Class of 1997

Dr. Robert Antonacci
Chicago Lindblom
High School Wrestler

A 1935 Lindblom graduate, Dr. Antonacci won three individual city titles prior to the beginning of the state series and helped lead his school to the city team championship his senior year. Before graduating from Indiana University in 1941, Dr. Antonacci was a three-time Big Ten placewinner and was an NCAA champion in 1940, helping lead the Hoosiers to a runner-up finish in the NCAA tournament that year. He also participated in the inaugural Pan-American Games.

A World War II veteran, Dr. Antonacci entered graduate school at the University of Michigan after the war, and after a brief stint at the University of Washington and the Seattle Naval Hospital, where he taught rehabilitation, he returned to Michigan to finish his Ph.D. He then returned to the West Coast and started the wrestling program at Oregon State University in 1947.He coached the program for three years, his teams placing first and second in the Pac 10.

Dr. Antonacci returned to Michigan in 1950, becoming a member of the faculty at Wayne State University, where he taught Anatomy, Physiology, and Kinesiology. He also held positions as Director of Physical Education for the Gary, Indiana public schools and at Temple University, where he initiated the school's Ph.D. program in Sports Management, the position from which he retired.

A long-time wrestling official, Dr. Antonacci also helped organize clinics and workshops on the subjects of wrestling and sports management. He was the author of seven books on physical fitness.