Hall of Fame
Dick Rockwell – Class of 1988
Major League…
Some people don’t know what it means. They use the term to express mere seize. It becomes a tired adjective referring to everything from exceptionally high pop-ups to particularly puzzling mathematical equations.
But size, you see, misses the salient point.
“Major league” is all tied up in the feeling, the spirit of baseball – America’s game. It’s hard to glean the point if you’ve never hit the ball, and touched them all, and had your moment in the sun.
If you’ve felt that special feeling, you know the shot in the sandlot can equal the clout in the coliseum. The things to clearly cherish in life have nothing to do with measurable dimensions or quantity. They have everything to do with elements of timing, response under pressure, class, style. “Major league” is a term that embraces quality. And Dick Rockwell is a major leaguer.
He’s found in his alma mater’s hall of fame – after leading Ithaca College to an undefeated season and College World Series Championship. He played the game as a professional, and holds a Master’s Degree in Physical Education. He pioneered fall baseball, baseball coaching clinics and teaching camps in New York State. He’s published articles that teach youngsters how to play the game. He’s served as a member of the Executive Committee of the National Coaches Association, National Chairman of the Division II Baseball Committee and the Baseball Rules Committee. He’s seen his players earn plaudits in the best of amateur and professional competition.
And, as Dolphin coach since 1969, he’s made Le Moyne College Baseball a nationally respected program.
All these triumphs, though, are a minor measure of the real man.
Paradoxes abound: A shrewd investor who earns a salary from a boy’s game; A legendary raconteur who will take a confidence to the grave; A task master who demands unfailing hard work from his players – yet admits his own mistakes to the press; A man who abhors losing but does not hesitate to discipline a star to the bench or counsel a player to forego eligibility in the interest of the student’s lifetime goals. A hard-as-nails, tobacco-chewing veteran of the tools of ignorance who speaks deferentially about wife Pam – and carefully planned his middle years around raising sons Billy and Kevin.
Such is the mettle of major league man. Dick Rockwell knows what is, what might be, and how to get there. And he goes about getting there with style, a sense of humor, and an up-front understanding of what the word honorable truly means.
By sheer force of personality he has made Le Moyne Baseball a major league enterprise and we welcome Dick Rockwell as an honorary member of the Le Moyne College Athletic Hall of Fame.
April 30, 1988
