Inventory of the Glenn V. Bosworth Collection 1894-1979

Biography of

Glenn VanDeren "Speed" Bosworth was born on January 12, 1894, in Greenup, Illinois. Within a year of his birth, his mother died and his father moved the family to Seelyville, Indiana (a suburb of Terre Haute). However, much of his childhood was spent at the home of his aunt in Lexington, Kentucky. It was in Lexington that Bosworth first began playing organized baseball. Between 1912 and 1917, Bosworth played in a number of teams in Lexington, Seelyville and Terre Haute. He also played basketball for Green High School where he graduated in 1914. In 1917, Bosworth was drafted into the Army and was stationed in France for the duration of World War I. During his service, he was made the playing-coach of his regiment's baseball team. After the war, Bosworth returned to Seelyville to play baseball. However, in the spring of 1919, he received an invitation from an old friend, Jack Shoup, to come to Akron and play for the Star Rubber baseball team. In 1920 and 1921, Bosworth played for the Whitman-Barnes baseball club and the Miller Rubber team, respectively. Both teams won the Industrial League Pennant during Bosworth's tenure. Bosworth's greatest claim to fame as a baseball player came during his 1922-28 stay with the General Tire baseball team. What has been termed as "The Game" was a twenty inning scoreless game between the General Tires and Firestone in August 1922; the game that was eventually called on account of darkness. In his later years with the Generals, Bosworth became primarily a manager. In the 1926 season, during an exhibition game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Generals Pitcher Charlie Ketchum pitched a no-hitter to shut-out the Pirates. In 1929, Bosworth became the manager of the Yellow Cabs baseball organization. It was during that inaugural that the infamous "mystery pitcher" episode occurred. With a tough game against Firestone looming, the Cabs were in a spot for a pitcher. So, Bosworth decided to use some psychology. He fed the sportswriters a story about a hurler named Jacobs who had recently signed with the Cabs for the big game against Firestone. On the day of the game, Jacobs pitched and won, then quickly vanished from the team roster. The details surrounding Jacobs were never found out. In 1929, Bosworth also coached the Buckeye Cycles basketball team. By 1930, Bosworth was coaching the Akron Guards baseball team. On July 9th of that year, the Guards and Firestone played Akron's first night game. Bosworth also managed the Akron Sporting Goods baseball/basketball teams and was an assistant coach for The University of Akron baseball team. In the late 1930's, Bosworth managed the Akron Yankee Juniors baseball club. One of the highlights of Speed's managerial career came in 1945. In this year, the Akron Orphans baseball club, which Bosworth managed from 1942 through 1952, won the National Amateur Baseball Championship. Bosworth loved coaching and was well respected throughout baseball for showing and demanding good sportsmanship qualities from his players. During a part-time stint as a scout for the Cleveland Indians, Bosworth was honored by the Indians' as "Mr. Baseball" in 1976. In his twenty-six years of scouting for the Indians', Bosworth developed such future big leaguers as Dain Clay, Ronnie Negray, Denny Galehouse, Hal Naragon, Chuck Hostettler, Gene Woodling, and Mike Bosco. Furthermore, Bosworth received many honors and awards for his coaching/managerial accomplishments. He was elected to the Summit Country Sports Hall of Fame, and in 1967, received the Youth Service Awards from the Touchdown Club of Akron; honoring his many years of service to the community. In 1978, Bosworth also received the prestigious Jim Schlemmer Memorial Award from the Old Time Athlete's Association. On September 24, 1979, following a short illness, Glenn V. Bosworth passed away at the age of 85.

Scope and Content

The Glenn V. Bosworth collection (1894-1979) encompasses material relating to his long career in athletics. This collection would be of particular value to anyone interested in the early development of Akron baseball/basketball leagues and those interested in the life achievements of Glenn Bosworth. Of note in this collection are Bosworth's photograph albums of players and teams. These photographs are nearly all identified. The scrapbooks and newspaper clippings provide a glimpse of the sporting activities in the Akron area from the early and mid-twentieth century.

Statement of Arrangement

Restrictions on Use

Copyright restrictions may apply. Permission to reproduce or publish materials in this collection must be secured in writing from Archival Services, University Libraries, The University of Akron.

Restrictions on Access

No restrictions on access; except not available through interlibrary loan. Copyright restrictions may apply. Permission to reproduce or publish materials in this collection must be secured in writing from Archival Services, University Libraries, The University of Akron.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

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Preferred Citation

[Identification of Item], Glenn V. Bosworth Collection, Archival Services, University Libraries, The University of Akron, Akron, Ohio.

Processing Information

Archival Staff; re-housed and finding aid updated by Ashley Lizewski (Archival Services student assistant), 2012

Detailed Description of The Collection