Coach Mark Catlin
The words to describe Mark Catlin are many and varied: athletic star, attorney, sportsman, conservationist, elected official, and "Coach of Champions."
The latter was the moniker Catlin earned during the nearly two decades he spent in service to Lawrence University. As the football coach from 1909 to 1918 and from 1924 to 1927, he won five conference championships and established many legends. Catlin's record of 55-29-7 ranks him third on the school's all-time wins list.
Born in Aurora, Ill., in 1882, Catlin was an athletic legend at the University of Chicago, earning All-Western and second-team All-America honors as an end. Also a great track athlete, he competed in the hurdles and discus at the 1904 Olympic Collegiate Championships in St. Louis. Catlin won the 110-yard hurdles, the 220 hurdles and finished second in the discus.
Catlin's teams were the unquestioned powerhouse of small college football in the state from 1911-14, winning four consecutive Wisconsin Intercollegiate championships. After stepping away from football following the 1918 season, Catlin returned in 1924 and coached the Vikings to a 4-1-1 record and their second Midwest Conference championship. He coached for three more seasons before leaving Lawrence for good in 1927.
An attorney by trade, Catlin served as Outagamie County district attorney and in the state assembly. He worked as an attorney until his death from a heart attack in 1956.
James D. Miller, Class of 1980
For Jim Miller, the farther, the better. Miller was one of the greatest distance runners in Lawrence University history, and the greater the distance, the better he ran.
He earned All-America honors in cross country and track and won two Midwest Conference (MWC) titles. A native of Grand Forks, N.D., Miller earned All-Midwest Conference honors in cross country and qualified for the NCAA Division III Championships in 1977. Miller won the cross country title at the MWC Championships in 1978, qualified for the NCAA Championships, and ran to 12th place to earn All-America honors. He was all-conference again during his senior cross country season and again qualified for the national meet.
As a junior, he capped his outdoor track season in the spring by winning the six-mile run at the MWC Championships, setting a conference record in the process. He also qualified for the 10,000 meters at the NCAA Division III Championships and finished sixth to become an All-American. In all, Miller, who held school records in the two-mile, three-mile, and six-mile runs, placed in six events at the MWC Championships in indoor and outdoor track.
He competed in the 1980 United States Olympic Trials in the marathon and returned to compete at the NCAA Championships, finishing 16th in the 10,000 meters.
Miller, who continues to run competitively, lives in Essex Junction, Vt., and is a senior trust officer at Merchants Trust Company and a certified financial planner.
Richard G. Miller, Class of 1947
Dick Miller was the perfect combination of power and grace, force and finesse. Known as a punishing tackle on the football team, Miller was also a silky smooth forward on the basketball squad. He earned All-Midwest Conference (MWC) honors five times and led his teams to three league championships.
Miller came to Lawrence from Evanston, Ill., and starred at tackle and kicker for the Vikings football team. He was the highest-scoring tackle in the nation when he scored 25 points in 1942, as Lawrence won the league title and Miller was a first-team all-conference selection. He played football again in 1946 after piloting torpedo bombers in the Marine Corps from 1943-45. The Vikings won another MWC crown, and Miller was a first-team all-conference selection.
Inside Alexander Gymnasium, Miller was a second-team all-conference pick in 1941-42. He led Lawrence to the MWC title in 1942-43 and was a first-team all-conference selection. He finished his basketball career in style by averaging an astronomical, for the time, 19 points per game in 1946-47. He led the Vikings to a 10-7 record to complete one of the most successful eras in Lawrence basketball history. Miller, who was first-team all-conference, led his teams to a 31-18 record.
Miller's basketball career didn't end at Lawrence, however. He went on to play for the Oshkosh All-Stars of the National Basketball League, the precursor to the NBA.
A resident of Indianapolis, Ind., since 1955, he is the owner of Miller Sales Corporation.
Sarah O'Neil, Class of 1992
Sarah O'Neil took the women's basketball team where it had never been before, straight to the top.
Spurred by O'Neil's brilliant all-around game, the Vikings won two conference championships, and she finished as Lawrence's all-time leading scorer. The native of Whitefish Bay, Wis., is first in career scoring at 1,225 points and is one of only two players in the program's history to score more than 1,000 points. She still ranks fourth in career scoring average, at 13.2 points per game; is fifth in career rebounds with 489; and 12th in assists with 149.
A 5-foot-9 forward, O'Neil was guided toward Lawrence by her grandmother and arrived at Lawrence in time for the rebirth of the women's basketball program. Under the guidance of new coach Amy Proctor, the Vikings went 59-38 over the next four seasons, one of the best stretches in Lawrence women's basketball history.
The Vikings captured the 1989 Lake Michigan Conference title and won the 1990 Midwest Conference (MWC) crown. O'Neil, known as a fierce competitor, earned first-team All-Lake Michigan Conference honors as a freshman. O'Neil, then a sophomore, became just the third Lawrence player to earn first-team All-MWC honors. She went on to become a first-team all-conference selection for the next two seasons and served as team captain as a senior.
O'Neil lives in Chicago and works as an associate brand manager at World Kitchen.
James R. Petran, Class of 1980
Jim Petran did one thing - win - and he did it well for Lawrence University. He starred in football and baseball, and the teams he played on won four Midwest Conference (MWC) championships and made two NCAA Division III tournament appearances.
Petran was the starting quarterback for three seasons and had a 24-4 record as a starter. The Vikings were 31-6 during his four years of football and won the 1979 conference title. He earned All-MWC honors as a senior and received honorable mention on the Associated Press All-America team. The native of Mount Prospect, Ill., remains Lawrence's most prolific passer. He held 18 records when he graduated from Lawrence and continues to hold game, season, and career records for passing and total offense. For his career, Petran completed 452 of 844 passes for 5,431 yards and 59 touchdowns.
Petran was also a key cog for a group of powerhouse baseball teams. He earned All-MWC honors four times and served as co-captain. In baseball, he helped the Vikings to a 66-43 record from 1977-80; MWC championships in 1977, 1979, and 1980; and NCAA regional appearances in 1977 and 1979. The left-handed shortstop compiled a .296 lifetime batting average with 13 home runs and 64 runs batted in. Petran also saw time on the mound during three seasons, posting a 1-5 career record, and he holds the record for saves in a season.
Petran works in sales for Andrews Paperboard Company and lives in Park Ridge, Ill.
Robert Smith, Class of 1961
No small college wrestler in the Midwest was as good as Bob Smith during the late 1950s and early '60s.
Smith was dominant for the Lawrence wrestling team for three seasons, from 1958 to 1961, winning three Midwest Conference (MWC) championships. He compiled a 30-2 record, with those two losses coming at the hands of major college opponents.
Smith also played three seasons of football, earning All-MWC honors twice, and competed for the track team. A native of Beaver Dam, Smith won MWC wrestling titles in 1959, 1960, and 1961.
He posted a 12-1 record as a junior and became the first Lawrence wrestler to earn a berth in the NCAA Championships. Smith, who served as team captain for two years, went unbeaten as a senior, won his second consecutive State College Meet title, and became the first Lawrence wrestler to win three conference championships.
Smith played offensive tackle, linebacker, punter, and placekicker on the football team. He earned honorable mention on the All-MWC football team as a junior and was a second-team selection as a senior. He also served as team captain and was named the team's Most Valuable Player in 1960.
He ran track for three seasons, competing in the shot put, discuss, javelin, sprints, and pole vault.
Smith, who was a teacher for 35 years, is retired and lives in Marshall. He also coached football, wrestling, and track and currently is a track coach at Marshall High School.
