Hall of Fame
Robert J. Dietz 56’ – Class of 1985
Concentration…
They call them “free throws,” yet they are nothing but cheap. Those who have stood behind that line 15 feet from the net know that in all of sports there is no greater pressure situation than that created by the challenge to put a basketball through a hoop from the charity stripe.
It is not a matter of talent. It is a matter of courage, of self-confidence, a matter of concentration.
No man who has worn the green and gold has been better at propelling a basketball those 15 feet through the net than Bob Dietz.
He was strong and aggressive. Opponents were obstacles to be surmounted and no tactic was to be ignored if it might lead to victory. But from the foul line the only barrier was himself, and he was his own harshest critic.
He set the Le Moyne record for free throws when he chalked up 17 against St. Peter’s College. Playing on the opposing wing from his friend Dick Kenyon, Bob scored 1,085 points in a varsity career which saw him cast as the key man in Le Moyne’s defensive scheme. An inside pass completed to an opponent covered by number 17 was a rare occurrence.
Bob Dietz came to Le Moyne after a stellar high school basketball career at St. John the Evangelist, continuing the parade of local talent which brought Le Moyne national recognition for its basketball program in the 1950’s. His athletic skill was not limited to one sport, and his accomplishments in baseball were significant.
In sharp contrast to his aggressive attitude in athletic competition, he was a quiet, competent student. The talent of concentration resulted in less obvious, but no less important achievements in the classroom, and in the business world which he entered after graduation.
In an industry where glamour seems inevitable and careers boom and bust all too frequently, he has quietly concentrated on what has to be done to make WTVH Channel 5, Meredith Broadcasting Corporation’s Syracuse station, a model of successful management. As business manager his steady hand has helped make the station a consistently profitable enterprise with a thoroughly professional identity.
Bob Dietz is never one to speak of his own successes, but in less guarded moments the careful listener can note one topic which seems to bring forth a unique sensitivity. His wife Joan, sons, Bob, Jr. and Tim, and daughters Cindy, Marcia, Theresa and Lisa, are very special to this man in a way which spoken words will not convey. It is clear that he concentrates devotion on them in a way which humility cannot conceal.
Possessed with the kind of pride which insists that accomplishment is merely evidence that one can do better, Robert J. Dietz is a worthy member of the
Le Moyne College Athletic Hall of Fame
April 13, 1985
