George Supensky was a two sport star for the Stivers Tigers for 3 years. He was the starting right tackle on the football team and a starting pitcher for the baseball team. He had a long football career playing for Stivers and the semipro Dayton Guardians. His career included the legendary 1924 season in which the Tigers beat Knoxville, Tennessee 7 to 6 to claim the high school National Championship. George was described in the 1925 yearbook as “A real giant with a fighting heart and a never-say-die spirit. He was a deadly tackler and a splendid offense player.” The 1924 team went undefeated with a record of 10-0-1. They outscored their rivals 385 to 32 and beat Steele High 49 to 0. The only blemish on their on their record was a 7 to 7 tie with Toledo Scott H. S.
George may have been the inventor of the face guard in 1924. He missed a number of games in the 1923 season with a broken nose and developed the helmet attachment to make sure it did not happen again.
He played football with the semi-pro Dayton Guardians into the 1930’s. His brothers, Joe and Louie, were also linemen for Stivers and the Guardians. Louie also had a boxing career.
George E. Supensky Jr. was born April 30, 1905 in Keystone, W. Virginia to Austria-Hungarian immigrants George Sr. and Elizabeth Supensky. We have found their last name spelled at least 3 different ways. Early records spell it Szopinski, The news media spelled it Supenski, but the family preferred Supensky and the Stivers yearbook followed suite.
George married Dorothy Staten in 1930 and they had 4 children, Sue, Maribeth, Greg, and George III. He was the owner-operator of Supensky’s Cafe on E. Third St in Dayton. Unfortunately, he passed away at the young age of 49 on May 23, 1954 and is buried in David Cemetery.