MACOMB, Ill. –
Western Illinois University Athletics announced its 2019 Hall of Fame
class Tuesday, August 20, and the distinguished group includes Bob
Nardelli (Football) and the 1974 baseball team.
Official
induction ceremonies will take place Friday, October 4, inside the
Grand Ballroom of the University Union. In conjunction with 2019
Homecoming festivities, the inductees will also be recognized at
halftime of the WIU-Missouri State football game Saturday, October 5.
Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.
Bob Nardelli
Western Illinois football has 13 championship teams in its 116-year history, and Bob Nardelli suited up for one of them as a member of the 1969 team that won the final IIAC championship. The ’69 group recorded an overall record of 8-2 and also received a bid to the Mineral Water Bowl.
The
starting left guard assisted the 1969 Leathernecks to the ninth-best
ranking in the nation with 425.1 yards of total offense and was named
All-State Second Team (Peoria Journal Star) as well as an Interstate
Conference Football Team honorable mention. Nardelli was a two-year
starter and earned the title of team captain in 1970. A former CEO of GE
Power Systems, Home Depot, and Chrysler, Nardelli now resides in
Atlanta and is the founder and CEO of XLR-8 LLC, an investment and
advisory company.
1974 Baseball Team
Western’s
1974 team is associated with the best of the best in Leatherneck
history. It was coached by the program’s all-time winningest coach Dick
Pawlow, and he joined two of his former student-athletes from the ’74
squad as previous Hall of Fame inductees. Ed Gvazdinskas was enshrined
in 1987, Dick Mantick in 2003 and Pawlow in 2004.
The
1974 team went 31-12 on the year — the most single-season wins at that
time and second most today – which concluded with a trip to the NCAA
Division II Mideast Regional. The postseason appearance marked the
first-ever for WIU baseball, and several of the team’s season statistics
still sit Top 10 in school history. All-time season rankings
include: wins (31, T-2nd); winning streak (8, T-8th); batting average
(.312, T-5th); triples (23, T-1st); walks (219, 5th); stolen bases (136,
1st); lowest ERA (2.90, 6th); lowest opponent batting average (235,
6th); and fielding percentage (.958, T8).
Two
players from the team went on to Major League Baseball ranks in Mantick
and Rick Vogel, who earned spots with the Minnesota Twins and Chicago
Cubs, respectively.
Reservations
for the Hall of Fame ceremony are $30 per person and can be purchased
through the WIU Athletics Department. To order tickets for the event,
please call (309) 298-1190 or visit LeatherneckTickets.com.
