Claire Linton Cribbs (August 13, 1912 – September 14, 1985) was an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player and high school coach. He was a two-time All-American at the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...

and won over 400 games as a high school coach in the state of

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. Cribbs, a 6'0 (1.83 m) guard from Jeannette High School in

Jeannette, Pennsylvania Jeannette is a city in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States. Jeannette was founded in 1888. The city got its name from one of the original city fathers, who wished to honor his wife, Jeannette McLaughlin, by giving the new town her fi ...

, chose to attend the nearby

and play for

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

coach

Doc Carlson Henry Clifford "Doc" Carlson (July 4, 1894 – November 1, 1964) was an American basketball coach and football player. He is a Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame inductee as the men's college basketball coach of his alma mater, the University of Pi ...

. Cribbs led the Panthers to a 53–15 record in his three varsity seasons, winning the Eastern Intercollegiate Conference in 1933 and 1934 and tying for the championship with

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

in 1935. Cribbs was the star of these teams, garnering all-conference honors all three years and consensus All-American honors as a junior and senior. After graduating from Pitt, Cribbs briefly played baseball as a pitcher for the International League's

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

. He then became a teacher and coach at Warren Consolidated High School in

Tiltonsville, Ohio Tiltonsville is a village in southern Jefferson County, Ohio, United States, along the Ohio River. The population was 1,259 at the 2020 census. It is a part of the Weirton–Steubenville metropolitan area. History Tiltonsville was laid out in 18 ...

, where he coached future

baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...

Bill Mazeroski William Stanley Mazeroski (born September 5, 1936), nicknamed "Maz" and "The Glove", is an American former second baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played his entire career for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1956 to 1972. A 7-time All-S ...

. After a tour in the U. S. Navy during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he became a history teacher and boys' basketball coach at Bellaire High School in

Bellaire, Ohio Bellaire is a village (United States)#Ohio, village in Belmont County, Ohio, Belmont County, Ohio, United States. It is part of the Wheeling, West Virginia Wheeling metropolitan area, Metropolitan Statistical Area, and Wheeling is across the Ohio ...

in 1949. He remained coach there until his retirement in 1977, winning over 400 games and at one point leading the Big Reds to victory for 54 consecutive home games.p. 94 Claire Cribbs is enshrined in the University of Pittsburgh Hall of Fame, as well as the Ohio basketball coaches, Dapper Dan, and Westmoreland County (PA) halls of fame. He died on September 14, 1985 in Bellaire.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cribbs, Claire 1912 births 1985 deaths All-American college men's basketball players United States Navy personnel of World War II Baltimore Orioles (International League) players Basketball players from Pennsylvania Guards (basketball) High school basketball coaches in Ohio Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball players Sportspeople from Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania American men's basketball players