KEVIN JENISON
GoSycamores.com
TERRE HAUTE, IND. ? Four former student-athletes and a former Indiana State coach were inducted into the 18th Class of the Indiana State University Athletics Hall of Fame during induction ceremonies at The Ohio Building. The induction ceremony was sponsored by Old National Bank.
Former men's basketball player Bob Barker, track & field standout Angie Bruecker Martin, Sycamore track athlete and coach Bill Malloy, softball player Debbie Styx Peters, and football running back David Wright were inducted into the 18th class.
“It is a pleasure and an honor to be able to sponsor this event and to recognize the contributions that these athletes have given to this university,” Don Schroeder, Central Region CEO of Old National Bank, said.
Dr. Daniel J. Bradley, president of Indiana State University, welcomed the inductees, their families, and guests to the festivities.
“We welcome all of you to this induction ceremony,” Dr. Bradley said. “We are honored by the presence of these individuals whose accomplishments we honor today with their induction into the Hall of Fame.”
Indiana State Senior Assistant Athletic Director John Sherman served as Master of Ceremonies. Indiana State Director of Athletics Ron Prettyman made the presentations of the plaques to the inductees.
Bob Barker played basketball at Indiana State from 1968 to 1971, averaging 15.4 points per game. He was named to the 1971 All-Midwestern Conference team along with 2008 Hall of Fame inductee George Pillow. Barker's name still appears in the Sycamore men's basketball record book as he is 18th in career scoring (1,199 points) and seventh in rebounding average (7.9 rebounds per game).
“This is recognition for my entire family,” Barker said. “It is always great to come back to Terre Haute and I remember having to hitchhike here from home as a freshman that is until I learned the secret to having a car on campus. I was scared when I first came here but then found out that I could compete. I really appreciate my coaches and teammates for making me as good as I was.”
Barker scored a career high 35 points against Butler on Feb. 7, 1970 and led the 1969-1970 team in scoring with 445 points, an average of 17.1 points per game.
He had 20 or more rebounds three times during his Sycamore career as he grabbed 22 rebounds against Butler on Jan. 7, 1970 and had 22 against Ball State on Jan. 10, 1970; both marks tying him for third in the ISU single game rebounding performance list. He also had 20 against Western Illinois on Jan. 12, 1970, a total that ranks eighth on the single game rebounding list.
Angie Bruecker Martin earned numerous honors while competing for the Indiana State track & field team from 1997 to 2001. She was named an All-American in 2000 after setting an all-time Missouri Valley Conference record in the 800 meters at the 2000 NCAA Indoor Championships, finishing eighth overall with a time of 2:06.19. That time still ranks as the second best time in Indiana State history.
She was also 18th overall at the 2000 NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 800 meters with a time of 2:06.05. That time is still the best outdoor 800 meter time in school history.
“This is such an honor to be associated with such prestigious people,” Martin said. “It is so awe inspiring with Coach Malloy here. He was able to get a 4x400 relay team to run consistently and go undefeated in a season while I never know what my 4x400 team will be like one day to the next. It is also great to have my family here with me. They travelled all over to see me compete and have been there for me every step of the way.”
Martin was named to the Missouri Valley Conference All-Centennial Team for middle distance in 2007. She was also a four-time member of the Missouri Valley Conference All-Indoor team and an eight-time member of the MVC All-Outdoor squad. She won four MVC titles during her career including three championships in the outdoor 400 meter hurdles. She was also the MVC indoor champion in the 800 meters in 2000 and was a member of the MVC indoor champion 4x400 meter relay in 1998.
She still holds marks in the top five of the Indiana State all-time records in four indoor events and four outdoor events. Bruecker (Martin) has the second best time in the indoor 600 meters (1:32.01), the second best in the indoor 800 meters (2:06.19), the fifth best in the 60 meter hurdles (8.97), and was a member of the indoor 4x400 meter relay team that established the second (3:47.49) and third (3:47.70) best times in school history.
Outdoors, Martin has the top time in the 800 meters (2:06.05), second best in the 400 meter hurdles (59.99), was a member of the 4x400 meter relay teams that has the top time (3:42.80) and the third best (3:44.01) times, and, a member of the shuttle hurdle relay teams that set the second best (58.50) and third best (59.34) times.
Bill Malloy competed for four years at Indiana State in cross country and track & field from 1946 through 1949, receiving the McMillan Award for the most outstanding athlete graduating from Indiana State in 1949. He was a member of one of the best mile relay teams in school history (along with Ken Kinney, Byford Reed and Tom Scott), a team that went undefeated and won the Little State Meet in 1949 with a time of 3:26.8.
“This is very, very meaningful,” Malloy said. “I have been there, done that many, many times but this is the kind of stuff that makes Indiana State so great. When I get together with other track coaches, all they can talk about is Indiana State and Terre Haute, the All-Americans, the championship cross country course, the individuals, and coaches. Indiana State is well respected among the track community.”
Malloy was also a successful high school coach, winning 43 major championships while at Wiley High school and lost just five dual meets in a 13-year high school coaching career. He also hosted the first indoor track meet in Terre Haute as Wiley took on Shortridge High School in 1953. The event was held at Rose-Hulman who had purchased a B-19 double hangar to produce the first indoor track facility in the area.
He was named the Indiana State University head cross country coach and assistant track & field coach in 1967. A year later, in 1968, he became ISU's head track & field coach. Known as a constant innovator among his peers, Malloy coached the Sycamores to ICC titles in 1967 and 1968, and coached the ISU men to the 1976 NCAA Division I Championships.
Among the athletes that he coached was Cheryl Pedlow, who was the first woman to receive an athletic scholarship at Indiana State and in the state of Indiana in 1966. Also in track, he coached two All-Americans (Ivory Giles in the high jump and Jim Ulrich in the javelin) and four NCAA Division I National Championship qualifiers.
In cross country, Malloy coached Charlie Warthan as he qualified for the NCAA Division I National Championships, finishing 41st overall.
Debbie Styx Peters was one of the best hitters and pitchers to ever grace the softball field at Indiana State. She was named to the Missouri Valley Conference All-Centennial team after a stellar career as a Sycamore, was named the Missouri Valley Conference Co-Most Valuable Player, and was also named to the Missouri Valley Conference first team in 1992.
“It is a great honor to be here today,” Peters said. “And it is an honor to be a part of such great ISU alumni. Love of game is what drove me to the success that I had, not recognitions like this, and I became what I am because of my teammates.”
During her playing career at Indiana State from 1988 through 1992, Peters set an ISU record for triples in a season with eight during the 1992 campaign. She also posted the third best single season batting average (.382 in 1992) and is tied for fourth in single season pitching victories as she recorded 11 victories in three of her four seasons (1989, 1990 and 1992).
Peters ended her ISU playing days as the school leader in career triples (14), second in career shutouts (23) and strikeouts (362), third in career earned run average (1.53) and complete games (60), fourth in career pitching victories (42) and innings pitched (539.2) and 10th in career hits (133).
David Wright was named a second team All-American following the 1992 season by the Associated Press, earning All-Gateway selection in 1992 and 1993. The running back for the Sycamore football team from 1992 to 1995 also played professionally with Montreal of the Canadian Football League.
“This is a great honor and a great privilege to be inducted with these great athletes,” Wright said. “I always credit my offensive line and my fullback for my success because without them David Wright would not have one yard. I also credit the defense because I had to go against them every practice and the coaches.”
Wright still ranks number one in school history for average per rushing attempt in a career (5.33 yards per rush), most all-purpose yards gained during a season (2,014 in 1992), and, best average per play for a season (7.93 yards per play in 1992).
He had two seasons of rushing over 1,000 yards, gaining the second highest in school history with 1,313 yards in 1992 and coming back in 1993 to rush for 1,262 which is the fourth best in school history. Injuries plagued the stellar runner during his junior season; but, Wright came back to rush for 929 as a senior in 1995, the 13th best in ISU history.
For his career, Wright had one game over 200 yards rushing (225 vs. Western Illinois in 1992, the third best single game rushing yardage in ISU history), and 17 games in which he ran for over 100 yards (six in 1992, five in 1993, two in 1994 and four in 1995).
In other career marks, Wright is second in all-purpose yards (5,341 yards), second in rushing (4,181 yards), seventh in total offense (3,253 yards), and seventh in scoring (140 points). He also holds the sixth spot in the single season kickoff return yardage (593 yards in 1992).
