Category: Sports

NORTHFIELD PARK was opened on 23 August 1957 to capitalize on a renewed interest in harness-racing. On Rt. 8 on the border between Cuyahoga and Summit counties, the half-mile track was built by Walter J. Michael, horse farmer, president of the old Grandview Race Track, and head of the U.S. Trotting Assn. Northfield, Grandview, and Painesville operations divided a yearly average of 150 nights of harness racing.

The OAKWOOD CLUB, 1516 Warrensville Center Rd., was the first major Jewish organization located in the CLEVELAND HTS.

OWENS, JESSE (12 September 1913-31 March 1980), was a world record setting track-and-field athlete during the 1930s. In 1950 sportswriters voted him as the world's top track star of the century. Born on a tenant farm in Oakville, Alabama, to Henry and Emma Alexander Owens, Jesse migrated with his family to Cleveland in 1922.

PARRISH, BERNARD PAUL “BERNIE” (29 April 1936-23 October 2019) was a football player and union organizer in the NFL.

POLO is a game of Asiatic origin played by teams of players on horseback using mallets with long flexible handles to drive a wooden ball through the opponent's goal. The sport was popular in the Cleveland area during the 1920s and 1930s. Disrupted by World War II, it was revived in the 1950s by enthusiasts who formed the Cleveland Polo Club.

PRESCOTT HUNTER/JUMPER CLASSIC. See MERRILL LYNCH HUNTER JUMPER CLASSIC.

PRO FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES have been played in Cleveland 9 times, 6 times for the Natl. Football League crown (1945, 1950, 1952, 1954, 1964, and 1968), and 3 times for the All-America Football Conference championship (1946, 1948, and 1949). Of the 9 title games Cleveland has hosted, the Cleveland team has triumphed in 7: 1945, 1946, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1954, and 1964.

PROGRESSIVE FIELD, previously named Jacobs Field at 2401 Ontario Street, was opened in 1994 as part of the new Gateway Sports and Entertainment Complex intended to revitalize downtown Cleveland.

QUICKEN LOANS ARENA. See ROCKET MORTGAGE FIELDHOUSE.

RANDALL PARK RACE TRACK was a noted horse track for runners and trotters for 60 years. With its neighbor, THISTLEDOWN RACE TRACK, Randall Park provided the village of NORTH RANDALL with its major industry.

REVCO CLEVELAND MARATHON AND 10K. See RITE AID CLEVELAND MARATHON AND 10K.

The RICHFIELD COLISEUM located at 2923 Streetsboro Road in Richfield Township Ohio, was built in 1974 for 36 million dollars in order to replace the CLEVELAND ARENA.

The RITE AID CLEVELAND MARATHON AND 10K (actually a 26-mile annual marathon and a separate 10-km run) was originally sponsored by the REVCO DRUG STORE chain and cosponsored by various Cleveland-area companies. In late 1997, Revco was acquired by RI-based CVS Corp., which sponsored the race from 1998 through 2002.

ROBINSON, FRANK  (31 August 1935-7 February 2019) was a Hall of Fame baseball player and the first African-American manager in the major leagues, for the CLEVELAND INDIANS.

ROSEN, ALBERT LEONARD "AL" (29 February 1924-13 March 2015) was a slugging third baseman for the CLEVELAND INDIANS who later became a Major League Baseball executive.

SANDLOT BASEBALL. The origins of the American game of baseball are disputed; it was invented either in 1839 or 1846. It did not take long, however, for it to find its way to Cleveland.

The SCHMELING-STRIBLING FIGHT was the first heavyweight championship match waged in Cleveland, and the first sporting event to take place in the newly completed CLEVELAND MUNICIPAL STADIUM on 3 July 1931. It featured Max Schmeling, German-born heavyweight champion, against William L. "Young" Stribling, a seasoned veteran of 300 bouts.