Sports History

Findlay and Hancock County have been called home by some great athletes over the years! You may know some of the most recent athletes that have gone on to achieve fame like Super Bowl-winning Steelers Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, Big Ten Tournament MVP and Ohio State Basketball Player Aaron Craft, and MLB pitcher Jerry Blevins, but that just barely scratches the surface of Hancock County’s sports history. But what about Julie Cole, Peggy Kirk Bell, Dummy Hoy, and more?

You can read all about Hancock County’s athletes and their achievements on the local, state, collegiate, and national levels by reading through Hancock Sports Hall of Fame’s individual inductees, as well as the team inductees.

Bonus: Want a little more baseball history?

In 1894 the city was home to the Findlay Sluggers (have you ever wondered where the Flag City Sluggers got their name?!), a semi-professional team that made history as one of the earliest racially integrated teams in organized baseball. Two of its most notable players were Grant ""Home Run"" Johnson, a Findlay native who reportedly hit 60 home runs that season, and Bud Fowler, who would later be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Famer. The current Sluggers are a collegiate summer wooden bat league that had their inaugural season in 2025 and honor the original Sluggers by sharing their name.