Bill Wehrwein (2018) - Hall of Fame - Michigan State University Athletics

Bill Wehrwein

Induction:
2018
Class:
1970

Bill Wehrwein
Track & Field (1967-1970)
Roseville, Michigan
MSU Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2018

HIGHLIGHTS:

Four-time All-American, including winning the NCAA Indoor title in the 600-yard run in 1969
Five-time Big Ten Champion in three different events, winning individual honors in the 600 (indoor) and the 440 (outdoor)
Set the American record in the 600-yard run with a time of 1:08.6 in 1969
Helped guide the Spartans to three Big Ten Indoor titles in the 4x400 relay (1968, 1969, 1970)

HALL OF FAME FEATURE: CLASS OF 2018

Sometimes a few words of encouragement are all it takes to launch a Hall of Fame career. Track and field national champion and All-American Bill Wehrwein heeded several careful words that took him far in his Michigan State career and beyond.

Former Major League Baseball manager Sparky Anderson and former MSU track and field head coach Jim Bibbs both provided vital words of wisdom that followed him throughout his career on and off the track.

"Sparky Anderson once said `miss no opportunity so say something good to a kid.' That almost became my motto. He and Jimmy Bibbs really knew how to motivate people. I learned from Jimmy and Sparky Anderson, and I think those two little lines were almost like a daily ritual in my mind," said Wehrwein said.

Years after his time on the track at Michigan State, the runner was surprised when he was informed that he would be the latest in a long line of MSU athletes to enter into the Hall of Fame.

`'It was quite a surprise. I really never thought that I would get this far. I am kind of humbled because I really felt like we were thinking of some of the great athletes from the past that are in the Hall of Fame, and some that aren't, and it is quite an honor and quite a shock," Wehrwein said. "I talked to one of my teammates, like Gene Washington, and he told me that Jimmy Raye was going in, and Jimmy Raye is a legend in my mind. It really just gives me the chills. I just really have to say thanks to all my great teammates."

As a three-year varsity letterwinner from 1968 to 1970, Wehrwein was a four-time All-American. He won five Big Ten titles, including four as an individual.

"That particular period that I was running was probably the greatest period of MSU track and field. It saw guys like Washington, Bob Steele, Clinton Jones, Mike Bowers, Roland Carter -- all these people who were so great. It was really something, a special time to be a part of that team," Wehrwein added.

The 1969 outdoor season was bountiful for Wehrwein. His efforts that season helped guide the Spartan men to a third-place finish at the Big Ten Championship in West Lafayette, Indiana. He was part of the relay team that finished second in the mile relay at the B1G Championship. In addition, he went on to win the NCAA Indoor title in the 600 at nearby Cobo Arena in Detroit.

He still holds the Big Ten indoor record in the 500-meter run also set during the 1969 season. Wehrwein broke the American record in the 600-yard run with a time of 1:08.6 as a sophomore. The time was set at a familiar track in East Lansing, on the dirt track at Jenison Field House.

That same year, he was the 1969 U.S. Track and Field Federation National Champion in the 600-yard run. While running at MSU, he also broke records in the 300-yard and 440-yard runs.

As a senior in 1970, the Big Ten Indoor Championships were held at MSU's Jenison Field House. The last event of the day was the mile relay, and it just happened to be one of the few times that Wehrwein's father was able to watch him compete. The rest of the relay team -Michael Murphy, John Mock and Al Henderson - kept the Spartans within distance before Wehrwein's turn was up.

"They kept it close enough that I was 12 yards behind the world record holder in the 1,000 yards (Marc Winzenried from Wisconsin) and next to him was the Big Ten champ in 440. I was just so psyched up that I don't think anyone in the world could have beaten me in that moment," Wehrwein. "When I finished the race our athletic trainer Clint Thompson said, `I don't know what is more wonderful to watch, you running so well or your dad hanging over the railing screaming his head off.' It is one of those moments that I heavily cherish."

Wehrwein is well aware of all the people who helped him reach his potential at MSU. Several coaches and staff helped him become a world class runner.

"I just really want to thank my high school track coach Max Berry. In a way, I'd like to thank my baseball coach from little league who said I was too slow to play centerfield. You get tired of hearing these opinions. It makes you want to go to a sport where you cross the finish line first, and they can't say the guy in third looked faster so he is going to get the medal. Coach Bibbs was such a motivator. He called everyone on the team champ. When he first came there he'd say, `how ya doing champ.' It was just a cool motivator. He had a way of saying great positive things to everybody," he said.

It takes a small army to keep any athlete healthy. Wehrwein attributes much of his success to the athletic training staff at MSU, which was led by Thompson, the Hall of Fame athletic trainer.

"Clint Thompson was a big, big, big influence on me not only for his athletic training ability, but he was also a spiritual guy that really helped a lot of us. I don't think that I would have made it through four years without him. He was special," Wehrwein added.

The phrase Spartan Family holds a very deep meaning for Wehrwein as well, as names like MSU Athletic Director Clarence "Biggie Munn" were always around the track and field program.

"He came to all the meets; he was a track guy. He was a Big Ten Champion in track. He was something else. He paid attention to us and called us into his office after meets and congratulated us. He wasn't just a figurehead or someone who just paid attention to the revenue sports. Biggie was special and really motivated the troops," Wehrwein added.

After graduating from Michigan State, Wehrwein remained in the field of education as a teacher. The physical education teacher worked with the Kellogg Foundation to establish the Feeling Good program, working to educate children and parents on the importance of nutrition and exercise.

Track and field was not out of his system though as he went on to coach his own children in middle school. In order to spend more time with his kids, he coached little league baseball as well as track and field. In doing so, he looked to pass along some of the wonderful that he was given as a young athlete, sparking what turned out to be a Hall of Fame career.