It’s difficult to narrow down centuries of varied athletic achievements to a top 100 list. We did it in our August issue, and of course readers thought we’d missed a few. Thanks to Nick Anzer, Christy Bohl-Kulwicki, James Deddens, Steve Gates, Jim Kreuzmann, Kevin Metz, Todd Music, Tony Panaro, Paul Seibert, Nancy Swartz, and Andrea Taylor for pointing out a few more names for our list.
Photograph courtesy University of Cincinnati Athletics
Tom Thacker
BASKETBALL
1956–1970
Covington native Tom Thacker was a star member of the University of Cincinnati’s basketball team, helping the Bearcats to three straight final fours. Drafted in the first round by the Cincinnati Royals, he spent three seasons with the team. He retired in 1966 after being drafted by the Chicago Bulls, then came out of retirement in 1967 where he was a free agent with the Boston Celtics. After retiring from basketball for the second time, he went on to become the first African American coach at UC, coaching the women’s basketball team from 1974 to 1977. Thacker was inducted into the Northern Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame in 1986 and into the Norther Kentucky Black Hall of Fame in 1989.
Embed from Getty ImagesAhmad “Sauce” Gardner
FOOTBALL
2015–Present
“Sauce” arrived at UC in 2019 and quickly rose to fame. The three-start prospect from Detroit was the first Bearcat to earn FWAA All-American honors twice. He went on to be named AAC Defensive Player of the Year in 2021. Drafted fourth overall by the New York Jets in 2022, he was named NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year the following season. On November 4 he was traded to the Indianapolis Colts.
Embed from Getty ImagesAmanda Borden
GYMNASTICS
1984–1997
As caption of the famed “Magnificent Seven,” Amanda Borden helped secure the U.S. women’s gymnastics team’s first-ever Olympic gold in 1996. A longtime member of the national team, she also competed in three World Championships, winning a silver medal in the team competition in 1994. Trained under Mary Lee Tracey in Cincinnati, Borden is now the owner of Gold Medal Gymnastics Academy in Tempe, Arizona.
Ruth Sanders Cordes
TENNIS
1913–1923
Born in Cincinnati, Ruth Sanders Cordes launched her tennis career at 22 and quickly became a force in the Cincinnati tennis scene. She earned five singles titles at the Cincinnati Masters & Women’s Open and a doubles crown in 1911, all while raising children. Her dislike for traveling kept her from earning a national Top 10 ranking, but in the Queen City, she was well-known. Cordes remains one of the most accomplished early women athletes in Cincinnati history.
Photograph courtesy University of Cincinnati Athletics
Tony Yates
BASKETBALL
1952–1963
Yates led Lackland Wayne High School to a state title in 1952 before serving in the U.S. Air Force. Returning to basketball at 22, with a partial scholarship to the University of Cincinnati, he was a starting guard. After his playing career, Yates coached at UC, first as an assistant coach in 1972 to 1974, and later as head coach from 1984 to 1989. The Bearcats held a 70–100 record during Yates’s five-year coaching career.
Embed from Getty ImagesPat Tabler
BASEBALL
1973–1992
Hamilton native and McNicholas High alum Pat Tabler was a first-round MLB draft pick by the Yankees in 1976. Over 12 seasons, he played for five teams including the Cleveland Indians, Chicago Cubs, Kansas City Royals, New York Mets, and Toronto Blue Jays. Tabler earned a .282 career batting average and was named one of the 100 greatest Cleveland Indians players of all time. He now works as a commentator for select Cleveland Guardians games.
Lida Scott Howell
ARCHERY
1878–1907
Howell began dominating archery in the 1880s, winning back-to-back Ohio State Championships before claiming her first national title in 1893. She participated in the 1904 Olympics in St. Louis, where archery was the only sport women were allowed to compete in. This was also the first Olympic games in the U.S. and Howell took home three gold medals for team USA. She was inducted into the Archery Hall of Fame in 1975.
Thomas Foster Scott
ARCHERY
?-1904
The father of Olympic champion Lida Scott Howell, Thomas made history in the 1904 Olympic games as one of the oldest athletes to compete at age 76. Participating in both the men’s double York and American rounds, he hit 135 targets and placed 17th overall. He passed away six years after his games in Norwood, but not before seeing his family’s name be a part of archery history.
Embed from Getty ImagesRocky Boiman
FOOTBALL
1994–2010
A 1998 St. Xavier grad, Rocky Boiman went on to play football for the University of Norte Dame, even becoming captain his senior year. He had an eight-year NFL career that included a Super Bowl win with the Indianapolis Colts in 2006. After retiring from football in 2010, Boiman transitioned into broadcasting. He now works as a color analyst for ESPN/ABC Saturdays covering college football games and co-hosting The Eddie & Rocky Show on Cincinnati local radio. He remains one of Cincinnati’s most recognizable football figures.
Photograph courtesy Baseball Reference
Marie Wegman
BASEBALL
1947–1950
Marie Wegman made her way from company softball teams to the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League after she was scouted. The initiation to train in Cuba is really what caught Wegman’s attention. She played shortstop, third base, and pitcher for four teams during her career, including the Rockford Peaches, Ft. Wayne Daisies, Muskegon Lassies, and the Grand Rapids Chicks.
Embed from Getty ImagesDarrell Pace
ARCHERY
1969–2006
The Cincinnati born Pace became a world-class archer by 16. He won two Olympic gold medals in the ’76 games in Montreal and the ’84 games in Los Angeles for team USA. He has also won two World Championships and was named World Archery’s Athlete of the Century in 2011. A dominant presence in archery, Pace is now giving back to the sport by coaching young athletes in Cincinnati at the Cincinnati Junior Olympians.
Embed from Getty ImagesJaycie Phelps
GYMNASTICS
1983–2000
Phelps was another key member of the gold-winning “Magnificent Seven” training under Cincinnati coach, Mary Lee Tracey. Originally from Greenfield, Indiana, she spent years in the Queen City’s gymnastic circle along with teammate Amanda Borden. Phelps was a part of the national team for three years. She now runs the Jaycie Phelps Athletic Center and has a street named after her in Cincinnati, Jaycie Phelps Drive.
Photograph courtesy Voices of Wrestling
Brian Pillman
WRESTLING & FOOTBALL
1976–1997
Pillman was a standout linebacker at Miami University before joining the Cincinnati Bengals for a season and later the CFL’s Calgary Stampeders. After his football career came to end, he transitioned into professional wrestling in 1986, going on to participate in WCW, ECW, and WWF. He was a part of these wrestling organizations until his untimely death in 1997.
Photograph courtesy University of Cincinnati Athletics
Ron Bonham
BASKETBALL
1961-1968
Ron Bonham, Indiana’s Mr. Basketball in 1960, spent three days at Purdue before changing his mind to come to the University of Cincinnati, where he would become a Bearcat legend. As the Bearcats leading scorer by his junior year, averaging 21 points per game, he scored more than 1,600 points during his college career. After his career at UC, Bonham was a substitute on back-to-back Boston Celtics championship teams and played one season for the Indiana Pacers of the American Basketball Association. Bonham was inducted into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017.
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