Union College Athletics

Gary Brown is recognized as the first three-sport captain in Union athletics history. He received the then-maximum of nine varsity letters, three each in soccer, basketball and baseball, as freshmen were not eligible for varsity teams during his time, 1961-65. In his junior year, Brown was awarded Union's prestigious William A. Pike Trophy for athletic excellence and leadership. His senior season featured Knickerbocker News College First Team All-Star honors in both basketball and baseball. Brown's stellar career ended in a flourish on the baseball diamond, as the Dutchmen posted a 15-2 record in the 1965 season, and he helped lead the squad to the NCAA College Division Atlantic Coach Championship in Yankee Stadium with a three-hit pitching victory over Old Dominion. Brown later coached varsity soccer, freshman basketball and freshman lacrosse at Union. He is a Pittsford, NY resident.

 JOE CARDANY

Inducted in 2006
Joe Cardany ‘81 ranks third in all-time Union men’s basketball scoring annals with 1,790 career points, 25 years after his illustrious playing career was completed. He held the points record for the Dutchmen until 2001. The 1981 Jaffe Medal recipient (awarded to Union’s male athlete of the year) was an NCAA Division III All-American in his senior season (1980-81). He was a three-time captain, and earned ECAC all-star honors in each of his four seasons, including the ECAC Division III Rookie of the Year award in 1977-78. His 316 points in his rookie season set a Union freshman scoring record, and the three-point shot was not in effect during his career.

 

BILL CARMODY
Inducted in 2004
Carmody, class of 1975, led the Dutchmen to a three-year record of 59-11, including back-to-back 20-4 seasons during his junior and senior campaigns, while starting at point guard. In 1972-73, Carmody’s first year as a starter, he helped the Dutchmen win the first-ever Eastern College Upstate New York basketball championship and helped lead his 1974-75 squad to the program’s only other ECAC tournament title. He was awarded the William B. Jaffe Medal. While an assistant on Pete Carril's staff at Princeton, (starting in 1982), Carmody's teams made seven NCAA tourney trips and defeated defending NCAA champion UCLA in 1996. He took over as head coach in 1996-97 season and guided the Tigers to an overall record of 92-25 (.786) and an Ivy League mark of 50-6 (.893) during his four-year tenure. The 1997-98 27-2 team was ranked #10 in the nation. Carmody, who is one of four men to coach a team to a perfect Ivy League record and the the only coach to do so in his first year, took over at Northwestern prior to the 2000-01 season.

DICK COLE
Inducted in 2008
Dick Cole ’58 is one of Union’s best track & field stars, and he also competed in football. Cole won the 100 and 220 dash events in every dual meet, and also won those events in the New York State Championships. Competing against the nation’s best from all levels at the IC4A Championships, Cole finished fourth in the 100 and fourth in the 200 behind runners from LaSalle, Villanova and Pittsburgh. It was the first time that a Union student athlete had registered points in the prestigious IC4A event. Cole was the first recipient of the “Union College Trophy for outstanding achievement in indoor track.”

GEORGE DALEY
Inducted in 2003
George Daley, class of 1892, was the originator of the Block U Dinner in 1928, an event that was held in his honor in 1938. Daley was a three-sport athlete, most notably, quarterback and captain of the football team, while also participating in tennis and as a shot putter on the track and field team. Daley served as sports editor of The New York Tribune for 16 years and The World for 15 years before joining The Herald Tribune in 1931 as head of the sports department. Daley is credited with introducing the all-star football game to New York and with the inauguration of the Herald Tribune football school in 1935. He became widely recognized as one of the most prominent commentators in international sports circles. A former chairman of the Graduate Council’s Committee on Undergraduate Affairs, treasurer of his class, and President of the New York City Alumni Association, Daley’s catch phrase “Athletics for everybody and everybody for athletics” became well known among his Union family friends. He received an honorary fellowship in athletic sports from President Fox of Union College in 1934. After Daley passed away in 1938, Fox stated, “It was to sport - its events, its heroes and its codes - that George Herbert Daley devoted his long career.” The name of the Graduate Council Field was renamed George Daley Field in his honor.   

 

BOB DeMICHELE
Inducted in 2006
Bob DeMichele ‘66 was an All-American lacrosse and football performer and was also considered to be one of the best linebackers in Union football history. During his lacrosse career, DeMichele earned third team and honorable mention All-American honors, and was a tremendous defender. He played in the prestigious 1966 North South All-Star Classic. On the gridiron, DeMichele was a two-time All-American and an All-East selection. He received Union’s Pike Award and the 2001 Union Alumni Gold Medal. Today, DeMichele serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Strategy Asset Managers, LLC. In New York, NY.

GILL EGAN
Inducted in 2008
Gill Egan ’85 is Union’s all-time men’s ice hockey leader in goals with 83, and is third all-time in points with 147. A captain for his junior and senior seasons, Egan scored a dramatic goals vs. RIT in the fourth overtime of the 1984 NCAA Division III national semifinals, while he was ill with the flu at that time. Union was 6-21-1 in the season prior to Egan’s arrival, but the Dutchmen averaged nearly 15 wins in each of his four years. Union competed in two NCAA Div. III semifinals and won an ECAC Division III Championship. Union was ranked #2 and #3 nationally during his career.

HAROLD ENSTICE
Inducted in 2007 
Enstice played baseball, basketball and football. He is considered one of Union’s “Big Four” in the backfield and stories called him ”one of the best players in Union football history.” He was a key star of the 1942 team. He earned a Bronze Star, five battle stars, and a Purple Heart in World War II in March, 1945, and returned to Union after the war. Enstice signed a contract with Detroit Lions in 1948 and was named to the UPI All-Upstate Football All-Star Team. He played basketball in 1942-43, and baseball in 1946-48, and batted .400 in 1946, receiving contract offers from the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Cubs, but was forbidden from playing other sports after signing with the Lions. He was named the Clarence “Citizen of the Year’ in 1979.

PRISCILLA FRANCIS NELLISSEN
Inducted in 2005
Priscilla Francis was affectionately known as "Perky" during her career. She is considered to be one of the pioneers of women's sports on the Union playing fields during her time on the campus. Francis was an original star for both the field hockey and softball programs during their infancy. She was a two-year starter during the first two seasons of varsity field hockey at Union (1975-76), and was a star center-halfback and midfielder. As reported in the school newspaper, the Concordiensis, "Perky is easily one of the Players of the Year. Her superiority on the field has clearly won this honor. Many goal (attempts) were stopped by Perky's amazing defensive play in front of the net." Francis also started in each of her three seasons on the softball diamond, (1975-77). The Dutchwomen won 73% of their games during her softball career, and in 1976, she capped off her stellar collegiate sports career with a 49-7 softball triumph. Now known as Priscilla Francis Nellissen, she resides in Norwood, MA.

GEORGE HAAS
Inducted in 2005 
George W. Haas, Jr. continued a stellar baseball tradition in his family. His father, George W. Haas, Sr., played for the legendary Connie Mack during the American League pennant winning seasons of 1929-31. George Jr. attended Union as a Navy V-12 student, and was an outstanding first baseman with the 1944 Dutchmen. After serving in World War II, George Jr. had a spectacular season in 1947, batting nearly .500 for the spring. Haas also played basketball for Union. His baseball exploits, featuring a .465 career average, did not go unnoticed. In a game witnessed by many Major League Baseball scouts, Haas went 5 for 5 and soon thereafter signed a contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Yet, in his second minor league season, the 6'4" first baseman ran into a fence and suffered a career-ending injury in Waco, Texas. Haas is a resident of LaPlace, LA.

SAM HAMMERSTROM
Inducted in 2003
Hammerstrom, class of 1940, set the Union mark for most rushing yards in a game with 236 vs. Rochester on November 11, 1939. Hammerstrom captained that year’s Dutchmen squad to their first undefeated season in 25 years (7-0-1), rushing for 1,143 yards and leading the East and finishing fourth in the country in points with 86 (13 touchdowns and eight extra points). That same season he was the team’s top passer and punter. Those around the Union campus affectionately knew Hammerstrom as the “Big Swede” and he was appropriately dubbed “Slammin Sammy” by his gridiron opponents. Feared by defenses throughout the East, Hammerstrom was held under 100 yards in a game only once during his senior year. Hammerstrom’s efforts as a senior earned him “Small College All-American Honors,” recognition on the United Press’ 1939 All-Upstate New York football team and a spot on the 1940 Eastern College All-star football team that played against the Giants in the Polo Grounds. Perhaps the greatest honor to be bestowed upon Hammerstrom was the prestigious Bailey Cup for his overall contributions to Union. After graduating from Union, Hammerstrom returned to the College as a coach from 1950-1957, posting a season best record of 6-2 in 1956. He was honored by three local sportswriters that year as “Coach of the Year.”  Hammerstrom, who died in 1995, is widely-considered to be the finest football player in Union’s long and glorious history.

HOLLY HOWARD
Inducted in 2008
Holly Howard ’83 played four seasons of field hockey and lacrosse for Union. She was the all-time leader in career lacrosse goals with 147, and ranks third 25 years later. Her senior season featured 32 goals and an MVP award, and she won the ECAC Medal for her outstanding junior season in 1982. Howard was the leading lacrosse scorer for the Dutchwomen in each of her four years, and scored a then-record 44 goals in her freshman season. She was a starter on defense and attack for the field hockey team, and was the team MVP in her freshman year. Howard also earned New York State All-Star honors in her final season of field hockey for the Dutchwomen.

CRAIG JEFFRIES
Inducted in 2004
Jeffries, class of 1976, was the men's soccer program’s all-time leading scorer in both points (105) and goals (45) as of 2004. His standard of 17 goals in a season, accomplished during his senior campaign of 1975, stood until 2001, and his record of 38 points in a campaign held up until it was tied, also in 2001. A regional MVP selection while in high school, Jeffries passed up numerous college athletic scholarship offers to merit academic acceptance at Union and joined the soccer team as a “walk-on” (a player who was not recruited). With Jeffries in the lineup, the Dutchmen produced a four-year record of 31-13-2, including a standard of 22-4-0 during his junior and senior campaign. Co-captain during both his junior and senior seasons, Jeffries led the Dutchmen to a 12-2-0 record and the ECAC championship in his senior year. Named to the All-New York State team in his final three seasons, Jeffries became the first Dutchman ever to earn All-American status his senior year (he was one of just 55 players in the country to be named as an All-American as there was no distinction between Divisions I, II, and III). The New York Cosmos selected Jeffries in the NASL draft in the summer of 1976. The Arlington, Virginia, native, who graduated with a double major of biology and psychology, was in England, doing graduate work in biology, at the time of his selection.

Keller played lacrosse from 1988 through 1991 and was a three-time All-American. He was the Most Valuable Player in the 1990 and 1991 seasons and captain of the ’91 squad. Keller is Union’s all-time career leader with 238 points and ranks first in career assists with 89 and second in goals with 149. A William A. Pike Award winner, Keller was also named Junior Male Athlete of the Year. He was selected to play in the 1991 North-South All-Star Game and played professionally with the Boston Blazers, in 1991-92. Keller also played on the USA select team for the National Championships in Australia in 1995. For three seasons (1989-91), he was in the top five in NCAA in scoring, and earned All-Capital land Attack MVP honors in 1990-91.

MARCO LAINEZ
Inducted in 2007

Lainez is Union football’s career tackles leader with 306, and has the third most tackles in a season (111 in 1992). He had 180 assisted tackles and 126 solo in his career. Lainez, who was named All-American in 1993 as well as All-East Region, was the first Union football player to be a Gagliardi Award Finalist for the “Division III Heisman.” In Union’s history, only one other has been so honored. During his career, the Dutchmen went to the playoffs in three of his four seasons and the team was 9-1 in his senior year when he served as captain. Coach John Audino called him “the best linebacker I have seen in my coaching career at Union.”

 

COURTNEY LYNCH
Inducted in 2004
Lynch, class of 1989, was a four-year starter for both the field hockey and lacrosse teams. Selected twice to the New York State All-Tournament team in field hockey, Lynch became the first woman at Union to be voted as an All-American. An All-State First-Team selection, Lynch was voted to the National All-American second-team. She led the 1988 field hockey team to a Union record, 17-1 season, and to the ECAC's Mid-Atlantic Region championship. Lynch, who helped the Dutchwomen qualify for the NYSWCAA Tournament during each of her four seasons, led Union in scoring in 1988 with 16 points on 10 goals and six assists. She finished her outstanding career with 22 goals, 10 assists, and 54 points. Lynch, who graduated with a double major of English and Political Science, finished as the college’s all-time leading scorer in women’s lacrosse with 167 points on 139 goals and 28 assists. Voted the MVP in both sports, Lynch was named the Collegiate Female Athlete of the Year by the Albany Chamber of Commerce in February of 1989, the first Union student-athlete ever to be so honored. She was also awarded the Robert B. Ridings Prize as Union’s top senior female student-athlete for attitude, ability, participation, and achievement in intercollegiate athletics.

SIGMUND "SIG" MAKOFSKI
Inducted in 2002 (Charter member)
A 1926 graduate of Union who died in 1994, Makofski was Union’s first basketball player to achieve first-team All-American status and was also recognized for his abilities on the football field by being named as an honorable mention All-American. He played professional basketball with Kingston and Utica in the New York State League, and with the Patterson (NJ) team in the old ABL, which evoved into the NBA. Makofski was also a championship-caliber golfer, setting numerous records at local courses. Makofski taught and coached at his alma mater, Schenectady High School, and then at Mont Pleasant High School, compiling a 26-year career basketball record of 461-35 (a winning percentage of .929). His high school teams produced six undefeated seasons and had winning streaks of 46, 42, 39, and 36 games. During one multi-year stretch, his teams won 98 of 100 games. Makofski also coached Mont Pleasant’s football team to four undefeated seasons, finishing with a .700 winning percentage, and guided the Red Raiders’ golf team to a pair of New York State championships while compiling an .820 winning percentage. A former Schenectady City Councilman, Makofski had a plaque honoring his coaching accomplishments in the “High School” section of the old National Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts. Makofski was also among the five inductees to the Schenectady City School District Athletic Hall of Fame at their inaugural in September of 1998. 

KEVIN MAKAROWSKI
Inducted in 2008
Kevin Makarowski ’97 is Union’s first male national champion in the sport of swimming, winning the 200 individual medley at the NCAA Championships in 1995. He helped lead the Union Men’s Swimming & Diving teams to state championships in the final three of his four seasons. He earned a remarkable 23 NCAA All-American honors plus three honorable mention All-American awards. The winner of Union’s Pike and Jaffe Awards, Makarowski was a three-time state or league swimmer of the Year. He broke 11 of Union’s 19 swimming records during his career and still owns nine of the records 11 years later. In addition, six of those nine records still own the UNYSCAA State Championship marks.

 

KIM MANGINO