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 Bernard "Peck" Hickman | Clarence Jackson | Roger Otten W.L. "Gander" Terry | Johnny Vance | Jim "Big Ick" Weaver
Howard "Tip" Downing was an outstanding basketball and football athlete for three Hilltopper seasons. A three-time letter winner in basketball, Downing's teams posted three consecutive 20+ win seasons, going an overall 75-15 during his three seasons. He was a key performer as a starter for the 1942 Western NIT runnerup squad as well as the 1940 team, which played in only the second NCAA Tournament in history. The Pennsylvania native was an All-SIAA performer in 1940 and '41 and earned All-KIAC recognition in 1942. The outstanding athlete's accomplishments on the gridiron didn't go unnoticed. The Western reciever was a three-time letterwinner for the Hilltopper football teams from 1939-41. Those three Topper teams combined for an 18-7-3 record and the 1940 squad recorded seven shutouts . The Butler, Pennsylvania native
is retired and currently lives in Princeton, Kentucky.
Tom Ecker was Western's first fulltime head track coach and made his career on the Hill a successful one. It didn't take Ecker long to establish a winning program as his squad captured a second place finish in the Ohio Valley Conference Track Meet in his first season. Ecker then led Western to three straight OVC titles and Topper squads were 18-2 in dual meets under Ecker. Not only was Ecker successful
on the field, but off the field, authored more than a dozen He left Western in 1966 to become
the National and Olympic Track & Field coach in Sweden. He
is now retired and resides in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Clemette Haskins remains one of the most recognizable female athletes to ever don Western colors. The daughter of former Hilltopper All-American Clem Haskins didn't take long to establish her own credentials on the Western basketball court. Haskins helped lead the Lady Toppers to a pair of NCAA Final Four appearances (1985 and '86) while earning All-American recognition three times during her Western playing days. The record holder for assists in a career, season and game ranks fourth on Western's all-time scoring list with 1,762 points, and also owns school records for both career and season steals. She was a member of the 1986 NCAA Final Four All-Tournament team and was a Western's Female Athlete-of-the-Yeara in 1987. Haskins follows father Clem as the second member of her family to be inducted into Western's Athletics Hall of Fame. Clemette will enter her fourth season as head women's basketball coach at the University of Dayton.
Bernard "Peck" Hickman is another in a long line of former Hilltopper players who have gone on to successful coaching careers. Hickman spent three years as a guard for the Hilltopper basketball team in the mid 1930's, earning All-Conference honors. He was a member of Western's first 20-win squad in 1934 and overall, his three varsity teams were 68-17 for an .800 winning mark. Hickman carried his basketball success to the coaching ranks after leaving the Hill, spending 23 seasons (1944-67) as head coach at the University of Louisville. During his tenure for the Cardinals, Hickman's teams won 71 percent of its games and participated in six NITs and five NCAA Tournaments. His 1956 team captured the NIT championship and his 1959 team appeared in the Final Four Championships.
Clarence
Jackson
Clarence Jackson spent three of his four collegiate years leading a Western football backfield in rushing while earning a pair of All-Ohio Valley Conference honors. Along the way, the Topper ball-carrier led Western in scoring for three seasons and is tied for the single-season scoring record in 1973 with 114 points on a school record 19 touchdowns. His 252 career points is also a Hilltopper best and Jackson ranks third all-time for rushes in a game (37) and second for net yards in a game (297 vs. Butler, 1971). He's among the top six former Western running back standouts for yards in a season, yards in a career, 100-yard games in a career and rushes in a career. Jackson helped power the 1973
Topper gridiron squad to runner-up honors in the first-ever NCAA
Division II national championship playoffs. He was drafted by
the New York Jets in 1974 and played three years in the NFL.
Jackson currently resides in Louisville.
Roger Otten spent four years proving that Western's athletic prowess extended well beyond the football field or basketball court. The four-time letter winner made the tennis courts his personal "winners' circle" as he led Western to three Ohio Valley Conference championships while claiming the number one singles championship four straight years. Compiling an outstanding 35-2 record at the number one singles slot, Otten picked up OVC Player-of-the-Year honors each of his four seasons. Hilltopper teams compiled a 31-7 mark in dual meet competition during Otten's collegiate career. When he wasn't "aceing" the competition on the tennis court, the Bellevue, Kentucky graduate helped legendary coach E.A. Diddle as a student manager for the Topper basketball squad. Otten now resides in Ft. Myers, Florida.
Dr. W.L. "Gander" Terry not only contributed to Western's athletic history as a player, but made a mark as a Hilltopper coach as well. Terry played football for the 1928 squad which finished with an 8-1-0 mark and a state championship . The Marion, Kentucky native remained on the Hill as an assistant coach for the 1929 team, returned as an assistant for the 1934 and '35 squads, then was named head coach for the Hilltoppers in 1938, a post he held for four seasons. During his head coaching tenure, Terry's teams racked up 25 wins with marks of 7-2, 7-1-1, 7-1-1 and 4-5-1. The eleven Western teams he played or coached for were a collective 67-31-7. Terry left Western following the 1941 season to join the U.S. Navy in World War II. After the war, he earned his doctoral degree from Indiana and later served as head of the physical education department at San Jose State. Terry died in 1991 in Rapid City,
South Dakota at the age of 83.
Johnny Vance spent his years at Westen distinguishing himself as an all-conference performer in two different sports. He was an All-Ohio Valley Conference player on the gridiron as a senior in 1969 and garnered All-OVC honors as a catcher in baseball in 1968 and '69. In 1969, the senior quarterback led Western in total offense, passing and punting and holds "Topper school marks for plays in a game (69), pass attempts in a game (59) and pass completions in a game (37). He ranks among Western's top ten in 20 gridiron stat categories. On the baseball diamond, Vance
led the 1967 Hilltopper team in triples, home runs and rbi. He
played professional baseball in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization
and is now an assistant football coach at Franklin-Simpson (Kentucky)
High School.
Jim "Big Ick" Weaver spent three busy years at Western, participating in three different sports and is believed to be the first Hilltopper to play major league sports. As a gridiron player, "Big Ick" was a major player in 1926 and '27 as a defensive lineman, punter, and offensive back. His seasons on the Western baseball diamond were spent as a prominent member of the Topper pitching corps. Following college, Weaver played al or parts of eight seasons (1928-39) as a major league pitcher with the Washington Senators, New York Yankees, St. Louis Browns, Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds. He finished with a major league mark of 57-36 with a 3.88 era. His best seasons were with the
Pirates in 1935 and '36, posting identical 14-8 marks. The Fulton,
Kentucky native died in 1983 in Lakeland, Florida at the age
of 80. [ 1995 Inductees ] [ 1994 Inductees ] [ 1993 Inductees ] [ 1992 Inductees ] [ 1991 Inductees ] [ HOF Home ] [ Traditions Home ] [ WKU Home ] |
