Wittenberg Inducts Class Of 2002 Into Athletics Hall of Honor

Oct. 9, 2002

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — Four Wittenberg University greats will be inducted into the school's Athletics Hall of Honor during Homecoming weekend ceremonies, Oct. 11-13. Basketball All-American Steve Allison '89, five-sport standout Maggie Brandon '72, former sports information and public relations director Don Perkins (Honorary Class of '89), and baseball and football standout George Winkhouse '50 join 131 other athletes who have been inducted over the last 17 years. The inductees will be honored at halftime of the Wittenberg-Wabash football game, which kicks off at Edwards-Maurer Field at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 12, and they will be formally inducted into the Athletics Hall of Honor at a dinner later that evening.

Steve Allison stands out as one of the greatest men's basketball players in Wittenberg history. A 6-foot-5 wing player, Allison was a three-year starter who was selected NCAA Division III All-America and the Ohio Athletic Conference Player of the Year in 1989, following a phenomenal senior season in which he set a school record for points in a season with 701 points in 30 games. Wittenberg accumulated a 95-23 overall record in Allison's four years, and the Tigers advanced to the NCAA Division III Final Four in 1987. He was also a member of two OAC regular season championship teams and one squad that claimed the OAC tournament title. Allison's career point total of 1,561 still ranks No. 8 in school history, and he holds records for free throw percentage in a game (1.000, 12-for-12) and field goals attempted in a season (545 in 1988-89).

Maggie Brandon was about as active as a student-athlete could be from 1968-72. As a field hockey player, the Springfield native and Shawnee High School graduate started every game for three years as a left wing. She was selected to play in the Great Lakes Sectional Tournament as a junior and a senior. In volleyball, Brandon started every game for three years and served as team captain as a senior, helping the Tigers to an impressive 31-2 four-year record. In basketball, she started every game for four straight years, leading the team in scoring and serving as captain as a senior. Brandon was also president of the Women's Recreation Association at Wittenberg, a four-year member of the softball team and a member of the university's first women's lacrosse team in 1972.

Don Perkins arrived at Wittenberg in 1970 and spent six years as the university's sports information director. He was named director of public relations in 1974 and held that position for 23 years. Perkins secured campus visits by Sports Illustrated and ABC-TV's "Wide World of Sports," successfully promoted 20 Wittenberg men and women athletes for All-America honors and wrote cover stories about Tiger coaches for the national publications Basketball Times and Football Weekly. Perkins was awarded the NCAA Gold Medallion for superior service to the NCAA and college athletics, and upon retirement in 1997, the Council for Advancement and Support of Education selected Perkins to receive the Frank M. Ashmore Award for career contributions to the field of college public relations as a lecturer, author and mentor. Now a public relations consultant, Perkins was honored by Wittenberg with an Honorary Alumnus Award in 1989 and The Class of 1914 Award in 1993. He was also inducted into the Central State University Marauder Athletic Hall of Fame for his work as their sports information director in the 1960s.

George Winkhouse won eight letters in football and baseball at Wittenberg, and he was a team captain for both teams as a senior. A native of Springfield and an All-Ohio football standout at Springfield High School, Winkhouse served his country in World War II, surviving a kamakazi attack on his navy destroyer in the Pacific. After his discharge in 1946, Winkhouse spent four years at Wittenberg, excelling on offense and defense for the football team, and as a catcher for the baseball team. After graduation, he worked as a teacher, coach and administrator in the Fairborn City School District, coached baseball for 24 years in the Springfield Babe Ruth League and was elected to the Clark County Baseball Hall of Fame and Miami Valley Coaches Hall of Fame. In addition, he served as an assistant baseball coach at Wittenberg for five years after his retirement.