Bert Gaines Jr. was an outstanding athlete for the Stivers Tigers, excelling in basketball and track in the mid 1930’s. He was tall and had great leaping ability which was a very valuable asset in that basketball era. It was also of great benefit to the track team, especially the jumping events.
Gaines was a starter on the Stivers basketball team for 3 years and was always one of the leading scores and rebounders. His leaping ability was essential to possession of the ball in that era as they had a center jump after every score. Bert was team captain his Senior year, 1934-35, and led the team to the Class A Southwestern Ohio District Championship by beating Cincinnati Woodward 39 to 20. In the semi-finals of the district, the Tigers defeated the 1933-34 state champ, Roosevelt Teddies 36 to 20. Unfortunately, the team lost to Coshocton 23 to 17 in the first round of the state finals to end their season. Bert was named to the All-District 1st Team and the All-State 2nd Team. He was also invited to play in an All-Star game against a colored National Scholastic basketball team from Roanoke, Virginia. Bert was one of the best high jumpers in Southwestern, Ohio. He regularly cleared 5’6” or better in track meets. We know he won a meet in Greenville with a leap of 5’ 7”.
He was born April 27, 1917 to Catherine and Bert Monroe Gaines Sr., lived on Diamond Ave. and later on Krug St. in Dayton. His short life would change drastically after high school when he came down with tuberculosis. He wrote an emotional letter to Si Burick of the Dayton Daily News and it appeared in the news on Dec. 27, 1942. Confined to Vauclain Hospital in San Diego, Ca., he made a plea to his Stivers teammates and classmates to please write and reminiscence with his old friends. He specifically named Larry Knorr and Bobby Winters who are also Stivers Athletic Hall of Fame inductees this year. Bert passed away just 4 months later on May 11, 1943 at the age of 26 and is buried in San Diego.