East High School - Exodus Yearbook (Cleveland, OH)

Page 31 text:

Behind the excellent pitching of Vic, and with the able fielding of Andy at second base and the clutch-hitting of left fielder Steve Stoyko, the team took the East Side Senate title which allowed them to play West High for the Cleveland Senate Crown. It was a thrilling battle! Chris Petroff, the starting hurler for the Blue Bombers, had a lead of two runs until the fifth inning when he suddenly became wild and walked five men in a row. The score tied, two out, bases loaded and the game at stake, Coach Earl J. Ocker called on south- paw Stretch Kovacic to extinguish West High's fire. The count was three balls and two strikes as Vic blazed that last big strike past the batter. In the last half of the eleventh inning with Steve Stoyko on third base, the batter attempted a squeeze play and West's first baseman, in an attempt to stop Steve from scoring, threw wild to the catcher allowing the score-deciding run to cross home plate and the Bombers had the City Championship 5-4. A terrific 17-2 record was the achievement of the 1952 baseball season. FOOTBALL Andy Okulovich and Ed Prelock were the only boys from our class on the '50 football squad. Andy lost no time in winning his berth as first string quarter- back, and Ed started at the tackle position. Coach Tom Corbo urged the squad on to an excellent season record. The Shaw-East game marked the opening of the '50 football season for the two teams. Played under the lights at Shaw Stadium, that game will be among the best remembered gridiron clashes of that season for it ended in a thrilling 19-19 tie. The next fall another member of our class turned out for August practice at Gordon Park, six foot two inch, 230 pound Frank Constantino who played defensive guard. The '51 Shaw-East opener turned into a victory for East, 18-13. A strong start enabled the pigskin luggers to finish with a season record of 4-4.

Page 30 text:

BASEBALL Although the midterm graduating group is traditionally small, boys of the class of January ’53 placed outstanding athletes on all four Bomber squads: baseball, football, basketball and track. These teams left a blazing trail of records and memories long to be remembered and challenged by new, hopeful athletes. Their individual achievements as well as their team play have earned many of the senior sports figures recognition far beyond Hast High School and has made them potential college and pro athletes of tomorrow. Two of our classmates, Vic Kovacic and Andy Okulovich, played key roles in bringing the City Base- ball Championship to East in 1950. That year the Kings of Swat” finished with a record of 14 wins against 3 se tbacks. The following season saw Steve Stoyko playing alongside Andy and Vic. The team started out with a big bang playing one thousand ball in the first round of Senate play. After winning the district play-offs, the squad went to Columbus to represent the Cleveland area for the State Baseball Championship. Columbus Mc- Kinley took over and won by a score of 4-1. After returning from Columbus, the boys were unable to bounce back strong enough to win the Senate Crown, and ended the season on the top end of a 14-4 record. The most successful diamond season came in '52 with Vic, Steve and Andy as team-mates on the starting nine. Climaxing the first half of Senate play, the boys made a return trip to Columbus once more seeking the State Cham- pionship. They lost to powerful Cincinnati Central 7-1, but this time they returned with the determination and fight necessary to capture the Senate championship.

Page 32 text:

There was a change of schedule in the 1952 football season. Instead of the traditional opener against Shaw, the Blue Bombers met a powerful Elyria eleven. New senior faces were seen on the Bomber squad that night--Tom Kotnik at right offensive guard, Don Dearth, middle linebacker on defense and Hank Rocco, offen- sive right half-back. Even though the Blue and Gold had the powerful quarterbacking of Andy O the Elyria team had too much experience for the Bombers’ green team. East went down 26-0 before the Lake Erie League champions as the defeated team. Inexperienced as the team was, it ended the Senate schedule with two wins, three losses and one tie. The Bombers were helped along greatly by the accurate throwing arm and soft passes of Andy Okulo- vich. Whenever sports are mentioned, the January ’53 class will always remember its all-round athlete, Andy, whom many newspapers and sports writers have called the best high school quarterback in the state. In addition Andy contributed greatly to baseball on his second base position and to basketball by playing guard. BASKETBALL Entering East in January, 1950 the class was plunged right into the midst of the basketball season. Andy Okulovich, Vic Kovacic, Hank Rocco and Steve Stoyko were members of the sophomore class who were later named to the varsity squad by Coach Eugene T. Krakowiak. The coach, who had only recently started his career at East High, planned to rebuild the team for the coming two years with the help of these boys.