Enjoyed reading this article. https://www.daytondailynews.com/spo...d-like-rock-stars/6HTACFSB2JDKHJ5OYPH47BS75M/
Great article by the iconic Archdeacon! As a kid growing up in Residence Park my friends and I couldn't wait to go to Roth! I looked up to those guys they were my heroes and I'm friends with most of those guys today. They brought pride to the neighborhood every Friday I was there for years. The 81' team was the greatest high school team I ever seen to this day and the next year the 81' JV team won state again as varsity players with two guys returning from the 81' team Byars and Steve Smith. Roth was so great they also won state in track in 81' and went to the playoffs in 81'and 82' in which it was much more difficult back then to make the football playoffs only 4 teams from the region made it. Even the cheerleaders were hot and great! Roth had everything then they shut it down.
The best backcourt to ever play in the Dayton area was Donald Smith, UD great, and Phil Lumpkin, Miami of Ohio. Both played several years in the NBA ata time when the NBA was half the number of teams it has today. Baker and Taylor were very good, but not in the class of Smith and Lumpkin.What a great article buy the legendary "Arch". Being old enough to remember this team and others like 87 Dunbar with Baker and Taylor which to me, was the best backcourt ever to come out this area. This really took me back to true HS sports writing that has now been taking over by internet blogs and podcast. I remember picking up the paper on Saturday morning and reading wall to wall to coverage about the games from Friday night. Those writers made the players from teams like this out to be super heroes! And as a kid that's who we followed. Heck I remember the tribute to the late Dynell "Duck" Springer one writer wrote after the final game of his HS career. In the article he talked about how much he enjoyed covering him and the Dunbar team he was a part off. I couldn't even image something like that today. This article was not only a tribute to this team but a tribute to a "Golden " era of HS sports in this area. I can't tell you who was the best team Roth, Belmont, Alter, CJ, Dunbar but I can tell you back then those teams all had style, charisma, class and larger than life personalities that were all enhanced by great sports writing. Kudos to Arch for being a point of remembrance to an era of not just great HS sports but the talented people that told the stories.
I believe the Dayton area now has had 10 Big school state champions in basketball ( not counting Middletown ). I think Cincinnati claims them...That's pretty impressive. I count Belmont, Chaminade twice, Roth twice, Dunbar 2, or was it 3? Alter twice as a big school and now Centerville. Miss anybody?
Dunbar has four and Alter three. Also, you have those Stivers teams from from the 20s and 30s. I think they have four. Don’t forget the Colonel White team of 1990. Roosevelt won once in the early 60s. Trotwood won it just a couple of years ago.I believe the Dayton area now has had 10 Big school state champions in basketball ( not counting Middletown ). I think Cincinnati claims them...That's pretty impressive. I count Belmont, Chaminade twice, Roth twice, Dunbar 2, or was it 3? Alter twice as a big school and now Centerville. Miss anybody?
2015 WayneI believe the Dayton area now has had 10 Big school state champions in basketball ( not counting Middletown ). I think Cincinnati claims them...That's pretty impressive. I count Belmont, Chaminade twice, Roth twice, Dunbar 2, or was it 3? Alter twice as a big school and now Centerville. Miss anybody?
That's why they are called opinions sir everyone is allowed to have one. Look and Baker and Taylor 's numbers. They stack up with anyone. Smith and Lumpkin where great but to say "Shake n Bake" and "Ice T" were not in their class....Whoa. It may be a small class but Bake and Taylor were definitely on the roll when it was called!The
The best backcourt to ever play in the Dayton area was Donald Smith, UD great, and Phil Lumpkin, Miami of Ohio. Both played several years in the NBA ata time when the NBA was half the number of teams it has today. Baker and Taylor were very good, but not in the class of Smith and Lumpkin.
Still to this day, one of the best high school games I've ever seen.Nobody from my area thought Lorain Catholic could lose a game in the 1975-76 season, and they didn’t...until they lost to Dayton Roth 82-81 in the AA state championship game. I believe Roth had a young Dwight Anderson. Anyone who tried to run with LC that year got ran out of the gym, but Roth was able to run with them and nipped ‘em at the wire.