, N.J., Baltimore, Washington D.C., and Philadelphia.

They were scheduled to play games in Pasaic and New York, but did not play in Pasaic, and no record could be found that the game in New York ever took place.

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