1983 Baseball Team The 1983 Otterbein baseball team was the first Cardinal squad to make it to a national championship game in any sport. Led by Coach Dick Fishbaugh, team MVP Kirk McDonald, and first team All-OAC selections, Mike Blythe and Bret Brownfield, the Cardinals would make it to the NCAA College World Series after winning the conference championship. Beating their archrivals, the Marietta Pioneers, in the championship of the OAC Southern Division and again in the first game of the NCAA Division III World Series, the club would lose to North Carolina Wesleyan before winning two more games and setting the stage for a classic matchup in the national championship game against Marietta. Although the team would ultimately lose, the success of the 1983 team highlighted Otterbein baseball as one of the best Division III programs in the country.
Dr. Harold F. Augspurger ’41 Harold Augspurger took full advantage of the athletic opportunities offered at Otterbein College from 1937-1941. During this time, Harold earned 10 letters in football, basketball, baseball, and track and field and was captain of the 1941 Otterbein basketball team, leading the way while earning second team All-Ohio and Ohio Conference honors. As a student athlete, Harold served as president of Varsity “O” and was active in many areas of campus. After graduation and WWII, where he received many awards and honors as a fighter pilot, including two Purple Hearts, Harold came back and played professional baseball and basketball for one year before entering dental school. Just as Harold could not be contained to the athletic fields during college, his contributions to Otterbein go beyond athletics as well with his service on the Otterbein College Board of Trustees from 1966-2006. Now an honorary Trustee, Dr. Augspurger has made an everlasting mark on both athletics and Otterbein College.
Harry Ewing H’54 “Mr.
Athletics” at Otterbein College from 1934-1958, Harry Ewing was the Athletic
Director, the coach of all sports, trainer, and Physical Education Director.
After playing football collegiately at the University of Nebraska and earning a
law degree, Harry joined Otterbein during the midst of the Depression and
resurrected the athletic program, which was in dire shape at the time. During
his career as a coach at Otterbein, Ewing compiled a 32-51-6 record in football,
and an 87-68 record in basketball. Known for his “Ewingisms”, a few of his most famous quotes include “Don’t stay more than two years in coaching if you intend to get out. Longer than that and you’ll never be happy in any other kind of work”, and, “It doesn’t matter how a boy gets to college. It’s what he does after he gets there that counts.” For his impact on athletics at Otterbein, the track in the Rike Center is named in his memory.
Richard “Dick” Hempy ’87 When Dick Hempy walked away from the game of basketball in 1987, he did so as one of the best players to ever don an Otterbein Cardinal jersey. Over the course of his four years at Otterbein, Dick was a four-time All-OAC selection, a two-time OAC Player of the Year, a three-time All-American, and the 1985-86 NCAA Division III Player of the Year. By the time he graduated, he held five school records, including: most points scored in a game (52), most points scored in a season (824), most field goals made in a season (298), most free throws made in a season (228), and best career field-goal percentage (63.8). With Hempy as the heart and soul of the team, Otterbein won three conference titles and made three NCAA appearances. He led the team to the school’s best record since the 1933-34 season by going 28-3, and 16-0 in the OAC. Dick was inducted into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007.
Karen Fishbaugh Linder ’80 Completing the first father-daughter pair to ever be inducted into the Otterbein College Athletic Hall of Fame, Karen Linder follows her father, Richard “Dick” Fishbaugh, by becoming the second coach in the family to be given the honor. A 1980 graduate of Otterbein, Karen captained the softball and volleyball teams and was named Outstanding Female Athlete as a senior. With coaching in her blood, Karen began her career at Union College in Kentucky as the head basketball and softball coach before being offered the same positions at Ashland University in Ohio, where she stayed until 1996. During this time, Karen’s teams won the 1990, ’93, and ’94 conference titles and were ranked in the nation’s top 10 in team grade-point average. Karen joined Kent State University in 1997 as the Head Softball Coach and, by 2007, became the winningest coach in school history. She and her father are the only father-daughter combination to win 600 career games as baseball and softball coaches in NCAA history.
Gary Reynolds ’64 A
1964 graduate of Otterbein College, Gary earned 12 varsity letters,
participating in football, basketball and track. He was a second team All-OAC
selection as a half back and one of the top rushers in the conference. During
his senior year, he was voted tri-captain of the football team, captain of the
basketball team and co-captain of the track team. In 1964 he was named the most
valuable senior football and track athlete and was recipient of the Augspurger-Ballenger
Cup given to the outstanding senior athlete-sportsman. As captain of the
basketball team, Gary's dependability and leadership help the 1963-64 squad to a
16-5 record. Those strong leadership qualities that helped Gary to serve
as president of the 1964 Varsity "O" Club have followed him throughout his
42-year high school teaching and coaching career in Ohio and Texas. Gary,
recently retired, and wife, Beverly, reside in Dallas.
Gary, along with brother Dick Reynolds ‘65, is the
first brother combination to be inducted into the Otterbein College Athletic
Hall of Fame.
Richard "Dick" Reynolds ’65 Dick
Reynolds is the most successful basketball coach in the history of the Ohio
Athletic Conference. He was the first to win conference championships in four
decades, has been selected as OAC coach of the year nine times, and has a
623-379 record. The Cardinals have advanced into the NCAA Division III
Tournament 13 times under Reynolds’ tutelage, winning Otterbein’s first and only
national championship in 2002 and reaching the Final Four in 1981 and 1991. The
Cardinals have also won or shared the regular- season title 11 times and won the
post-season tournament eight times. In 2009, Coach Reynolds was inducted into
the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame. In addition to his basketball duties, Coach
Reynolds has served as the director of men’s athletics since 1992. He was also
placed in charge of women’s athletics in 1998 after Otterbein
combined both men’s and women’s athletics into one department. As a
student-athlete at Otterbein, Reynolds earned 12 letters, four each in football,
basketball and track and field. He earned all-conference honors at both
quarterback and defensive back in football, and also in basketball. He held the
school record for interceptions, seven in one season, and pole vault, 14-4, for
several years.Reynolds also received the Augspurger-Ballenger Cup.
Dr. JoAnn Tyler H’95 After meeting fellow Otterbein Athletic Hall of Fame member, Marilyn Day ’53 while working as a graduate assistant at The Ohio State University, JoAnn Tyler decided to join the Otterbein College Women’s Physical Education Department in the fall of 1962, and stayed until she retired in 1997. During the course of her 35 years at Otterbein, she was highly regarded for her expertise in elementary physical education and known for her dedication to the art of teaching. In addition to her academic responsibilities, JoAnn coached women’s tennis from 1965-1972 and beginning again in 1979-1991. Her 1986 team won the Ohio Athletic Conference Championship. Active in professional organizations, Dr. Tyler served as Vice President of physical education at the State and Midwest level of AAHPERD, as President of the Ohio College Women’s Association in the late 1970’s, and as long-time editor of the OAHPERD publication in physical education.
Kenneth L. Zarbaugh ’50 A
four-time letterman, Ken Zarbaugh was one of the best running backs to ever play
football at Otterbein College. Sixty years later, Ken still holds three school
records, including most total touchdowns and most rushing touchdowns in one game
with five against both Oberlin and Ashland, and the most rushing touchdowns in a
single season with nineteen. His record of scoring five touchdowns in one game
is still good for third all-time in the OAC. A first-team All-OAC selection in
1949, Ken was the primary weapon for the Cardinal offense during his time at
Otterbein. After graduation, he began his coaching and teaching career at Dublin
High School (1950-54) and Linden McKinley High School (1954-56) before returning
to his alma mater to teach and coach from 1956 to 1965. Ken returned to the public
school system at Olentangy Local Schools in 1965 and served there until his
retirement in 1986.
The 1983 Otterbein baseball team was the first Cardinal squad to make it to a national championship game in any sport. Led by Coach Dick Fishbaugh, team MVP Kirk McDonald, and first team All-OAC selections, Mike Blythe and Bret Brownfield, the Cardinals would make it to the NCAA College World Series after winning the conference championship. Beating their archrivals, the Marietta Pioneers, in the championship of the OAC Southern Division and again in the first game of the NCAA Division III World Series, the club would lose to North Carolina Wesleyan before winning two more games and setting the stage for a classic matchup in the national championship game against Marietta. Although the team would ultimately lose, the success of the 1983 team highlighted Otterbein baseball as one of the best Division III programs in the country.
Harold Augspurger took full advantage of the athletic opportunities offered at Otterbein College from 1937-1941. During this time, Harold earned 10 letters in football, basketball, baseball, and track and field and was captain of the 1941 Otterbein basketball team, leading the way while earning second team All-Ohio and Ohio Conference honors. As a student athlete, Harold served as president of Varsity “O” and was active in many areas of campus. After graduation and WWII, where he received many awards and honors as a fighter pilot, including two Purple Hearts, Harold came back and played professional baseball and basketball for one year before entering dental school. Just as Harold could not be contained to the athletic fields during college, his contributions to Otterbein go beyond athletics as well with his service on the Otterbein College Board of Trustees from 1966-2006. Now an honorary Trustee, Dr. Augspurger has made an everlasting mark on both athletics and Otterbein College.
“Mr.
Athletics” at Otterbein College from 1934-1958, Harry Ewing was the Athletic
Director, the coach of all sports, trainer, and Physical Education Director.
After playing football collegiately at the University of Nebraska and earning a
law degree, Harry joined Otterbein during the midst of the Depression and
resurrected the athletic program, which was in dire shape at the time. During
his career as a coach at Otterbein, Ewing compiled a 32-51-6 record in football,
and an 87-68 record in basketball. Known for his “Ewingisms”, a few of his most famous quotes include “Don’t stay more than two years in coaching if you intend to get out. Longer than that and you’ll never be happy in any other kind of work”, and, “It doesn’t matter how a boy gets to college. It’s what he does after he gets there that counts.” For his impact on athletics at Otterbein, the track in the Rike Center is named in his memory.
When Dick Hempy walked away from the game of basketball in 1987, he did so as one of the best players to ever don an Otterbein Cardinal jersey. Over the course of his four years at Otterbein, Dick was a four-time All-OAC selection, a two-time OAC Player of the Year, a three-time All-American, and the 1985-86 NCAA Division III Player of the Year. By the time he graduated, he held five school records, including: most points scored in a game (52), most points scored in a season (824), most field goals made in a season (298), most free throws made in a season (228), and best career field-goal percentage (63.8). With Hempy as the heart and soul of the team, Otterbein won three conference titles and made three NCAA appearances. He led the team to the school’s best record since the 1933-34 season by going 28-3, and 16-0 in the OAC. Dick was inducted into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007.
Completing the first father-daughter pair to ever be inducted into the Otterbein College Athletic Hall of Fame, Karen Linder follows her father, Richard “Dick” Fishbaugh, by becoming the second coach in the family to be given the honor. A 1980 graduate of Otterbein, Karen captained the softball and volleyball teams and was named Outstanding Female Athlete as a senior. With coaching in her blood, Karen began her career at Union College in Kentucky as the head basketball and softball coach before being offered the same positions at Ashland University in Ohio, where she stayed until 1996. During this time, Karen’s teams won the 1990, ’93, and ’94 conference titles and were ranked in the nation’s top 10 in team grade-point average. Karen joined Kent State University in 1997 as the Head Softball Coach and, by 2007, became the winningest coach in school history. She and her father are the only father-daughter combination to win 600 career games as baseball and softball coaches in NCAA history.
A
1964 graduate of Otterbein College, Gary earned 12 varsity letters,
participating in football, basketball and track. He was a second team All-OAC
selection as a half back and one of the top rushers in the conference. During
his senior year, he was voted tri-captain of the football team, captain of the
basketball team and co-captain of the track team. In 1964 he was named the most
valuable senior football and track athlete and was recipient of the Augspurger-Ballenger
Cup given to the outstanding senior athlete-sportsman. As captain of the
basketball team, Gary's dependability and leadership help the 1963-64 squad to a
16-5 record. Those strong leadership qualities that helped Gary to serve
as president of the 1964 Varsity "O" Club have followed him throughout his
42-year high school teaching and coaching career in Ohio and Texas. Gary,
recently retired, and wife, Beverly, reside in Dallas.
Dick
Reynolds is the most successful basketball coach in the history of the Ohio
Athletic Conference. He was the first to win conference championships in four
decades, has been selected as OAC coach of the year nine times, and has a
623-379 record. The Cardinals have advanced into the NCAA Division III
Tournament 13 times under Reynolds’ tutelage, winning Otterbein’s first and only
national championship in 2002 and reaching the Final Four in 1981 and 1991. The
Cardinals have also won or shared the regular- season title 11 times and won the
post-season tournament eight times. In 2009, Coach Reynolds was inducted into
the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame. In addition to his basketball duties, Coach
Reynolds has served as the director of men’s athletics since 1992. He was also
After meeting fellow Otterbein Athletic Hall of Fame member, Marilyn Day ’53 while working as a graduate assistant at The Ohio State University, JoAnn Tyler decided to join the Otterbein College Women’s Physical Education Department in the fall of 1962, and stayed until she retired in 1997. During the course of her 35 years at Otterbein, she was highly regarded for her expertise in elementary physical education and known for her dedication to the art of teaching. In addition to her academic responsibilities, JoAnn coached women’s tennis from 1965-1972 and beginning again in 1979-1991. Her 1986 team won the Ohio Athletic Conference Championship. Active in professional organizations, Dr. Tyler served as Vice President of physical education at the State and Midwest level of AAHPERD, as President of the Ohio College Women’s Association in the late 1970’s, and as long-time editor of the OAHPERD publication in physical education.
A
four-time letterman, Ken Zarbaugh was one of the best running backs to ever play
football at Otterbein College. Sixty years later, Ken still holds three school
records, including most total touchdowns and most rushing touchdowns in one game
with five against both Oberlin and Ashland, and the most rushing touchdowns in a
single season with nineteen. His record of scoring five touchdowns in one game
is still good for third all-time in the OAC. A first-team All-OAC selection in
1949, Ken was the primary weapon for the Cardinal offense during his time at
Otterbein. After graduation, he began his coaching and teaching career at Dublin
High School (1950-54) and Linden McKinley High School (1954-56) before returning
to his alma mater to teach and coach from 1956 to 1965. Ken returned to the public
school system at Olentangy Local Schools in 1965 and served there until his
retirement in 1986.