Hall of Fame
Dan Ratliff is the fourth of five boys born to Charles and Betty Ratliff of Hamilton, Ohio. From the time he could walk Ratliff was playing ball with one of the older brothers, making his development into a top player quick and seamless. Also, being blessed with athletic parents added to his success. Charles was a very good athlete but never had the opportunity to attend college. Betty was a great encourager of Dan as a youth, having played softball most of her life through high school and before marriage.
The local professional franchise Cincinnati Reds influenced Ratliff and many others throughout the suburbs. At ten years old, he tried out for the local Little League team. When Ratliff caught a fly ball in centerfield and threw it back to the catcher, it went over the back stop. Immediately, his coach decided Ratliff would be a pitcher.
At George Washington Junior High, Ratliff played football, basketball and baseball. For the next three years at Garfield Senior High, he added track and cross country to his extra curricular schedule. He excelled at them all, winning numerous awards in baseball including being selected first team GMC his senior year. Ratliff also always played summer baseball in the Cincinnati area against some of the best teams in Southwest Ohio. After losing his first baseball game at 18 years old, he won the next 12 games in a row.
Despite having a very good high school career, Ratliff did not receive any offers to attend college. Following graduation from Garfield Senior High in 1977, he enrolled in a Master Plumber Apprentice program and began to join the workforce. His father, who worked at General Motors, brought two applications home for Dan and an older brother. His brother was hired and Ratliff continued his apprentice route.
Ratliff's best friend, Berry Sherrow, received a baseball scholarship at Cumberland College. Sherrow shared Ratliff's talents with Assistant Baseball Coach Terry Stigall while encouraging him to bring Ratliff down for a try out during Christmas break. It only took fifteen minutes of throwing in the gym to convince Stigall to tell Sherrow to "Bring him back".
Dan Ratliff came back to enroll at Cumberland College (now University of the Cumberlands) on a baseball scholarship under Coach Walter Mathes from 1978-1982. His time on the mound as an Indian hurler still ranks among the all-time best. This pitcher set a school record with 10 straight wins in 1982. Currently, Ratliff stands atop the season wins list with 12 in 1982. He is 5th all-time in career wins with 24, 3rd all-time in season ERA at 1.53 (1982), 2nd all-time in career ERA at 1.94, 2nd all-time in strikeouts per season with 118 (1981), and 3rd all-time in career strikeouts with 196. Ratliff amassed all of this and more before being drafted by the Montreal Expos in 1983.
He intended to return to Cumberland and help then head baseball Coach Stigall following his senior year. Instead Montreal Expos scout, Terry Boyle, signed him to a contract after watching him play in the Cincinnati Buckeye League. Ratliff was instrumental in getting Geoff Davis, another Cumberland alumnus, signed with the Expos. Davis came to stay with him while he was playing in the Carolina League in Gastonia, North Carolina. Davis tried out for the team and eventually signed with the Expos. Ratliff went on to play three years for the Expos and two years with the Milwaukee Brewers. His baseball career was cut short when he suffered a broken arm while throwing a fast ball during a game in New York.
Never giving up on his goal, Ratliff returned to campus nearly twenty years after arriving, this time to complete his education and was graduated from University of the Cumberlands in 1998.
Ratliff lives in Hamilton, Ohio and works as a Senior Underwriter for Cincinnati Financial Corp, A Fortune 1000 company. Staying connected to his love of sports, he attends many professional, college and high school games while also refereeing high school basketball and summer baseball. Ratliff is the father of two children, son, Danny, and daughter, Maggie. Currently, Danny is attending Cincinnati State Culinary School while Maggie is a senior at Hamilton High School with leanings toward pursuing college in Kentucky.
