Bellaire High School (Ohio) Explained

Bellaire High School
Streetaddress:	349 35th Street
Zipcode:	43906
Country:	USA
Coordinates:	40.0175°N -80.7422°W
District:	Bellaire Local School District
Superintendent:	Derrick McAfee
Principal:	Derrick McAfee, Derek Ault
Teaching Staff:	19.50 (FTE)
Ratio:	16.51
Motto:	Once a Big Red, Always a Big Red!
Rival:	Martins Ferry Purple Riders
Team Name:	Big Reds^[1]
Yearbook:	The Beljuan
Newspaper:	The Tribunal
Established:	1876
Enrollment:	322 (2017–18)^[2]

Bellaire High School is a public high school located in Bellaire, Ohio, United States. It is the only high school in the Bellaire Local School District. Athletic teams compete as the Bellaire Big Reds in the Ohio High School Athletic Association as a member of the Buckeye 8 Athletic League as well as the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference.

History

The first school in Bellaire was organized in 1876; classes met in the First Ward School Building that also housed a public primary school. The school gained its own building in 1925 at the school's present location.

"Bellaire High School, dedicated in 1925, was considered at that time to be the most modern in the Ohio Valley. Since its inception it has included 30 classrooms, a combination auditorium gym, a library, home economics rooms, chemistry and physics labs, typing room, office practice room, music room and offices of the superintendent of schools, the high school principal and guidance counselor."(Excerpt from a Times Leader article from February 1, 1999)

Athletics

Bellaire is a founding member of the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference (OVAC), joining the conference in 1943. In 2008, they also founded the Buckeye 8 Conference affiliate of the OVAC.

OVAC 3A Championships

• Baseball - 1970, 1976, 1985, 1988, 1993, 2012, 2015
• Boys Basketball - 1953, 1967, 1978, 1979, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006
• Girls Basketball - 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2006, 2019
• Cheering - 1992
• Boys Cross Country - 1970, 1971, 1976, 1978, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2014, 2015
• Girls Cross Country - 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2014, 2015, 2016
• Football - 1946, 1950, 1954, 1964, 1988, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2013, 2021
• Softball - 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2003, 2015
• Boys Track - 1950, 1951, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1963, 1977, 1978, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2016, 2017
• Girls Track - 1995, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006
• Volleyball - 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993
• Wrestling - 1977, 1978, 1987

Notable alumni

• Mike Basrak – Pittsburgh Steelers
• Mac Cara – Pittsburgh Steelers
• Nate Davis – San Francisco 49ers
• Jose Davis – Indiana Firebirds (AFL), Colorado Crush (AFL)
• Andy Dorris – St. Louis Cardinals, New Orleans Saints, Seattle Seahawks, Houston Oilers
• Todd Fitch — college football coach
• Tod Goodwin – New York Giants
• Joey Galloway – Seattle Seahawks, Dallas Cowboys, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, currently an ESPN broadcaster for college football
• Ron Lee (American football) – Baltimore Colts
• Stan Olejniczak – Pittsburgh Steelers
• Bull Polisky – Chicago Bears
• Nick Skorich – player for Pittsburgh Steelers, (Head Coach) Cleveland Browns, Philadelphia Eagles
• Lance Mehl – New York Jets
• Ben Taylor – Cleveland Browns, Green Bay Packers
• Chalmers Tschappat – Dayton Triangles
• Clyde Thomas – Philadelphia Eagles, CFL British Columbia Lions, only African-American to serve on city council of Wheeling, WV
• John Buddenberg – Cleveland Browns, Atlanta Falcons, WLAF Sacramento Surge, CFL
• Roger Mass – Wilmington Clippers
• Shag Thomas – Ohio State football, Pro Wrestler
• Miller Munjas, played halfback for 1934 Pittsburgh Panthers football team
• John 'Katz' Kadlic, played quarterback for 1933 Princeton Tigers football team co-national champions

External links

• Bellaire High School photos on the Bellaire Public Library website
• Bellaire Big Reds Football
• Bellaire High School Alumni Association

Notes and References

1. Web site: Ohio High School Athletic Association member directory. December 21, 2009. OHSAA. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20101105042530/http://cdab.org/members.asp?SCHOOL_ID=1238. November 5, 2010.
2. Web site: Bellaire High School. National Center for Education Statistics. January 5, 2020.