| The Sports Hall
of Fame at Dickinson was established in 1969 to give proper recognition
to those athletes who have personified the moral virtue that Dickinson
College expected from their students both on the athletic field and in
the classroom. The formal committee called to lay down the guidelines
for selection and recognition were named on January 10, 1969. They
were Athletic Director David B. Eavenson, Professors Joseph G. DuCharme,
Donald R. Seibert, and Wilbur J. Gobrecht, together with Mr. Vincent J. Schafmeister,
Jr., and Mr. Edward F. Luckenbaugh, Jr..
Three days later the guidelines governing
election were established. A permanent committee was put in place
to oversee the nomination and selection of members. This committee
were to accept nominations from any source, provide a majority vote for election,
and elect no more than three new members per year. Eligibility rules
stated that before 1946, a student athlete needed to have matriculated
Dickinson College for a minimum of two years, and after 1946, to have
been a Dickinson graduate. Nominees would be eligible for selection
only after ten years had elapsed since graduation so that, the committee
stated, that "a nominee's athletic achievements have been worthy enough
to stand the test of time.” Above all, the candidate "during his
(sic) undergraduate days at Dickinson College should have exemplified
desirable personal character traits usually expected of a college athletes
and should have performed in competition in a manner and to a degree that
is considered outstanding."
Members were to be honored officially
and inducted at the Homecoming football game, receive an engraved plaque,
and have their name inscribed on a Hall of Fame plaque which will be
displayed in the lobby of the gymnasium. The first three charter
inductees to be named to the Hall of Fame on November 8, 1969 were Francis
A. “Mother” Dunn (1914), Hyman Goldstein (1915), and Samuel Padjen (1939).
President Rubendall in his presentation speech on that occasion summed
up the purpose of the Hall when he said:
| There is no greater honor a college
athlete can receive from this alma mater than to be cited for his
valor and achievements, and to be told of his value as a good citizen.
That is what the Dickinson Hall of Fame is all about. |
Since that time, more than one-hundred
and fifty Dickinsons have been honored. The first female member
inducted, Patricia Hitchens Shaver (1964), was elected in 1968.
|
