Bobby Vales was one of the best Stivers athletes of the 20’s decade, a decade in which Stivers had some of their best teams and athletes in the school’s history. Bobby’s best sports were football and track for the Tigers. Then after graduation he played semi-pro football and became a successful pro boxer.
At Stivers in 1927 he replaced hall-of-fames “Fuzzy” Evans as their leading rusher and finished in third place in city scoring. He also punted and played some at quarterback as the Tigers finished second to Roosevelt in the city league standings. He had several scholarship offers, one of which was from the University of Kentucky.
Bobby was also a track star at Stivers. His strongest events were the javelin and hurdles. He was the team captain in 1928 when they finished third in the South West Ohio District meet. He finished fifth in the State of Ohio javelin event.
After graduation from Stivers, Bobby played semi-pro football for the Dayton Kesslers. He played quarterback for the 1930 and 1931 teams, and they were league champions in 1930.
Bobby won the local area Golden Gloves competition and in June of 1932 turned professional. He was a pro from June 13, 1932 to March 8, 1934. Of his 17 matches, he won 12, lost 2 and tied 3. He has been inducted into the “Old Time Boxers Hall of Fame”.
He was a long-time dedicated member of the Knights of Columbus and retired from Charles Furniture in Middletown. Bobby and his Evelyn had two children, daughter Roberta Kozuh and a son, Thomas Vales. He passed away in 1986 at the age of 76.