The Fairview Bulldogs joined the Big 6 Athletic League in 1933 just shortly after becoming part of the Dayton Public School District in 1931. Prior to officially joining the Big 6, Fairview competed in the Dayton Suburban League, but still played several members of the league (which included Steele, Stivers, Roosevelt, Kiser and Chaminade). Fairview has operated as a separate independent school district in Harrison Township since opening in 1900. The small school building was known for its beautiful scenic tower and being in a lovely rural area (surrounded by farms and fields) on the southwest corner of Fairview Ave and Catalpa Drive. Boys Baseball was the first sport to be offered for students at the school in 1905. The baseball program started its career playing community schools like Vandalia and Trotwood at a so-called baseball diamond in a cleaning in the surrounding woods (known today as part of Malvern and Otterbein Avenues). A student led effort for a basketball team began shortly after, with team practices being held at the Dance pavilion in Old Fairview Park. The first recorded game was between the alumni and the school team during the Christmas vacation. Shortly before, on December 17, 1909, a committee representing all four classes of Fairview High School, met to choose colors for the school. The committee chose orange and dark blue. With only 17 boys enrolled, it was able to carry on a complete program of boys’ athletics and even won the County Athletic Contest in 1913. Both the Basketball and Baseball Teams competed with only substitutes each. As the sports programs continued to grow, school administrators and coaches began to express the necessity of some sort of a covered gymnasium for winter and bad weather. The group felt the school could help with paying for such a building and the total cost needed would not be over several hundred dollars. In 1920, three members of the Class of 2018 (Mary Siebenthaler, Jean Henry and Bess Barnes), wrote Fairview’s school song, “The Blue and Gold”. They changed the colors originally chosen in 1909-organge and dark blue-because blue and gold sounded better when put to music. In 1923, Harry Michael (Class of 1926) a member of the Fairview news staff originated the Bulldog Mascot idea. The Fairview News still an extra-curricula activity, suggested it to the school and school administrators adopted it and stated the Bulldog represented a symbol fidelity and “stick-to-tive-ness”. Like the school, however, the Fairview Bulldog Mascot had to grow on its student body. Its first picture was that of a scrawny little bull terrier. By 1925, Fairview had grown too big for its building as space shortages had been worrisome topic for years. So, in 1925, the grade school left for its new quarters on Fairview Ave, leaving the high school with seven rooms and “two bathrooms”. That same year the school acquired a brand-new combination auditorium and gym. Athletics was rapidly becoming one of the most important activities at the school. Football had begun some years before but banned from school activities because of an injury. Practically all the school’s time and resources were devoted to the three major teams (boys & girls basketball and baseball). Fairview also acquired its first cheerleader and some school yells that year. In 1927, the Girls basketball team turned in seven victories and three losses. George Campbell won the City High School Golf Championship (sponsored by the Dayton Daily News) and so did Fairview’s golf team. The Boys Basketball Team won the Montgomery County Championship and the football team (still very young) ended its season with two victories and four defeats. 1928 brought still more attention to sports. Coach Roy Mayberry and Elmer C. Wien (school’s athletic director) began their work at Fairview. When they arrived, the school athletic department was in debt for more the $400. They had just enough football equipment for four players and sufficient basketball outfits for one season. The two men immediately increased the school debt to nearly a $1K by purchasing additional equipment. They increased it again later, until at one time the total indebtedness was nearly $1500, but their debt paid dividends which increased Fairview’s sports and in turn made possible repayment of the total. The 1928-29 school year was the last year in old Fairview. In the Fall of 1929, the student body of 500 and faculty took a tearful farewell of Old Fairview before moving into the new 365,000 square foot building at the corner of Hillcrest Ave and Philadelphia Drive. Even during that last year at Old Fairview, it instituted more “firsts”. The student-athletes organized the Varsity “F” Club with 24 members, and its teams joined the new Dayton Suburban League with its stiffer competition. 1931 brought a complete change. Fairview, now a six-year school, entered the city school system, the only city high school which began as a county school. Naturally, there was keener competition in all phases of school life and Fairview at first was the proverbial ‘little fish in the big pond’, often referred to by its new neighbors as “band of farmers”. And, also naturally, Fairview did something about it. The Class of 1931 gave as its memorial $250 to help the school build tennis courts. The bus lines extended their route to their present position to include Fairview High School, and the athletic high point of the year was the Fairview-Oakwood football game, during which friends of Fairview flew over the newly dedicated athletic field and dropped rose buds on it. During those early years as a city school, Fairview continued to belong to the Miami Conference, playing Roosevelt as its only city game and being thoroughly trounced by such scores as 60 to 0. The Golf Team undoubtedly was the most successful athletic team in the early years while advancing to the state finals six times and winning State Championships in 1934 & 1936 and finishing as Runner-Ups in 1931, 1933, 1935 & 1937). The team also won ten City Titles between 1931-1942. Another successful program in the early years was the Tennis team who won the school’s third state championship in 1937. The Football program under coach Roy Mayberry got started in 1933 with a bang with a memorable upset of Stivers. But Fairview didn’t get a whiff of the City Championship Title until 1937, sharing it with Roosevelt before winning it outright in 1938. Mayberry’s Bulldogs developed strong teams in the late 1930s around a remarkable family: the seven Brown brothers, all close in age, who played from the mid-1930s through 1943. The Brown family was responsible for leading the Bulldogs to its second outright championship in 1940 and co-championships in 1941 and 1943. The best of the group and one of the finest players who ever came from Dayton was Howard (Goon) Brown. Brown was a punishing fullback on offense and played various defensive positions in high school. The other six Browns included fullback Bob, a 1941 Fairview grad who was killed in the war, George, Clarence Jr., Lloyd, Don and Fred. Four of that group went to play college football. Fairview had a unique offensive weapon for the time in kicker Bill Seremetis, who surely was first soccer style placekicker in Dayton. Described in the Dayton Daily News as “a ponderous, swarthy tackle who learned to kick on the soccer fields of his native Greece,” he kicked four field goals in the 1940 season: three of them were game winners in 3-0 scores over Kiser, Stivers and Cincinnati St. Xavier. Fairview Football would claim another title until 1974 when it split with Belmont. Doc’ Pumphrey Boys Basketball team won City Championship Titles in 1938, 1941 and 1943. Coach Ron Sumlin team captured Fairview’s last Boys Basketball Title in 1976. That team was led by Mark Edwards (City League Player of the Year), Alvin Hall and Mark Dempsey. Alvin Hall and Mark Dempsey both went on to have highly successful college careers at Miami (OH) University and Ohio State University and brief professional careers, Hall (NFL Cleveland Browns) and Mark Dempsey (MLB San Francisco Giants). Fairview is also known for producing two of America’s most celebrated athletes in Edwin Moses and Mike Schmidt. Moses developed into an international track star while attending Morehouse College in Atlanta. He later went on to compete in three Olympic Games, winning Gold Medals in 1976 & 1984 and a Bronze in 1988. Mike Schmidt was a three-sport athlete while at Fairview and attended Ohio University for college. He had a 18 Year MLB Career with the Philadelphia Phillies and was a twelve-time All-Star and three-time winner of the of the National League Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award. Schmidt won the National League Gold Glove Award for third basemen ten time and was elected to the Baseball Hall Fame in 1995. Overall, the Bulldogs captured (3) State Championships, along with (6) Football, (4) Basketball, (10) Golf, (4) Tennis and (1) Track City League Titles. It is also particularly important to note that the school produced several successful & distinguished alumni, faculty, staff, athletes, and coaches. Undoubtedly, the most accomplished feat of the Fairview Athletic Program is dominance demonstrated by the Golf Team in the 1930s and their two State Championships in 1934 and 1936.