The Meadowdale Lions joined the Dayton City League in 1961 as the league's eleventh member. The league (formerly known as the Big 6) was established in 1930 and its original members were Steele, Stivers, Roosevelt, Kiser, Fairview and Chaminade. Upon joining the league, the baseball team quickly established itself as one the top programs in the area. The team coached by Ron Brookey won a number of city championship titles and produced several top players who went on to play professionally and at the major collegiate level. Steve Yeager (Class of 1967), who hit two grand slams in a single game, was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 6, 1967, in the 4^th round of the 1967 Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft. He made his MLB debut with the Dodgers on August 2, 1972, and went on to play 15 season in the major leagues. Yeager helped the Dodgers to the World Series in 1974, 1977, 1978 and 1981. In the '81 Series against the New York Yankees, he shared the World Series Most Valuable Player award with teammates Pedro Guerrero and Ron Cey. The Baseball Team continued to enjoy great success into the ‘70s and produced its second MLB Player in Toney Nicely who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Both the school's football and boys basketball teams also became very competitive during this period winning a number of league and tournament titles as well. Coach George Keller’s football program put together back-to-back undefeated (10-0) seasons and held a 29-game winning streak (that extended from 1977 through 1979). Quarterback Jim Johnson directed the 1976 team on offense and went on to play baseball at the University of Tennessee. Other members of the team that went on to play college football included Tim Campbell (Marshall University), Fred Motley (University of Michigan) and Denver Smith (Indiana University). It was the first back-to-back perfect 10-0 seasons every recorded in Dayton City League History. Coach Keller played on the Colonel White 1960 undefeated (10-0) team under Coach Jim Eby. He retired after the 1978 season after achieving a 51-16-1 career record in seven seasons and winning four City Championships. Assistant Coach Pat Masters was selected as Coach Keller replacement. He coached the Lions from for 15 seasons (from 1979-1993). During that period, he built a powerhouse at Meadowdale, guiding the Lions to a record nine City League Championships and combined overall record of (99-47-2). As a result of his success, he was named City League Coach of the Year (10 times). Additionally, over 100 of his players went on to play college football (including 55 at the Division I level). Two of his players Rick Smith (Purdue) and Sheldon White (Miami of Ohio) went on to become NFL General Managers. Rick Smith served as the Houston Texans General Manager for 12 seasons. Sheldon White served as the interim general manager for the Detroit Lions in 2015. White, a cornerback, played six years in the NFL with the New York Giants (1988-89), Lions (1990-92) and Cincinnati Bengals (1993), Linebacker Derek Bunch (Michigan State) played for the Washington Redskins in 1987. Wide Receiver Andy McCullough (Tennessee) was a seventh-round draft pick of the New Orleans Saints in 1998. And Peerless Price (Tennessee), a second-round pick of the Bills in 1999, enjoyed eight seasons in the NFL, Buffalo Bills (1999-2002), Atlanta Falcons (2003-2004), Dallas Cowboys (2005) and finishing his career in Buffalo (2006-2007). The Basketball Program first experienced success during the Mike Pratt Era. The 1966 graduate was rated as one of the top schoolboys in the State of Ohio. During his high school career, he was held under double figures only twice and averaged 24.9 points and 16 rebounds per game in his senior season. He finished his career at Meadowdale in a remarkable fashion, by breaking Belmont’s All-American Bill Hosket’s City League scoring record and setting a Dayton-area scoring record totaling 1,396 points in his 76-game career. He held the city league scoring record up until 1978, that is when Dwight Anderson of Roth High School took over the title. As a result of being one of the most sought-after basketball players in Dayton prep history, he was chosen to play in the Ohio North/South High School All Star Game. Additional honors included being selected 1^st Team All-City and 1^st Team All Greater Dayton for three seasons and All-City in both Football and Baseball in his Junior and Senior Seasons. After graduating from Meadowdale in 1966, he went on to attend the University of Kentucky. While playing alongside Kentucky's all-time leading scorer, Dan Issel, the Wildcats finished the 1969-70 season as the nation's No. 1-ranked team. He was a 1970 Academic All-American and 2nd Team All-American, as well as two-time first-team All-SEC selection by the league's coaches in 1969 and 1970. Pratt was admitted to UK’s prestigious 1,000 points club with 1,359 points in his three years. He also became a member of the UK Athletic Hall of Fame in 2009, Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame in 2010 and the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019. Following his career with the Wildcats he was selected in the 1970 American Basketball Association (ABA) draft by the Kentucky Colonels. The basketball program tied Roth for the City League Championship in 1972, 77, 79 and with Colonel White in 1978 before winning its first outright title in 1982. In 1990, Jamie Skelton (1^st Team All-State Selection) led Meadowdale to the school’s sixth City League Championship (first since 1982). The team Coached by Ed Ward also won the school’s second Class AAA District Championship, before losing to Cincinnati Woodward (71-58) in the Regional Semi-Final Game. Coach Ward’s 1993 team was the school’s first to win both the City League and District Title in the same season. The 1993 Team was led by Carlos Knox, who went on to star at Indiana University – Purdue University (IUPUI) in Indianapolis. He is considered one of the best players to ever play at IUPUI after leading the NCAA II in scoring for two consecutive seasons. Coach Bernie Hutson’s team won the school’s first District Basketball Title in 1979, after upsetting Joe Petrocelli’s Alter Knights. Tonja Buford-Bailey a decorated coaching veteran and three-time USA Olympian who competed mainly in the 400-meter hurdles put Meadowdale Girls Track Program on the map. While at Meadowdale, she was a two-time state champion in the 110’ Hurdles and won the 300’ hurdles in her senior season. After a successful high school career, she accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Illinois in Champaign. She quickly established herself among the elite hurdlers in the world during her time as a student-athlete at Illinois (1990-93). A 10-time All-American, she was the 1992 NCAA champion in the 400m hurdles. Buford-Bailey also amassed a Big Ten-record 25 conference titles, an effort that earned her four Big Ten Athlete of the Year Honors and three Athlete of the Championships awards. As one of the most decorated track student-athletes in history at the University of Illinois, Buford-Bailey was a member of the inaugural class of the Illinois Athletics Hall of Fame in 2017. As the first Illini female athlete to make a U.S. Olympic team, she earned her way onto three (1992, 1996, 2000) over the course of her professional career. After finishing as Division II State Runner-Ups in 2013 to Columbus Eastmoor Academy, the team bounced back in 2014 to claim the Division II State Title outright. This was the school’s first state championship in any sport. The team was coached by Coach Chad Miller. Since joining the league, the Lions have captured (1) State Championship in Girls Track, along with (12) Football, (7) Basketball and (20) Baseball City League Titles. The school has also produced several successful & distinguished alumni, faculty, staff, athletes and coaches. Undoubtedly, the most accomplished feat of the Meadowdale Athletic Program was the 2014 Girl's Track Team capturing the school's first and only State Championship Title. After finishing as state runners-up in 2013, the team was determined to return to Columbus and bring home the gold in 2014.