Joe Burrow could complete Mount Rushmore of Ohio prep QBs who have won the Super Bowl:
Ashland Family YMCA looking to raise $3.6 million for upgrades, new gym:
Lawrence (Larry) W. Rogers:
Joe Burrow, who plays for the Cincinnati Bengals, may become the fourth Ohio high school quarterback to win a Super Bowl. It’s fun to pick a Mount Rushmore of any topic.
Obviously narrowing down four greats is based on the famed South Dakota carving of presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Teddy Roosevelt. And when it comes to Ohio’s high school quarterbacks, we’re looking for a fourth to complete our own Mount Rushmore of Super Bowl winning quarterbacks.
It started with Alliance’s Len Dawson, who piloted the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl IV; followed by Cincinnati’s Roger Staubach, who was at the helm for the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowls VI and XII; and most recently stopped at Findlay’s Ben Roethlisberger, who guided the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XL and XLIII. That’s three. But a fourth?
Well, it just so happens we have one warming up in the bullpen in the form of Athens product Joe Burrow. He’s at the helm of the Cincinnati Bengals, who will tangle with the Los Angeles Rams in this year’s Super Bowl.
Burrow is the son of a college football assistant coach. He led undefeated Athens High School to the 2014 Division III state championship game, where the Bulldogs lost an incredible 56-52 shootout in the final 15 seconds to Toledo Central Catholic.
His performance in that game was, and is, legendary. He then went on to Ohio State, but sat behind Big Ten MVP J.T. Barrett, and then future first-round NFL Draft pick Dwayne Haskins.
So, Burrow graduated after just three years as a Buckeye and transferred to LSU. In his second year there he threw a whopping 60 touchdown passes, won the Heisman Trophy and led his team to the 2019 national championship.
He was again magnificent in the title game, carving up defending national champion Clemson and ending its 29-game winning streak in the process. Now, the only thing left for Burrow to do as a football player is win a Super Bowl. Well, and finish our monument of course.
To date, Staubach is easily the greatest quarterback Ohio has ever produced. The Cincinnati Player of the Year at Purcell High School, he also won the Heisman Trophy at Navy and led the Midshipmen to a No. 2 ranking in the polls his junior year. After a tour of duty in Vietnam, Staubach came home and led the Cowboys to four Super Bowls – winning two of them.
Staubach was voted Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl VI. He was the first of four players to win both the Heisman Trophy and Super Bowl MVP. Now, Burrow could join this club too.
George Barker first Black man to buy lot in Richland County
Next, some local history. George Barker was the first African-American to buy a lot and build a house in Mansfield in 1875. He moved there with his wife, Harriet. The Barker house, which is located at 89 Wood Street, served as a sort of community center for Black people in the neighborhood.
George’s daughter, Daisy Barker was born in 1877, later marrying Captain Walter Thomas to become Daisy Thomas. She lived in the Mansfield home her entire life. Daisy was very interested in music. In fact, she attended the Oberlin Music Conservatory for three years and returned to Mansfield to teach piano to children for many more.
Daisy was also a bit of an entrepreneur. She purchased nine lots in Idelwild, Michigan, a resort created by African-Americans in response to segregation in the entertainment industry. Daisy played the piano there in the company of such notables as Louis Armstrong and Count Basie. Upon her death, Daisy willed $110,000 to the Richland County Foundation to be used as music scholarships for African-American children.
Ashland YMCA looking to grow
Next, from Ashland Source. The Ashland Family YMCA is looking to grow. The 1950s facility along Miller Street is on its way to raising $3.6 million that will go toward indoor renovations, a revamped parking lot and a 8,900 square-foot gymnastics gymnasium.
The campaign, dubbed “Building a Better Y For Our Community,” kicked off in mid-November and has generated $1.1 million in lead commitments, along with $170,000 from the YMCA Board and Campaign Committee.
And Ashland residents Bob and Janet Archer have committed to donating $2 million if theY can raise $1.6 million by April 1. Construction could begin as soon as this summer.
The focus of the project is widening the facility’s main hallway, which connects the lobby area to swimming pools and other gyms. To widen that hallway by around seven feet, however, the Y will lose space from the current building’s gymnastics area.
Larry Rogers
Finally, we’d like to take a moment to remember Larry Rogers. Larry was born in 1949 in Mansfield. He graduated from Northmor High School.
After graduating, he joined the Air National Guard where he went into Technical Training for Aircraft Mechanics and Graduated to be an Aircraft Technician.
Larry went on to make a lot of close lifelong friends and excel his career and became Tech Sergeant at the 179th Airlift Wing. Larry was often required to travel around the world which he embraced and made lots of memories that he still enjoyed reminiscing about.
In his younger years, Larry enjoyed being outdoors helping with the family owned saw mill, where he learned some very handy woodworking skills, fishing and hanging out with family and friends.
Larry enjoyed his job, hanging out with friends and fixing the unfixable things. He loved to figure out problems. Larry was also a proud member of the 179th Air National Guard Rifle League, N.C.O Club, V.F.W, Eagles, The American Legion and The local Color Guard.
But ultimately Larry’s proudest accomplishment was his family. Larry was very proud of his two daughters and son. Thank you for taking a moment with us today to remember and celebrate his life.
