Wabash College Athletics Hall of Fame
Robert A. Holstine came to Wabash from Georgetown, Illinois, transferring from the University of Illinois in the spring of 1948 as a versatile and accomplished athlete in the sports of football, basketball, baseball, and track. At Wabash, he instantly became a start athlete in four sports — football, basketball, baseball, and track. As gifted as any athlete at Wabash, an era of stunning athletic accomplishment, Holstine was captain of the basketball team, earning three varsity letters for the Little Giants. In baseball, he was a hard-throwing pitcher and slugging batsman who earned three letters. He also threw the javelin for the track and field team. But it was in football, as end and punter, that he made his mark. With Hall of Famer Vaino Grayam at quarterback and Hall of Famer Stan Huntsman in the backfield, Holstine was on the receiving end of nearly all of Grayam’s passes. The high-scoring receiver and bulldozing blocker helped Wabash to an undefeated record of 7-0-1 in 1951, perhaps the finest football team in Wabash College history. Juggling sports, academics, and the Sphinx Club might have been hard enough for Holstine, who was also a devoted husband to his wife, Lou Belle Whitmore, whom he married as a student at Wabash. Recruited by the Brooklyn Dodgers as a pitcher, the Pete Vaughan Award winner declined the offer to devote time to his family and his studies. He was actively involved in city league baseball and basketball, while initiating a Pop Warner Football League in his adopted hometown of Claremont, California, where he spent 41 years until his death in August of 1998. For his exceptional athletic ability and for always teaching his children the benefits of athletics and academics, the National Association of Wabash Men is proud to posthumously induct Robert A. Holstine into the Wabash College Athletic Hall of Fame.
