The Woodward Alumni Hall of Fame Association
Harvey G. Straub Inducted 1983 - Class of 1927
In recognition of more than four decades of service with distinction as a judge, Harvey G. Straub is the first choice to represent the students of Woodward's predecessor schools on the Woodward High School Hall of Fame.
After high school, Mr. Straub attended the University of Michigan, where he earned a bachelor of arts degree in 1930 and a law degree in 1932. In his undergraduate years, he played in the backfield on the football team and, as a senior, was captain of the baseball team which made a 3-month tour of the Orient.
With his law degree in hand, Mr. Straub returned to his native city of Toledo and engaged in the general practice of law. He was police prosecutor of Toledo Municipal Court in 1936-38 and legal adviser to Toledo City Council in 1938-39. He began his judicial career in November, 1939, when he was appointed to the Toledo Municipal Court bench.
He was elected a Municipal Court judge in 1940 and four years later advanced to Common Pleas court by appointment. Re-elected to the Common Pleas bench without opposition for two terms, he resigned the judgeship in 1956 to make an unsuccessful run for Congress.
In 1957 Judge Straub was appointed by President Eisenhower to the United States Board of Parole, but in January, 1958, he ended his brief Washington career and returned to Toledo when he was reappointed to Common Pleas Court. Re-elected without opposition in 1962, he served until 1966 when he was again advanced by appointment, this time to the Sixth District Court of Appeals.
In order to get around an age restriction and give himself more years on the bench, Judge Straub voluntarily stepped down in 1972 and was elected again to Municipal Court. It was from Municipal Court that he retired on Dec. 31, 1977, but even then continued to serve by assignment to the various courts.
In reviewing the career of Judge Straub, The Blade led off its story in this way: “Redoubtable,' 'compassionate,' 'humane,' 'bright,' 'gregarious,’ ‘competent,' and 'sincere' are words used by a number of lawyers attempting to find one word to describe a man who has been a judge in Lucas County longer than anyone else --Harvey Straub."