Russ “Rusty” Young was a three sport star at Stivers in football, basketball and baseball. At 6’0″ and 175 pounds, he was a bruising fullback, a great ball handler and defender in basketball and a slugging catcher in baseball.
In 1922 the Tigers football team went undefeated at 8-0-1. The one tie was with Steele for the City Championship. The 1922 – 1923 basketball team was City Champs with a 12 – 5 record. In 1922 Russ was named to the All Southern (Ohio) basketball team.
After high school Russ played two professional sports. In 1925 he played fullback for the Dayton Triangles of the American Professional Football Association which is now the National Football League. Russ only played one season with the Dayton Triangles apparently deciding he had a better future in baseball. Most of his baseball career was spent with the Milwaukee Brewers of the minor league American Association. In 1928 the switch hitting catcher hit .273 with a slugging percentage of .972.
In 1931 Russ was called up to the majors by the St. Louis Browns. He played in 16 games that year with only 34 at bats. He had 4 hits, 1 home run, for a .118 batting average and a .206 slugging percentage.
Russ never made it back to the majors, but he played with the Brewers at least through the 1933 season. He hit .302 that year with a .393 slugging percentage and a .986 fielding percentage.
Russ Young died in Roseville, California, near Sacremento, on May 13, 1984. He and his wife Mabel Rose are buried there in the Camelia Memorial Lawn Cemetery.
