UIC Athletics

Sport: Wresting, Coach

Years: 1949-1959

Inducted: 1993

Anderson left UIC with an overall wrestling career record of 24 wins and two losses. In his first year at UIC he went 8-1, took first place at the Wheaton Tournament in the 128 pound category and received the Most Valuable Wrestler of the Year Award. Anderson went undefeated in his second season and placed first in the Pre-Season Tournament hosted by Navy pier and second in the Wheaton Tournament. Anderson earned two letters at Navy Pier and was president of the Letterman's Club as well. Anderson was drafted into the service following his second season, which put his degree and career on hold. He would eventually finish school at Navy Pier where he ended up teaching Physical Education for 10 years. Anderson also served as the assistant wrestling coach at the Navy Pier campus from 1957-59.

Sport: Wresting, Coach

Years: 1955-1957, 1962-196

Inducted: 1992

Jurinek helped lead the Navy Pier grapplers to two straight third place finishes at the Illinois Invitational, before he entered military service. Being in the U.S. Army did not stop him from continuing his wrestling career. He was named to the All Army First String Wrestling Team.

He concluded his education at the Champaign-Urbana campus, compiling a 17-4-1 individual record. In 1962 he returned to UIC to coach the wrestling team. In his five years his teams compiled a 31-17 record including a 8-1 record, which is the high-water mark by any team in UIC wrestling history.

Sport: Wresting

Years: 1960-1963

Inducted: 1993

During his three year career, Koenig wrestled his way to an overall record of 24-8 including his 10-1 record in 1962 with all of his wins coming by pins. Koenig was also team captain in 1962 and was voted the Most Valuable Wrestler and Navy Pier Athlete of the Year. Koenig closed out his wrestling career in 1965 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Koenig went on to coach and teach physical education after his wrestling career at Bloom High School in Illinois where he coached 13 state qualifiers, 10 first-place winners and four individual champions. One of his wrestlers was named Outstanding Wrestler of the Year for the state of Illinois, and went on to become an NCAA Heavyweight Champion.

Sport: Wresting

Years: 1966-1970

Inducted: 2019

Four-year wrestling letterman and captain of the UICC team, Thomas Mordue was inducted into the Hall of Fame with a pair of NCAA Nationals qualifications under his belt. Along with 18 wins in his senior season, Mordue was named Outstanding College Athlete in America in 1970. The standout was a five-time Quad Tournament Champion as well as a four-time State/Regional top three. Mordue coached the high school three-time State Champions and coached at University of Arizona where he mentored two All-Americans. In 2005, he received the US Congress Recognition for career contributions in Education and Athletics.

Sport: Football, Wrestling, Track & Field

Years: 1959-1961

Inducted: 2010

A talented three-sport athlete, Reckamp collected eight letters during his tenure at the Navy Pier campus. He won four letters in track and field, three in football and one as a wrestler. On the gridiron Reckamp was a team captain and in 1959, he was the MVP and chosen as Athlete of the Year. He also owns the school record for the longest punt.

Reckamp counts his biggest influence during his time at Navy Pier as his coach, George Strnad. He has a lot of great memories of those times, especially the bus rides to Grant Park for football practice every day and during track practice occasionally, Dr. Fordham would fire a starting pistol in order to get an ice cream vendor off the track.

Sport: Wrestling

Years: 1969-1972

Inducted: 2009

A standout wrestler for four seasons, Siprut capped off his collegiate career by earning NCAA All-American accolades in 1972. In that same year he was also named UIC Athlete of the Year and claimed the Eight State Invitational championship and was honored with the Outstanding Wrestler title at the 13-team North Central Tournament his junior year. He was the team captain for two seasons and won the Most Valuable Wrestler every year at UIC.

Sport: Football, Wrestling, Football Coach

Years: 1954-1969

Inducted: 1996

One of the pioneer football players, Strnad was a member of the first football team at the Navy Pier Campus. He was a guard as a player and after graduating he was an assistant football coach from 1954 to 1963. In 1960 he also assumed the role of head coach for the wrestling team. The wrestling team had three straight winning seasons under his tutelage, but in 1964 he was offered the head football coach position. He remained in that position until 1969.

Sport: Football, Wrestling

Years: 1965-1968

Inducted: 1992

Threatte earned varsity letter in both football and wrestling. As a football player he was one of the best offensive tackles ever to play at UIC. He anchored the offensive line that spearheaded the Circle's record setting rushing games in the late sixties. The 240-pounder also lined up at defensive end whenever his talents were needed.

On the mat he was a first-string heavyweight and was nominated by the Peoria Star Journal as the Second Team NAIA All-State squad in 1968. Threatte believes that participating in athletics at UIC was beneficial to him throughout his life. "Athletics taught me the value of hard work as well as how to persevere under adversity," says Threatte.