Aug. 11, 1994
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — Nine former Wittenberg University athletes, including the late Steve Heinzen, a Springfield native, will be inducted into the Athletics Hall of Honor during halftime of the Wittenberg-Muskingum football game on Sept. 10. The inductees, who will be also be honored at a brunch Saturday morning at the Health, Physical Education, and Recreation Center, include the late Dwight W. "Ike" Trubey, '33, football; M. Ed Chatlain, '41, Marco Island, Fla., football, basketball, and baseball; Roy L. Sheil, '43, Canton, Ohio, basketball; Connie Woodhouse Haacke, '60, Dayton, Ohio, basketball, volleyball, and swimming; the late J. Stephen Heinzen, '64, football; Janet VanTilburg Morrison, '69, Celina, Ohio, volleyball and basketball; James Evans, '75, Shaker Heights, Ohio, basketball and track and field; F. Thomas Dunn, Jr., '76, basketball; and Dean M. Caven, '77, Fletcher, Ohio, football.
Heinzen played defensive back on the Tigers' 1962 National Championship football team. Over his four-year playing career Wittenberg had a 31-2-1 record with two Ohio Athletic Conference titles. While a student-athlete, Heinzen had the additional responsibilities as a husband and father of three children and was named first team AII-OAC. He later became a graduate assistant after obtaining his degree and was a scout, recruiter and utility assistant under Bill Edwards and Dave Maurer. Heinzen's most significant contribution to the football program came as a volunteer scout as he spent many days on the road getting the lowdown on upcoming opponents. As a result he often only saw his beloved Tigers play in their final game of the season. "I think Wittenberg played a great part of Steve's professional and personal development," Heinzen's wife, Susan said. "He knew so many people connected with Wittenberg through his work and just as friends. Steve genuinely loved Wittenberg. Living in Springfield he was close to the coaching staff and players of the football team and followed all of the basketball teams." He died in 1984 at age 41 due to complications after open heart surgery.
Captain of the basketball team his senior year, Dunn was selected Most Valuable Player of the Ohio Athletic Conference and to the all-tournament team of the 1976 Division III tournament in leading the Tigers to the runner-up spot. Now a learning disabilities teacher in the Troy, 0., City Schools, Dunn has also served as Varsity boys' and girls' basketball coach and was selected as Troy's Outstanding Educator.
A member of two national championship teams and three Ohio Conference championship teams, Caven was awarded the Golden Helmet in 1975 and 1976 and was selected on the first team of the Ohio AthJntJc Conference those same years and first team Kodak All-America in 1976 and second team Academic AIIAmerica. He received a master's degree at Southern Illinois University and is co-owner of Caven's Meats in Conover, Ohio.
Trubey, who was named to both the Associated Press and United Press All-Ohio team as a tackle in 1930, '31, and '32, was a teacher and coach in New Philadelphia, Fostoria, and Elyria, Ohio, high schools and an assistant coach at Purdue and Vanderbilt Universities. He earned a master's degree in physical education at Columbia University. Trubey died in 1977.
As a senior Chatlain was chosen for the International News Service All-Ohio Conference first team in football. He played three sports three years, earning nine varsity letters. He played in every game of football, basketball, and baseball.
Sheil three letters on Wittenberg's basketball team and in his senior year in 1943 was named to the All-Ohio United Press first team. After serving as a U. S. Marine in World War II, he coached at Canton Lehman High School until he was recalled to active duty in the Marines and won the Purple Heart, Air Medal, and Distinguished Flying Cross for service in Korea. Sheil was the first athletic director at Walsh College where he initiated a complete intercollegiate program and was selected for the Walsh College Athletic Wall of Fame in 1990.
At Wittenberg, Haacke played basketball and volleyball and was an AAU champion diver. While a tennis coach at the University of Dayton, her team won the state championship in 1961 and was a district winner in 1977. Still an active tennis player, she won the Senior Olympics in doubles in 1991 and 1993 and the National USTA Senior Women's Team Championship in 1991.
Morrison played every game of the women's volleyball team's three undefeated seasons, 1966-'67, '67-'68, and '68-'69, a 30-game winning streak. She continues to contribute to the game of volleyball as a member of a local traveling team and as a volleyball official. Currently guidance counselor at East Elementary School in Celina, Ohio, Morrison taught physical education for ten years and has been a guidance counselor for 11 years.
Evans was voted Most Valuable in track and field in 1973, '74, and '75 and Most Valuable in basketball in 1974. He was the OAC Champion in the triple jump and 440-yard intermediate hurdles in 1974-75 and was a member of the 1975 NCAA All-America College Track and Field team for long jump and high hurdles. Elected Coach of the Year, Northeast Ohio Track and Cross Country Coaches in 1978, Evans is currently working on a master of sports science degree at the United States Sports Academy.