OUTSTANDING ATHLETE

Induction Year: 2014 | Graduation Year: 1963

Bob Bauders was born in Norwalk, Ohio to Rev. Paul Bauders and Charmion Bauders. Bob has an older sister, Mary Ellen Gleske, who resides in The Woodlands, Texas.

In June, 1962, prior to his senior year in high school, Bob moved from Bellefontaine, Ohio to New Carlisle when his father was assigned to become the minister of the New Carlisle Methodist Church.

At Tecumseh High School, Bob became the quarterback and part-time safety on the 1962 Tecumseh football team under Head Coach Bill Spitzer. The Tecumseh football team compiled a 9-0 record and scored a total of 310 points while holding its opponents to a total of only 42 points. The Tecumseh team scored 30 or more points in every game except the 2 games played in heavy rain conditions. The most points which an opponent scored in any of the 9 games was 14 points and 4 opponents were shut out. In addition to winning the league championship, the Tecumseh football team was the only undefeated and untied football team in the Miami Valley area that year consisting of 82 schools and was the first undefeated and untied football team in the history of Tecumseh High School. The Tecumseh football team also was a ranked team in the Ohio high school football polls throughout that season.

For his quarterback performance in the 52-0 victory against Greenon, Bob was selected by the Dayton Daily News for its weekly Miami Valley Most Valuable Player award. This was the first time that a Tecumseh High School football player had received this award. After the completion of the football season, Bob was selected by his teammates to receive the Tecumseh High School Most Valuable Player award for the 1962 season.

In addition, Bob played as a guard on the 1962-1963 Tecumseh High School basketball team under Head Coach Doug Chaffins. The team was very competitive in almost all of its games and ended the season with a successful 14-6 record. Of the 5 regular season losses, one was by I point, 2 were by 2 points each, I was by 4 points, and the other loss was by 7 points. The Tecumseh basketball team made it to the third round of the Ohio high school basketball tournament and beat league champion Graham both during the regular season and in the tournament. 

In the spring of 1963, Bob played as an outfielder and a pitcher on the Tecumseh High School baseball team under Head Coach Bob Davis. The Tecumseh team had a very successful season by winning the league championship with an undefeated league record of 7-0 and an overall season record of 17-2. Bob had the highest batting average on the Tecumseh team for the season at about .600 and was undefeated as a pitcher with a 5-0 record.

Upon completion of the high school baseball season, Bob was selected to play in the high school Ohio East-West All-Stars Baseball Series in Columbus, Ohio as a member of the West team. Bob has always regarded his senior year at Tecumseh High School as a special year in his life. He appreciates that he was quickly welcomed into the school by his fellow high school athletes and other students. In addition, Bob greatly enjoyed playing sports throughout his senior year at Tecumseh on some exceptional teams with talented teammates and being led by skilled and supportive coaches. Bob feels that he could not have asked for a more fulfilling culmination to his high school years. 

During the summer of 1963 following graduation from Tecumseh High School, Bob played on the Tecumseh Merchants baseball team under Coach Bob Davis in the Springfield Lawrence-Haddix Baseball League and the Dayton Class C League. On that team Bob pitched and played outfield. Upon completion of its league season, Bob was officially declared the batting champion of the Lawrence-Haddix Baseball League with a batting average of .605. 

In September, 1963, Bob entered Princeton University. During his freshman year at Princeton, Bob played on the freshman football and freshman baseball teams and received Princeton numerals in both sports. After incurring a serious knee injury while playing summer league baseball during the summer of 1964 and later major knee surgery, Bob decided to discontinue his intercollegiate career in both football and baseball.

In June, 1967, Bob received a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in Politics from Princeton University. After graduation from Princeton University, Bob entered The Ohio State University College of Law in September, 1967. Upon receiving a Juris Doctor degree in June, 1970 and then obtaining a license to practice law in the state of Ohio, Bob accepted an attorney position with the National Labor Relations Board in Cleveland, Ohio. Bob remained there until he accepted a Supervisory Trial Attorney position with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission District Office in Cleveland in 1979.

In 1983, Bob was promoted to the position of Regional Attorney of the Cleveland District with overall responsibility for Agency litigation in the state of Ohio. Bob entered the private practice of law in 1990 specializing in employment law with his office in Cleveland. He has continued this private practice to the current time. 

Bob resides in Shaker Heights, Ohio with his wife, Rosemary .He has two sons, David and Chris. David lives with his wife, Dolores, son, Max, and stepdaughter, Emily, in Shaker Heights. Chris lives with his wife, Belinda, in Largo, Florida. 

Bob feels very honored to be inducted into the Tecumseh Athletic Hall of Fame. As is usually the situation when this type of honor is given, Bob understands that the athletic accomplishments in which he participated while at Tecumseh would not have been possible without the outstanding performances of many other Tecumseh teammates. From that perspective, Bob additionally views his induction as a well-deserved recognition of the many talented athletes with whom he shared this exceptional year.