Don Christian '69

Don Christian, Class of 1969, was one of Poland High School's greatest baseball players and is widely recognized as the school's first true baseball star. In 1969, he pitched the first no-hitter in Poland baseball history and later became the only Poland player ever to throw back-to-back no-hitters, accomplishing the feat against Brookfield and Warren Harding. His streak of 17⅔ consecutive hitless innings remains a Poland High School record.

In addition to his baseball success, Christian was a two-year letter winner in both football and tennis during his high school career.

After graduating, Christian attended Tulane University, where he played baseball and earned two varsity letters. He continued his playing career in the AA League for 29 years and was inducted into the Eastside Civics Hall of Fame. Beyond his playing accomplishments, Christian served as an assistant baseball coach under Mel Klingler and Dan Flood, coached youth baseball in Poland for more than 20 years, and later managed and coached the Youngstown Oldtimers for over a decade.