Ohio made important contributions to sports, especially baseball and football, in the 1940s. In 1940 Bob Feller of the Cleveland Indians pitched the first opening day no-hitter in major league history. That same year, the Cincinnati Reds won the World Series.

Nationally, Joe DiMaggio, electrified the baseball world with his 56-game hitting streak in 1941. That same year, Ted Williams hit over .400, a feat not duplicated since. During the war, many baseball stars left to serve in the military, creating opportunities for new and younger players to emerge. Joe Nuxhall, for example, began his major league career with the Cincinnati Reds at age 15 in 1944.

In 1947 the Cleveland Indians followed the precedent of the Brooklyn Dodgers and Jackie Robinson, when they signed Larry Doby as the first African-American player in the American League. The following year, the Indians won the first ever American League championship playoff game and went on to defeat the Boston Braves in the World Series.

Ohio teams also excelled at football during the 1940s. In 1945, the Cleveland Rams won the National Football League championship. The Cleveland Browns dominated the fledgling All-American Football Conference, winning four consecutive championships under coach Paul Brown. In the college arena, the Ohio State Buckeyes were voted national champions in 1942, and Les Horvath won the Heisman Trophy as the nation's best player in 1944.

Ohio State halfback Dick Fisher runs through the line of the University of Southern California in October 1941. More than 350 colleges suspended their football programs during World War II.

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