Seven to be Inducted Into Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame
September 02, 2003 | General News
Six former UW student-athletes and one former coach will be inducted into the University of Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in a ceremony on Friday, Sept. 5. Peggy Anderson (diving), Robert Espeseth, Jr. (crew), Danny Jones (basketball), Dan McClimon (cross country/track), Arlie Mucks Jr. (special service), George Poage (track) and Amy Wickus (cross country/track) make up the class of 2003.
The Hall of Fame reception begins at 5:30 p.m. in GAR park, located just east of the Camp Randall Memorial Sports Center (Shell). The induction ceremony will begin at 6:30 p.m. With the class of 2003, there are now 127 members of the UW Athletic Hall of Fame.
Peggy Anderson was a four-time All-American in diving from 1974-77. The 1976 national champion in the three-meter dive, Anderson won Big Ten titles at three meters in 1976 and '77. She still holds the Wisconsin record in the one-meter dive at a championship event. In 1976, she received one of the first UW women's athletic scholarships.
Robert Espeseth, Jr., was a member of four consecutive (1972-75) collegiate championship crews. A four-time Olympian, he won a bronze medal in the 1984 Summer Olympics in the men's pair with coxswain. In 1986, he was named US Rowing Male Athlete of the Year after winning the world championship in the men's four without coxswain. Espeseth, Jr., is also a member of the UW Rowing Hall of Fame.
Danny Jones was a four-year letterwinner in men's basketball from 1987-90. He finished his career with 1,854 points, topping UW's career scoring list at the time and now ranking second. Jones ranks among the top three on the Badger career list in nine different statistical categories. A second-team All-Big Ten selection in 1989 and '90, Jones was an honorable mention Associated Press All-American in 1989.
Dan McClimon was the men's cross country coach at Wisconsin from 1971-82 and the head men's track and field coach from 1978-83. He was named NCAA Cross Country Coach of the Year three times, including in 1982 after leading the Badgers to the national championship. His cross country teams won five Big Ten championships and he coached 18 cross country All-Americans. In track, McClimon coached 27 Big Ten individual champions and his athletes earned 18 All-America honors.
Arlie Mucks Jr., was a member of the Wisconsin football team from 1939-41 before serving in World War II. He returned to the UW in 1962 to become the Director of the Alumni Association, a position he held for 27 years. From 1989-92, he served as a special assistant to the chancellor. Since then, he has been a Special Consultant to the Athletic Department and to the Athletic Director. He has received numerous awards, including the National W Club George 'Buck' Backus Memorial Man of the Year (1989), Mendota Gridiron Club Good Guy (1989), Wisconsin Alumni Distinguished Service Award (1990) and the Pat O'Dea award (2001).
George Poage, a member of the UW track team from 1901-04, was the first African-American on the Wisconsin varsity track and field team. In 1904, he became the first black athlete to win an Olympic Medal, earning bronze medals in the 220- and 440-yard hurdles. That same year, Poage also became the first African-American to win a Big Ten track and field championship, winning the same two events at what was then the Western Conference championship meet.
Amy Wickus was a six-time NCAA champion while a member of the UW cross country and track and field teams (1992-95). A 13-time All-American and 11-time Big Ten champion, Wickus won three consecutive NCAA indoor 800-meter titles to become only the fourth woman in NCAA history to win three consecutive titles. The 1995 US Track Coaches Association Women's Indoor Athlete of the Year, Wickus competed at the World Track and Field Championships (1993 and '95), the World University Games (1993), the Pan-Am Games (1995) and the Goodwill Games (1998).
