Wabash College Athletics

Native son of Flat Rock, Illinois, you came to Wabash College as a versatile football, basketball, and track athlete from Robinson High School. You continued your excellence in sports and as an economics major at Wabash. In track and field, you earned four varsity letters, and in football,  you were a three-year letterman on the terrific teams of the early and middle 1950s. But it didn’t start as glamorous as it ended for you at Wabash. As a rookie, you did what most rookies do—block and tackle on the practice squad. Only for you, that meant having to block and tackle the likes of Hall of Famer Stan Huntsman. Indeed, you were not the biggest Little Giant of your day, but you indeed squeezed the most from your speedy quick legs. A dashing halfback for the football Little Giants, you lined up with some of the best players in Wabash history — Shoaf, Passodelis, Traviola, Gabbert, Marchando, Crossman, Grayam, and Huntsman. As a halfback, you were a dynamic player, whether you were intercepting a pass to help Wabash beat Butler, or scoring a touchdown in a shutout of DePauw; you did both of those things to help the 1954 team post a 7-1-1 record with three shutouts. As a track man, you set the Wabash record in the 220 low hurdles and earned Most Valuable Player honors as a senior.
In an era of Hall of Fame Little Giants, you certainly made your mark as evidenced by the honors you received—Pete Vaughan Award as the outstanding athlete in the senior class and the Butler Prize for outstanding scholarship and character.
After Wabash, you earned a master’s degree from Vanderbilt and served 24 years in the United States Navy. Like all versatile liberal arts graduates, you changed careers upon your retirement, and taught high school math for another 14 years until you and your wife, Barbara, retired for good. For so valiantly proving that the biggest Little Giants do indeed come in small packages, the National Association of Wabash Men is proud to induct you, Don R. Kaley, into the Wabash College Athletic Hall of Fame.