Knox-Lombard Hall of Fame

The Knox-Lombard Athletic Hall of Fame recognizes the achievements of distinguished athletes and teams. Recipients of the award are honored at an induction banquet during Homecoming. Bronze plaques recognizing all hall of fame recipients hang in T. Fleming Fieldhouse, in a room named in memory of Allan P. Christiansen, an outstanding athlete and long-time administrator at Knox College.
Hall of Fame inductees are selected by a five-member committee. The committee welcomes nominations, which are reviewed annually. If you would like to nominate a classmate for the Knox-Lombard Athletic Hall of Fame, you can download a nomination form.

2009 Inductees

Left to Right: 1919 Football Team, Tom MacMillan '81, David Schoenwetter '98, Anthony Balthazor '03

1919 Football Team
The 1919 Knox College football team is the only Knox football team to go undefeated in the 118 year history of Knox College football. The 1919 team was coached by Justin McCarthy Barry and had 18 players and a manager, Walter Scharfenberg '21. Team captains were Bertram Bennett '20 and Dewey Imig '21. The 1919 season started out strong, as team members Adolph "Ziggy" Hamblin '20, Temple "Tink" Price '22, Walt Shafer '22, Freeman "Fatty" Campbell '21, and co-captain Imig returned to school after serving in the United States armed forces. They joined teammates Lane Bridgford '19, Tom Rogers '20, Les Pritchard '21, Frank Welch '22, D. Zenor "Zeke" Field '22, Stewart "Bud" Ross '21, Otis "Otie" Morrison '26, Claude Ludwick '23, Theodore Bergstrom '23, Richard "Doc" Dicus '23, Harlow Gaylord '23, and Glenn Wells '23.

To start the 1919 season, the "Purple and Gold" took on Carthage College, defeating them by a margin of 57-0. The following Saturday, Knox took on their toughest opponent, Cornell College. The game was scoreless until the last 10 minutes, when Bennett blocked a punt and Campbell fell on the ball for a touchdown -Knox 6, Cornell 0. Knox's Purple and Gold continued to blaze through the rest of their opponents, defeating Beloit College 30-0, Illinois College 54-0, and Augustana College 27-0. Knox's perfect season was stopped when Lake Forest College managed to score seven points in the 75-7 tromping they received from the Purple and Gold. Lake Forest was the only team to score against the team, as they went on to defeat Lombard 15-0 and arch rival Monmouth College 31-0 on Thanksgiving Day, 1919. In addition to being undefeated on the season, the Knox College 1919 football team was Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Champion, scoring a total of 295 points to their opponents seven during the season.

Tom MacMillan '81
Tom MacMillian graduated from Knox in 1981, after earning a combined five letters-four in wrestling (1978-81) and one in football (1977). Tom was an outstanding wrestler, as he took second at the conference championships as a sophomore in 1979 and first at the conference championships as a junior in 1980. In doing so, he qualified for the NCAA Division III National Tournament in both 1979 and 1980. Tom was named the team's most valuable wrestler in 1979 and was a member of Coach Al Partin's All Career Team at 190 lbs.

In the words of his wrestling teammate Mark Stewart '81, "Tom was an amazing wrestler who pummeled many opponents consistently for four solid years." In addition to being a top wrestler, Tom was also a team leader. He was selected to be a team captain both his junior and senior years, and, as his teammates would vouch, he was an anchor and great leader for the team during a very successful time in the wrestling program history. As a testament to his Knox athletic career, Tom's nomination for the Knox-Lombard Hall of Fame is supported by 13 of his classmates.

David Schoenwetter '98
David Schoenwetter graduated from Knox in 1998, having lettered four years in football. In the words of Head Football Coach Andy Gibbons, "Dave is without a doubt the best quarterback and one of the best leaders I have had at Knox in my 17 years with the Prairie Fire football team." He would go on to be recognized as one of the most accomplished quarterbacks in the history of Knox football.

As an athlete, Dave holds eight Knox records. First, he has the most wins of any Knox quarterback, as his team went 17-10 when he was the starting quarterback. He led Knox to three straight winning seasons (1995, 1996, and 1997) and to three straight victories over longtime rival Monmouth College. For all-time records, he is second in career touchdown passes with 45 and in career passing attempts with 830.

He is third all-time with 5,141 career passing yards, 397 career completions, and 5,216 yards of total offense. David ranks fifth all-time with a 111.5 passer efficiency rating and tenth all-time for completion percentage at 47.8 percent. In addition to his impressive statistics, David was a captain of his team in 1997 and was chosen as the Knox College Football Offensive Player of the Year, Senior of the Year, and recipient of the Jeff Sandburg Mental Toughness Award. He was also All-Midwest Conference two years. In the words of former Coach Randy Oberembt, "David's largest contribution to the football program was always on the basis of his leadership. Calm under fire, a tireless practice player, and a relentless competitor, David could, and often did, put the Knox team on his back."

After graduating with a degree in American history and secondary education, David became the offensive coordinator at Knox in 1998. In 1999, under his guidance, Knox set seven individual records, 13 top five individual finishes, and five single season records (214 First Downs, 236 completions, a 60.5 completion percentage, 782 total plays, and 4,127 total yards).

Anthony Balthazor '03
Anthony Balthazor, a four year football letter winner, graduated from Knox in 2003. He was a three time First Team All-Midwest Conference (MWC) Linebacker (2000-02) and a three time Knox College defensive player of the year. He is the only Knox football player to ever receive both of these awards three times in a career. According to Head Football Coach Andy Gibbons, "Anthony was probably the best leader I have coached and was able to inspire his teammates to get better. He almost willed our team to a winning season in 2002.

He was simply an incredible football player." Anthony holds a number of Knox records, as well as ranking in the top ten in a number of categories in the MWC. At Knox, he currently ranks first for all-time career tackles for a loss with 55; first with tackles in a season with 123 during 2000, his first-year at Knox; and second in career tackles with 320 (he was first until 2007).

Over his entire career, Anthony averaged an impressive 11.03 tackles per game. Anthony's stats do not end with Knox, as he is ranked in the MWC All-Time Top Ten in Career Tackles, Career Tackles for a Loss, Tackles in a Season, and Individual Tackles for a Loss in a Season. After his first season of collegiate football, Anthony was named to the Freshman All-American Team Defensive First Team and was chosen as the Knox College Defensive MVP. As a sophomore, he was chosen as the Knox College Defensive Co-MVP and was elected to be a team captain for his junior year.

In addition to serving as a team captain during his junior season, he was once again named the Knox College Defensive MVP and was named to the 3rd Team All-West Region for Don Hansen's Football Gazette. In his final season, 2003, he again served as a team captain and was the recipient of the Harley Knosher/Country Companies Male Athlete of the Year Award and the Jeff Sandburg Mental Toughness Award.

Previous Knox-Lombard Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees