“Before we were Pirates,” the story of Bluffton sports teams before 1929, is the topic of a presentation by Fred Steiner, Monday, March 13, at the Bluffton Senior Citizens Center, 132 N. Main St., Bluffton.

The presentation will follow a noon luncheon and should begin at 12:45 p.m. You do not need to attend the luncheon to attend the presentation, which is open to the public.

The Pirate did not become the school mascot until 1929. Prior to that the school had no mascot. Steiner's presentation shares details of the earliest teams in the history of the school. The origin of the mascot will also be explained.

“If you can imagine in 1893 jumping on a railroad box car, riding to Lima and back to watch a Bluffton baseball team play a Lima team, then this lecture is for you,” said Steiner.

The presentation includes stories about Bluffton teams as early as 1893 and photos of both girls’ and boys’ athletic teams as early as 1900.

Stories about the teams and their fans demonstrate that community pride was just as important 125-plus years ago as it is today.

“In 1896 Bluffton sports fan were very interested in receiving game results. Arrangements were made to display scores of games played out of town on a board outside a Bluffton business by 7:30 each evening of the game,” said Steiner.

And, many people today don’t realize that Bluffton High School had girls’ basketball teams as early as 1913. For nine seasons Bluffton girls won Allen County tournament titles prior to 1934. Bluffton’s first girls’ track team was in 1925.