Athletic Hall of Fame
The Gustavus Adolphus College Hall of Fame was established in 1978 at which time 19 "Charter Members" were inducted either as coaches or as athletes. As of the fall of 2022, 348 individuals (321 athletes, 16 coaches and 11 benefactors) have been elected to the Hall of Fame.
The former Hall of Fame room on the second floor of the Lund Center was originally partially endowed by the families of both Dwight Holcombe's (the only father/son combination holding membership in the Hall). The hardwood plaque upon which the individual plates are permanently displayed, now in the Hall of Champions, was donated by the family of former football coach and Hall of Fame member Jocko Nelson, who passed away in 1978.
Richard Williams
Golf and Swimming & Diving
Inducted: 1989
To say that Dick Williams took to sports like a duck to water would be a lie. Williams would put the duck to shame--and more than a few species of fish as well. He joined the swimming team his freshman year-1952--and helped Vic Gustafson's squad take the MIAC championship. While the team fell to second place in the conference the following two seasons, Williams continued his own improvement. He splashed to a first-place finish in the 100-yard butterfly event in the 1953 MIAC meet, and hit the line first in the 120-yard individual medley event the following year. Those were warmups, however, for his senior year, in which Williams was captain of the conference champion Gustie swimmers. This time, Williams won conference titles in both the 200-yard breaststroke and the 120-yard individual medley, setting MIAC records in both events. For good measure, he also won the 100-yard butterfly event.
And while he was at his best off terra firma, Williams kept his feet on the ground long enough to play on the golf team three years. Since he left Gustavus, Williams has earned a doctorate from the University of Minnesota and accepted a faculty appointment at UCLA, where he is currently a professor of education and director of the university's laboratory elementary school. His wife Michele works as an assistant principal in the Oxnard elementary school system. They have three children: Heather, 22; Christopher, 20; and Marne, 19.