George Ratterman
FOOTBALL
1942–1956
A star quarterback and all-around athlete at St. X, Ratterman lettered in four different sports at Notre Dame (baseball, basketball, football, and tennis). He played QB for the Buffalo Bills in the AAFC, a pro league that was absorbed into the NFL in 1950, and then backed up Otto Graham on the Browns for several seasons until an injury ended his career. He was elected Campbell County Sheriff in 1961, surviving a plot to trap him in a compromising situation with stripper April Flowers and working to clean up Newport’s infamous crime rackets.
Ken Riley
FOOTBALL
1969–1983
A sixth-round draft pick out of Florida A&M in 1969, Riley started at cornerback for the Bengals for the next 15 seasons, including the 1981 Super Bowl season. He was named All-Pro three times, and his 65 career interceptions are still the fifth most in NFL history. Riley was elected to the NFL Hall of Fame in 2023.
Photograph courtesy University of Cincinnati Athletics
Oscar Robertson
BASKETBALL
1957–1974
After winning two high school state championships in Indianapolis, The Big O catapulted UC basketball to national prominence. He was NCAA Player of the Year all three varsity seasons and led the Bearcats to their first two Final Four appearances; they’d win back-to-back national titles right after he graduated. He led the U.S. men’s basketball team to gold in the 1960 Olympics. The Cincinnati Royals took Robertson No. 1 overall in the 1960 NBA Draft, and he won Rookie of the Year. He was All- NBA all 10 of his seasons in Cincinnati, including MVP in 1963–64, and after being traded to the Bucks led them to the 1971 NBA title and was an All-Star twice more. He is a member of NBA 75th Anniversary Team and is in the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Frank Robinson
BASEBALL
1956–1976
Robinson debuted with the Reds at age 20 and won NL Rookie of the Year. He was NL MVP in 1961, leading the Reds to the World Series, and was a six-time All-Star in 10 seasons in Cincinnati. In the most disastrous trade in city history, the Reds sent Robinson to the Orioles, for whom he was 1966 AL MVP (the first player to win MVP in both leagues) and played in four World Series, winning two. He later became the first Black manager in MLB history. Robinson’s numbers were retired in both Cincinnati and Baltimore, and he is in the MLB Hall of Fame.
Photograph by AP Photo/Rusty Kennedy
Pete Rose
BASEBALL
1963–1986
The Hit King, a born-and-raised west-sider, is MLB’s all-time leader in hits, games played, at-bats, and singles and was a 17-time All-Star at five different positions. He led the Big Red Machine to two World Series championships, won three batting titles, and was 1963 NL Rookie of Year and 1973 NL MVP. He has the third longest hit streak in MLB history at 44 games. Rose finished up a remarkable 24-year career with two-plus seasons as the Reds player-manager. In that stretch, he broke Ty Cobb’s career hits record and was also found to have bet on Reds games and was banned from baseball. His ban was lifted earlier this year after his death, and he’s now eligible to be elected to the MLB Hall of Fame.
Kyle Rudolph
FOOTBALL
2006–2023
Rudolph was an All-American tight end and basketball star at Elder, then started all 13 games his freshman year at Notre Dame. After three seasons in college, he was the first tight end chosen in the 2011 NFL Draft, by the Vikings. He played 12 seasons in the NFL, the first 10 in Minnesota, and was named All-Pro in 2012 and 2017.
Photograph courtesy University of Cincinnati Athletics
Becky Ruehl Amann
DIVING
1991–2000
As a seventh-grader, Ruehl competed on the Villa Madonna Academy’s high school diving team and won the Kentucky state one-meter diving championship five years in a row. She then attended the University of Cincinnati, where she won the NCAA Championship 10-meter platform title in 1996, making her the first female athlete in UC history to win an individual NCAA title. She competed in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and finished fourth in one-meter diving.
Roger Staubach
FOOTBALL
1958–1979
A stand-out quarterback at then-all-boys Purcell High School, Staubach attended the U.S. Naval Academy and won the Heisman Trophy in 1963, leading Navy to a No. 2 final ranking. He later directed the Cowboys to Super Bowl titles in 1972 and 1978 and led the NFL in passer rating five times. Staubach is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame and NFL Hall of Fame, and Purcell Marian’s football stadium is named for him.
Photograph courtesy Xavier University
Hank Stein
BASKETBALL
1956–1959
A three-year starter at Xavier, Stein became the school’s first All- American basketball player in 1958, the season he led XU to the NIT championship by beating Dayton in double overtime at Madison Square Garden. In those years, the NIT was considered a better postseason tournament than the NCAA, and colleges had to choose one or the other. Stein was picked in the 1959 NBA Draft by the Hawks but never played pro ball.
Photograph courtesy University of Cincinnati Athletics
Tony Trabert
TENNIS
1946–1963
Trabert won three state singles championships at Walnut Hills High School (the school’s tennis facilities are named for him) and the 1951 NCAA singles championship at UC, where he also played basketball. He won 10 Grand Slam tennis titles, five in singles and five in doubles, and captured Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 1955 without losing a set. Trabert also led the U.S. to a Davis Cup title in 1954.
Jack Twyman
BASKETBALL
1951–1966
Twyman led UC to third place in the 1955 NIT, the nation’s top postseason tournament back then, and graduated as the Bearcats’ all-time leading scorer and rebounder. He was taken in the 1955 NBA Draft by the Rochester Royals and moved with them to Cincinnati before the 1957–58 season. He started alongside Oscar Robertson for six seasons here and was an NBA All-Star six times. His No. 27 was retired by UC and the Royals/ Kings, and he’s in the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Nick Van Exel
BASKETBALL
1991–2006
Van Exel averaged 15.2 points and 3.6 assists during his two seasons at UC, leading the Bearcats to the 1992 NCAA Final Four, the school’s only Final Four since its early ’60s glory years. He was an All-American his senior year and a finalist for the John Wooden Award. Van Exel was taken in the second round by the Lakers in the 1993 NBA Draft and played for six teams over his 13-year pro career, earning an All-Star nod in 1998.
Photograph by AP Photo/Andy Clark, POOL
Bryan Volpenhein
ROWING
1998–2008
The Kings High School and Ohio State University graduate won rowing medals for the U.S. at two Olympics, both in the men’s eight competition: gold in 2004 and bronze in 2008. He’s the only two-time U.S. Rowing Male Athlete of the Year (2002 and 2004). Volpenhein later served as coach of the U.S. National Team and currently coaches at Oklahoma City University.
Joey Votto
BASEBALL
2007–2023
The pride of Toronto, Ontario, Votto was a beloved figure here during his 17-year Reds career. He’s the only Red other than Johnny Bench with at least 300 home runs, 1,000 RBI, and 2,000 hits in a career and is among the franchise’s top five players in career hits, homers, RBI, runs, doubles, walks, and OPS. Votto was the NL MVP in 2010 and a six-time All-Star.
Photograph courtesy WKU Lady Topper Basketball
Jaime Walz Richey
BASKETBALL
1990–2000
Walz played varsity basketball at Highlands High School starting in seventh grade and amassed records that still stand. She was a two-time Kentucky Player of the Year, and Parade magazine named her National Player of the Year in 1996. She remains first in state girls basketball history in career assists and three-point shots made and second in career points, steals, field goals made, and free throws made. Walz played four years at Western Kentucky University.
David West
BASKETBALL
1999–2018
When the 6-foot-9 power forward signed his national letter of intent, then-Xavier Head Coach Skip Prosser told The Enquirer, “Hopefully he can come in and help us right away.” West’s averages of 11.7 points and 9.7 rebounds his freshman season certainly did, and he went on to earn Player of the Year honors and write his name all over XU’s record books. Drafted No. 18 overall by the Hornets in 2003, West was a two-time All-Star and won two championships with the Golden State Warriors during his 15-year NBA career.
Photograph © Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Mary Wineberg
TRACK AND FIELD
1996–2013
A Walnut Hills grad, Wineberg ran track at UC and then found success turning pro in the women’s 400 meters. She won several international races in 2007, culminating in capturing the world championship in the 4×400 relay. She followed that up with a gold medal in the same relay event in the 2008 Olympics. Wineberg currently serves on the Cincinnati Board of Education and is track and field coach at her high school alma mater.
Image is public domain
Harry Wright
BASEBALL
1866–1877
The oldest athlete on our Top 100 list by far, British-born Wright was recruited to Cincinnati with his brother in 1865 to play professional cricket, then the city’s most popular sport. “Base ball” became the nation’s sports fascination after the Civil War, and Wright assembled, managed, and played center field for the game’s first fully professional team, the 1869 Red Stockings. He then played for and managed the Boston Red Stockings in the new National Association.
Kevin Youkilis
BASEBALL
1994–2013
After a standout baseball career at Sycamore High School, Youkilis was a two-year All-American at UC and still holds Bearcats records for career runs scored, home runs, walks, and on-base percentage. He played eight-plus seasons with the Red Sox, including the 2007 World Series champs, and was a three-time All-Star. Youkilis is in the UC Hall of Fame and Red Sox Hall of Fame.
Read More Here:
- The 100 Greatest Cincinnati Athletes Ever: A-C
- The 100 Greatest Cincinnati Athletes Ever: D-H
- The 100 Greatest Cincinnati Athletes Ever: I-P
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