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BY DAVID ROBB
david.robb@nwitimes.com
219.548.4362 | Friday, June 06, 2008 | (No comments posted.)
SCHERERVILLE | On a basketball court, football field or baseball diamond, Tim Stoddard always stood out. The East Chicago native was listed at a hulking 6 feet, 7 inches and 250 pounds during his major league baseball career.
So, yeah, you could say Stoddard stood out Thursday at Ron Kittle's 19th annual Indiana Sports Charities Celebrity Golf Outing at Briar Ridge. And, no, it wasn't because of his golf game.
"I used to be a lot better," Stoddard said.
And when Stoddard says "a lot" better, he probably means pretty darn good. After all, this is coming from one of the most well-rounded athletes the Region has ever produced.
The 1971 E.C. Washington grad is best known as the right-handed reliever who pitched for both the Cubs and White Sox during a pro career that spanned from 1975 to 1989. But Stoddard was also an all-state high school football player, a member of the 1971 state champion E.C. Washington basketball team and the 1971 Times Athlete of the Year.
Stoddard, a member of the College Basketball Hall of Fame and Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame, went on to play baseball and basketball at N.C. State. He was a starting forward on the Wolfpack's 1974 NCAA championship team before the Sox took him in the second round of the 1975 amateur draft.
Before he found a permanent home in the pros with the Baltimore Orioles in 1978. Before he compiled a 41-35 record with a 3.95 ERA, 582 strikeouts and 76 saves in 485 games and won a World Series with the Orioles in 1983.
All that's well and good. But Stoddard will tell you the real highlight of his 12-year career was just "being able to do something that I really loved and enjoyed. Not a lot of people get to do that. And I'm still getting to do that."
It's true. Stoddard is still involved in the game. He just completed his 15th year as Northwestern University's pitching coach.
The opportunity was offered to him by longtime Northwestern baseball coach Paul Stevens, whom Stoddard played against in college. At the time, Stoddard was still weighing whether he wanted to coach at the college or professional level. Ultimately, coaching at Northwestern gave him a chance to see his three daughters grow up.
"This route just gave me the opportunity to spend more time at home and with the family," Stoddard said.
Stoddard lives in Palatine, Ill., but still returns to the Region to recruit (Andrean grad Tommy Finn and Munster grad Mike Kalina both started for the Wildcats this spring) and, of course, for Kittle's charity events.
Kittle and Stoddard both played for the 1986 New York Yankees, but not before Kittle homered off Stoddard when Kittle was with the White Sox earlier that season. When Kittle arrived, the Yankees' kangaroo court made sure justice was served.
"The moment Ron gets over to the Yankees, the first thing we do is grab him and tell him he's fined for hitting home runs off his teammates," Stoddard said. "So he started off already down money."
The Tim Stoddard File
The 1971 E.C. Washington grad played baseball, basketball and football all four years of high school; earned three sectional titles, two regional crowns and the 1971 state championship in basketball; made All-State and All-Area in football; Times Athlete of the Year in 1971; played in the 1974 NCAA championship game for North Carolina State; played pro baseball with the White Sox and Cubs; inducted into Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006; assistant baseball coach at Northwestern University.
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