Browse Interviews

Tim Hudak, author and publisher of eight books about high school football, talks about his experience in the writing and publishing industry. As a graduate of St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland, he began by documenting local games and researching school football histories. He specializes in writing school-specific stories but expanded his research to trace the history of Cleveland's high school football championship, The Charity Game. In the interview, Tim highlights the stories of local…

Barb Rogers currently co-owns Maple Lanes Bowling Alley Tavern with her sister, a bar and bowling alley they inherited from their mother and aunt. Mrs. Rogers discusses what makes the alley unique, such as the semi-automatic pin setters and the maple wood lanes. The bowling alley has been owned by Barb Rogers family since the 1960s and she reflects on her memories of the business, why she has kept the lanes operational and the significance of the building and business to her family.

Robert Sheridan discusses the evolution of hockey, both locally and nationally, describing changes in the game since the 1950s. Sheridan also outlines the evolution of other sports teams in Cleveland, from the high school to professional level.

In this 2005 interview, Susie Guiliano, Manager Media Relations for the Cleveland Indians, discusses her live long love of baseball as well as her job with the Cleveland Indians for the past 22 years. Mrs. Guiliano is a native of the west side of Cleveland and recalls attending baseball games at Cleveland Municipal Stadium as a young girl in the 1970s with her mother. She attributes to her mother her love for baseball. In 1972, she and her mother struck up a friendship with Buddy Bell and his…

An Interview with William Barrow who discusses his relative Thomas Cooper Barrow and his driving range on Euclid Ave. The Hole-in-One was a unique business that served as a transition between the glory days of Millionaire's Row and the period of decline that followed. The discussion includes various remembrances of Millionaire's Row and other general aspects of Cleveland life from the 1920s to the 50s.

Ivan L. Otto, an immigrant to Cleveland, recalls traveling from Hungary as a refugee after World War Two. He describes the schools he went to throughout his life, and how he befriended an African American in the sixth grade who taught him English. According to Otto, they were two outsiders who stuck together. He mentions the different areas and neighborhoods that he lived in as a Clevelander. He also describes the big cases that he worked on as a lawyer. The biggest being the Doan Brook Dam. As…

Paul Martin describes growing up in Lakewood and changes in both Lakewood and Cleveland since the 1940s, his experiences during World War II, working for the Illuminating Company, and his feelings about the mayoral administration of Dennis Kucinich.

Baseball historian Jim Egan discusses the history of baseball in Cleveland. He discusses the early architectural features in the city, including horse hitching posts, flat-roofed housing, and chimneys. He discusses the creation of the modern game, baseball clubs (both locally and nationally), amateur baseball, and the formation of city leagues. He also discusses the connections between baseball and ethnicity, civic boosterism, local ballparks, and labor unions. Other topics include the…

Mark Cheimalecki, long time member of Boston Mills/Brandywine Ski Patrol, talks about his introduction to skiing in the 1970's,changes in ownership and management of the ski resorts, and the problems of X-treme skiing and snow-boarding. Cheimalecki describes the medical training,duties and procedures used by ski patrol members, as well as the importance of proper training and equipment needed to ski safely. He notes efforts by a group of African-American skiiers to introduce inner city youth to…

Terry Pluto is long-time sports writer for both The Akron Beacon Journal and The Plain Dealer. Along with reporting on sports as a columnist Pluto has also authored twenty-three books and is widely considered one of the greatest sports writers of all time. A native Clevelander, Pluto graduated from Benedictine High School before enrolling at Hiram College. After one year at Hiram Pluto transferred to Cleveland State University, graduating in 1979. During this interview Pluto describes his time…

Matt Ghaffari was a Greco-Roman wrestler for the United States national team. He was an alternate on for the Los Angeles and Seoul Games and competed for the US at the Barcelona and Atlanta games, winning the silver medal at the 1996 games in Atlanta. Born in Tehran, Iran, Ghaffari immigrated to the US with his family in 1976. Ghaffari earned an Associates degree from Fairleigh-Dickinson College before transferring to Cleveland State on scholarship to fill the wrestling team's void at the…

Scott Longert is the sports archivist at the Western Reserve Historical Society. In this interview he discusses the history of the Cleveland Indians, through the team's name changes, park changes and changes in baseball's rules. Longert also discusses his work at WRHS.

Bob DiBiasio is works in public relations for the Cleveland Indians. In this 2005 interview he discusses his personal love of baseball and the Cleveland Indians' history. He also discusses the team's interaction with the city and some of the minor league teams associated with the Indians.

In this 2005 interview, Thomas Yablonsky, executive director of both the Warehouse District and the Historic Gateway District. Mr. Yablonski discussed his involvement with downtown Cleveland, first as a high school and college student in the 1970s, and then later in the 1980s as a volunteer and ultimately the executor director of two of the historic districts of Cleveland. Mr. Yablonski has worked the last 20 years in downtown Cleveland in the area of historic preservation and redevelopment. …

In this 2005 interview, Jacob Rosenheim, a retired copy editor in the sports department of the Plain Dealer, talks about growing up in Cleveland's Hough neighborhood in the 1940s and 1950s. Rosenheim recalls when, in the 1950s, one white family sold its house to a black family, how the "for sale" signs popped up immediately thereafter. He also recalls attending Indians' ball games in both the old League Park as well as the old Municipal Stadium, and has many memories of the 1948 and 1954…