Cletus “Clete” Sillin had a great athletic career at Stivers. He was on the basketball team in 1918, 19 and 20. The basketball team was state champion in 1919 and ‘20. By far his better sport was football. He played on the 1917, 18 and 19 football teams.
The team’s 1918 season was severely limited by an epidemic that caused games to be cancelled and the school was closed for some time during the season. In 1919 he was quarterback and team captain and led the team in scoring.
He had two great scoring games that year. Against Wilmington, Ohio, he scored five touchdowns on a rain soaked field as Stivers defeated Wilmington 99-0. He followed that a few weeks later with a record setting performance.
Against a highly regarded Richmond, Indiana team, as quarterback, he scored six touch downs and kicked 19 out of 20 extra points – for a Dayton single game individual football record of 55 points (still a record). Stivers defeated Richmond 139-0.
Clete married his high school sweetheart, Emma (Stivers ‘22). They had two sons, Cletus and Robert, and a daughter, Evelyn. Clete went to work for General Motors, Delco Division in 1922 as a clerk and during his 40 plus years of service rose to Service Sales Manager of Delco Moraine.
He enjoyed hunting, fishing and was on Delco Moraine’s Dayton Industrial Athletic Association Trapshooting Team. Clete passed away in 1976.
