August 18, 2002

BLACKSBURG, Va. - Chuck Hartman, who has compiled more victories than any other coach in Virginia Tech history during his 24 seasons as the skipper of the Hokies' baseball program, joins four former Tech student-athletes in the latest class elected to the Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame.

The other newly-elected members are:

• Gene Breen, an All-Southern Conference pick in football and wrestling, who helped the Hokies to conference championships in both sports during the early 1960s and went on to play in the National Football League.

• Mickey Fitzgerald, a bruising tight end and fullback of the late 1970s, who earned all-star honors and the nickname "The Incredible Hulk" with his physical style of play.

• Bob Grossmann, an outstanding swimmer of the late 1950s, who helped Virginia Tech to its first Southern Conference swimming championship.

• Judy Williams, a key member of Tech's early track and cross country teams for women, who earned All-America honors in 1981.

The Gastonia, N.C., native came to Tech from High Point College (now University), where he directed the Panthers to a 483-225 baseball mark over 19 seasons. His 1981 Tech team went 48-9 and won the Metro Conference regular-season championship. The following season, the Hokies posted a school record 50 wins against just nine losses and were ranked ninth nationally in the final Baseball America poll. Tech won 50 games again in 1985 and finished its season 24th nationally.

As a sophomore in 1961, Breen made an immediate impact, winning All-Southern Conference honors and helping the Hokies lead the league in total defense. He was slowed in 1962 by a knee injury sustained early in the season opener. He went on to play the entire year before undergoing off-season surgery.

Breen returned to form in 1963 when he helped clear the way for a Tech ground attack that led the league in rushing. He won first-team All-Southern Conference honors for the second time as Tech posted its only Southern Conference football championship with an 8-2 overall record and an unblemished 5-0 league mark. Breen served as one of the team's captains.

Breen was also a co-captain on the Tech wrestling team that won the 1962 Southern Conference championship. He closed out the title run by winning the league's heavyweight title.

An outstanding one-on-one blocker, Fitzgerald took over the starting tight end duties full-time in 1977. Midway through the season, however, head coach Jimmy Sharpe asked the 6-2, 251-pound sophomore to move to fullback in his wishbone offense. Fitzgerald made the switch for the sixth game and ended up starting at the new position in the final four games of the season.

During those final four games, Fitzgerald scored seven touchdowns and averaged 125.5 yards on the ground, gaining 112 yards against Florida State, 144 yards versus West Virginia, 142 yards versus Wake Forest and 104 yards against VMI. He still stands as the only Tech player during the modern era to rush for over 100 yards in each of his first four starts.

Fitzgerald found himself as the fullback in an I-formation in 1978 when Bill Dooley took over the head coaching duties. That season, Fitzgerald helped clear the way for a 1,000-yard rushing performance by tailback Kenny Lewis, while picking up 545 yards and a touchdown of his own. As a senior in 1979, he rushed for 401 yards and two TDs and caught five passes for 54 yards before suffering a season-ending knee injury at West Virginia. His 1,449 career rushing yards still rank as the third-highest total by a Virginia Tech fullback. Fitzgerald was named All-South and honorable-mention Associated Press All-America during his Tech career.

During his sophomore season, Bob Grossmann was a major factor in a 4-1 regular-season record and a second-place finish in the SC swimming championship. Grossmann took second in the 200 breaststroke and third in the 100 butterfly at the league meet.

Grossmann excelled at the Southern Conference meet in February 1959, winning three events and sharing the conference's outstanding swimmer award. The junior from Petersburg, Va., took first place in the 100 breaststroke, the 200 breaststroke and the 200 individual medley.

Williams was an important member of the women's track and cross country programs during their transition from a club sport to a varsity sport at Virginia Tech. As a freshman in 1980, she helped the cross country team finish 18th in the national Division II AIAW Championships in Seattle, Wash.

During the spring of her freshman year, Williams was named the Outstanding Track Athlete at the Virginia State Outdoor Championships. She won the state crown in the 10,000 meters and qualified for outdoor nationals in the 3,000-, 5,000- and 10,000-meter events. In the national AIAW meet at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, she finished 13th in the 5,000 and earned All-America honors with a fifth-place finish in the 10,000.

Williams' sophomore season, the cross country team won state and regional titles and finished fifth at the nationals held in Pocatello, Idaho. She defended her state 10,000-meter outdoor title in spring 1982 and qualified for the nationals, where she posted a 12th-place finish.

In the fall of 1982, women's track and cross country became a varsity sport at Tech, competing at the NCAA Division I level. Williams, who came to Tech from Mechanicsville, Va., continued to be a team leader as the cross country team won state championships her junior and senior seasons and the indoor squad took the state title her senior year.

Along with competing, Williams also served as the student trainer for the women's track team. She also spent time as a student trainer working with the women's basketball, field hockey and volleyball teams.

After graduating from Tech, Williams entered the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond to study medicine. She is currently practicing surgery at a hospital in a small town located in the mountains of west-central Yemen.

Enshrined earlier in the Tech Hall of Fame were: Carroll Dale, Chris Smith, George Preas, Bob Schweickert, Johnny Oates, Allan Bristow, Leo Burke, Tim Collins, Madison Nutter, Don Strock, John Wetzel, Harry Bushkar, Howie Wright, Dickie Beard, Glen Combs, Tom Beasley, Brandon Glover, Mike Widger, George Foussekis, Stuart Johnson, Leland Melear, Bill Buchanan, Jerry Gaines, Ken Whitley, Bill Grossman, Jack Burrows, Wendy Weisend, Mac Banks, Lewis Mills, Franklin Stubbs, Keith Neff, Howard Pardue, Lucy Hawk Banks, Roy Beskin, Bill Matthews, Jack Prater, Dale Solomon, Ginny Lessmann Stonick, Neff McClary, Mike Johnson, Linda King Steel, Tony Paige, Bruce Smith, Louis Ripley, Dell Curry, Connie Sellers, Dick Arnold, Frank Beamer, Renee Dennis, Cyrus Lawrence, Rick Razzano, Jim Stewart, Sterling Wingo, Robert Brown, Berkeley Cundiff, Don Divers, Loyd King, Kenny Lewis, Ken Barefoot, Bob Phillips, Steve Taylor, Ted Ware, Mike Burnop, Bimbo Coles, Ken Edwards, Ki Luczak, Bobby Smith, Lori McKee Taylor, Amy Byrne Feathers, George Canale, Don Oakes, Ricky Scales, Margaret Soulen Gilbert, Sherman VanDevender; and the following persons who are deceased: C.P. (Sally) Miles, Frank Moseley, Frank Loria, Hunter Carpenter, Frank Peake, Herbert McEver, Greene (Red) Laird, Paul Dear, Monk Younger, Henry (Puss) Redd, Mel Henry, George Parrish, Hank Crisp, Ed Motley, Sonny Utz, Wilson Bell, Herb Thomas, Bob Ayersman, Dick Esleeck, Al Casey, Joe Moran, William Grinus, Jr., Earl (Bus) Hall, H.V. (Byrd) Hooper, James Franklin Powell, Bucky Keller, Milton Andes, Richard Bullock, Waddey Harvey, Frank Teske, George Smith and Eddie Ferrell.