Inducted were Bruce Allison (athletic director and men's lacrosse head coach), Gary Brown '65 (baseball, basketball and soccer; soccer, basketball and lacrosse coach), Priscilla (Francis) Nellissen '77, (field hockey and softball), George Haas '47 (baseball and basketball), Wayne McDougall '86 (ice hockey), Alex Rita '87 (baseball and football), and Dick Sakala (athletic director).
Allison served the College from 1957 through 1976. He started at Union as a coach of varsity wrestling, varsity men's lacrosse and freshman football, becoming director of athletics and chairman of physical education in 1971. He coached men's lacrosse for 19 seasons (1958-1976), and had many memorable victories including wins over Syracuse in 1966 and 1974. The 1966 team was 10-1 and ended the season with nine straight victories. The 1974 team set a school record, with 11 wins, and reached the ECAC finals. As the director of athletics, he established six intercollegiate women's programs. He lives in Golden, Colo.
Brown was the first three-sport captain in Union history. He received the then-maximum nine varsity letters-three each in soccer, basketball and baseball. (Freshmen were not eligible for varsity.) In his junior year, Brown was awarded the William A. Pike Trophy for athletic excellence and leadership. His senior season featured Knickerbocker News College First Team All-Star honors in basketball and baseball. His career ended in a flourish on the baseball diamond as the Dutchmen posted a 15-2 record in the 1965 season. He helped lead the squad to the NCAA College Division Atlantic Coast Championship in Yankee Stadium with a three-hit pitching victory over Old Dominion. He later coached varsity soccer, freshman basketball and freshman lacrosse at Union. He is a Pittsford, N.Y., resident.
(Francis) Nellissen, known as “Perky” during her career, is considered one of the pioneers of women's sports at Union. A star for both the new field hockey and softball programs, she was a two-year starter during the first two seasons of varsity field hockey (1975-76), and a star center-halfback and midfielder. As reported in the school newspaper, the Concordiensis, “Perky is easily one of the Players of the Year. Her superiority on the field has clearly won this honor. Many goal (attempts) were stopped by Perky's amazing defensive play in front of the net.” She also started in each of her three seasons on the softball diamond, (1975-77). The Dutchwomen won 73 percent of their games during her softball career, and in 1976 she capped off her collegiate sports career with a 49-7 softball triumph. She lives in Norwood, Mass.
Haas continued a stellar family baseball tradition begun by his father, George W. Haas, Sr., who played for the legendary Connie Mack during the American League pennant-winning seasons of 1929-31. George, Jr., attended Union as a Navy V-12 student, and was an outstanding first baseman with the 1944 Dutchmen. After serving in World War II, he had a spectacular season in 1947, batting nearly .500 for the spring. He also played basketball for Union. His baseball exploits, featuring a .465 career average, did not go unnoticed. In a game witnessed by many Major League baseball scouts, he went 5 for 5 and soon thereafter signed a contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates. In his second minor league season, the first baseman suffered a career-ending injury. He is a resident of LaPlace, La.
McDougall is one of the greatest goaltenders in men's ice hockey history. He played in 86 career games from 1983 to 1986, and still holds the career victories total for a goaltender, with 47. His record of 2,296 career saves still stands. He was the team's Most Valuable Player in his sophomore season, and Junior Athlete of the Year the next. In 1984, he made a career-best 61 saves in a four-overtime win over RIT that put Union in the program's first-ever NCAA final. He played the entire game-93 minutes, 26 seconds-in the longest NCAA Division III men's ice hockey game in history. McDougall finished his career with a 3.14 goals against average and a save percentage of .900. After his Union career, he was invited to the Montreal Canadiens mini-camp. He lives in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
Rita was a four-year starter in both football and baseball. His 16 career interceptions and his eight from the 1983 season still both rank second all-time in Dutchmen football annals. In 1984 he earned Pizza Hut All-American and Associated Press Little All-American Honorable Mention honors. The defensive back was an ECAC All-Star in his 1985 junior season, and the senior year featured Pizza Hut and AP Honorable Mention All-American honors. Rita struck out just five times in his four-year baseball career, and the starting centerfielder batted .422 for his career. He hit .426 to lead the team in his 1984 freshman campaign, and batted .463 in his senior season. He started in the New York State Div. II-III All-Star Game at Shea Stadium in 1985, and was selected to the game in 1987. He won the Jaffe Award as the outstanding senior male athlete in 1987. He is a resident of Eden Prairie, Minn.
Sakala was Union's athletic director from 1977 until his retirement in 2000, but returned to lead the department during a transition earlier this year. He was the architect of one of the most successful NCAA Division III programs in the East. Union's football and swimming and diving teams were national contenders, while the field hockey, women's volleyball, men's lacrosse, baseball, softball and women's lacrosse teams enjoyed postseason success in the ECAC and NYSWCAA. Union's men's ice hockey team was considered one of the finest in the ECAC and the nation at the Division III level before moving into Division I in 1991. A former president of the ECAC, Sakala served on the ECAC Executive Council and also was a member of the NCAA Division III Football Committee. Sakala was a driving force behind the formation of the Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association (now Liberty League) in 1995. He oversaw the renovation of numerous Union athletic facilities, and was presented with the Alumni Association's Faculty Meritorious Service Award in 1984. Sakala, a 1962 Columbia graduate and former star quarterback for the Lions, lives in Saratoga Springs.
The Union Athletics Hall of Fame, which began in 2002, has 24 members.