Murphysboro High School Hall of Fame: Class of 2012
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Rick AttigAthlete 1966-1970
Rick Attig was a 3 year letterman in track and football and a 2 year letterman in basketball during his years at MHS. As a Red Devil tailback Rick averaged 9.5 yards per carry the first 4 games of his senior year before a knee injury put an end to his final season. He was captain of the football team and held the SWE conference record and school record in the pole vault. While competing at SEMO State University, Rick earned All- American honors in both football and track and field. He was a four year letterman in both sports and was captain and MVP in both sports his junior and senior years. As a senior he was the leading scorer and second in rushing in the MIAA. |
As a track athlete Rick switched from the pole vault to the javelin and became one of the top javelin throwers in the country. As a senior he broke the school and MIAA record and placed second at the NCAA Championship. Rick has since been inducted into the NCAA Division II Track and Field Hall of Fame and the SEMO Athletic Hall of Fame. The first 9 years of his coaching career was at the high school level where he coached some of the top jumpers and vaulters in Missouri and the United States. His group of vaulters, in 1984, are still considered to be the best trios ever at the high school level with an average vault of 16’8”. Their fourth and fifth best vaulters that year cleared 16’ and 15’6”. During his sixteen years of coaching at the University of Kansas and 5 years of coaching at the University of Nebraska his jumpers, pole vaulters, decathletes and heptathletes have amassed a total of 47 Big 8/12 Championships, 8 Big 8/12 Records, 48 NCAA All- Americans, 7 National Championships, 2 NCAA Records, and 1 American Record. As an expert in the jumping events he has published numerous articles and videos and wrote the USA Track and Field Pole Vault Manual. In 1990 Rick was asked to be the USA Track and Field Pole Coach / Chairman where he served that position for the 1992 and 1996 Olympiads.
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Frank Congiardo1931-2001
Frank Congiardo graduated from M.T.H.S. in 1949. He earned 8 varsity letters in football, basketball and track. During his junior year, he was a member of the 1947 undefeated, untied and un-scored upon football team. During his high school career, Frank received both All-Conference and All-State recognition in football. The 1947 team was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2010. During his three years playing football at M.T.H.S., the teams went without losing a game. Over that 3 year period, the Red Devils Football Team won 3 SWE Conference Championships, compiled a record of 25-0-1, and outscored the opponents 711-82. After the 1948 Season, the Chicago Daily News gave the Red Devils the title "Best Team in the State"! |
Iowa State University 1949-1952 Frank was a three year letter winner from 1950-1952. Like all collegiate players during this time, he was ineligible as a freshman. Special Thanks to the athletic department at Iowa State University for providing Frank's college statistics: ISU Career Total Statistics: Rushing: 192 carries for 597 yards. Passing: 2 completed passes for 45 yards. Receiving: caught 26 passes for 272 yards & 1 TD. Punt Receptions: 19 for 625 yards. Kickoff Returns: 4 for 48 yards. Scoring: 8 touchdowns. US Army 1953-1954 St. Louis Logan Chiropractic School 1954-1958
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Bill FrenchAthlete: 1945-1949
Bill French was a captain of both the football and basketball teams at M.T.H.S his senior year. During his junior year, he was a member of the 1947 undefeated, untied and un-scored upon football team. The 1947 team was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2010. During his three years playing football at M.T.H.S., the teams went without losing a game. Bill was a unanimous choice for the first team All- State Football Team by the Chicago Daily News and the Champaign Gazette as well as the recipient of 18 division one football scholarships. After the 1948 Season, the Chicago Daily News gave the Red Devils the title "Best Team in the State"! Also during his junior year, Bill was a member of the M.T.H.S. basketball team that was the first to ever advance to the Sweet Sixteen. |
Bill attended the University of Notre Dame on a football scholarship, graduating with a B.A. in 1953. He then attended St. Louis University School of Law on an academic scholarship, graduating in 1959 followed by a degree in 1962 from Georgetown Law. Bill served in the U.S. Marine Corps both active duty and reserve duty and was discharged in 1966 as a Captain. Bill has had a long and distinguished career in law. He was a special assistant to Attorney General Robert Kennedy in the Organized Crime and Master Crimes Section and was the recipient of the Justice Department’s Outstanding Prosecution Award in 1964. He had a private law practice in Arizona from 1965 to 2000. He was selected by the Governor of Arizona to serve as Presiding Judge of the Criminal Division in the Superior Court of Arizona from 1978 to 1981. In 1988, he was appointed by the Arizona House of Representatives to prosecute and impeach and subsequently remove from office the Governor of Arizona. In 2010, Bill was inducted into the Maricopa County Bar Association Legal Litigator Hall of Fame. Bill is extremely proud and honored to be inducted into the Hall of Fame the same year as his life-long friend and classmate, Frank Congiardo.
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Jim ReevesAthlete 1969-1973
Jim Reeves received 7 varsity letters in 4 different sports: baseball, football, basketball and track, but the baseball field was where Jim excelled. During his final season at M.T.H.S., he had a batting average of .555 while playing at both shortstop and pitcher. He was named All-Conference both junior and senior years, All-State Honorable Mention his senior year and American Legion Southern Illinois Player of the Year in 1973. After high school, Jim attended SIU Carbondale from 1973 to 1977 where he also played baseball for Legendary Coach “Itch” Jones. Saluki Stats/Facts: Was a member of two Saluki teams who played in the College World Series (1974, 1977). Salukis finished third in the College World Series both times. |
Started at first base and in left field. Tied for team lead with 7 home runs and led the team with 5 triples in 1977 season.
Had his best offensive season in 1976, hitting .363 with 5 home runs and 36 RBIs in 50 games. In 169 career games at SIU, hit .306 with 13 home runs and 93 RBIs. In 1977, Jim was picked by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 16th round of the draft. During the 1977 season, while playing for Calgary, Jim led the league in hitting with a .376 batting average. In 1978, he played on the Cardinals minor league teams in Gastonia, NC and St. Petersburg, FL. From 1985 to 1989, Jim was the Assistant Baseball Coach at Kishwaukie College in Malta, IL. Jim became a scout for the New York Yankees in 1987. In 1988, he moved over to the New York Mets where he still scouts today in the Pacific Northwest.
Had his best offensive season in 1976, hitting .363 with 5 home runs and 36 RBIs in 50 games. In 169 career games at SIU, hit .306 with 13 home runs and 93 RBIs. In 1977, Jim was picked by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 16th round of the draft. During the 1977 season, while playing for Calgary, Jim led the league in hitting with a .376 batting average. In 1978, he played on the Cardinals minor league teams in Gastonia, NC and St. Petersburg, FL. From 1985 to 1989, Jim was the Assistant Baseball Coach at Kishwaukie College in Malta, IL. Jim became a scout for the New York Yankees in 1987. In 1988, he moved over to the New York Mets where he still scouts today in the Pacific Northwest.
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Dan SullivanAthlete 1969-1973
Dan Sullivan graduated from M.T.H.S. in 1973. “Sully” was a premiere athlete in both football and basketball. In football, he was an offensive tight end and split end. During the 1972 season, he led Southern Illinois in receptions by catching 34 passes for 538 yards and ten touchdowns. He also was the team’s punter for the Conference Champion Red Devils. His performance on the gridiron earned him unanimous All-Conference and All-Southern Illinois honors, as well as Honorable Mention All-State. It was basketball; however, that was arguably his best sport. He was the leading scorer, at 23 points per game, and the leading rebounder on the 1972-73 Red Devil team that finished the season with a 26-3 record. |
Included in the twenty-six wins were a Conference Championship, large school Regional and Sectional Championships, along with a birth into Illinois prestigious “Sweet Sixteen”. His overall performance on the hardwood earned him unanimous election to both the All-Conference and All-Southern Illinois teams. In addition, he was selected as one of fifteen players to the Associated Press 1973 Illinois All-State Basketball team. This prestigious honor included all the IHSA schools within the state of Illinois. After graduating from M.T.H.S., “Sully” continued his basketball career at John A. Logan College and Western Illinois University on basketball scholarships. At Logan College, he led the “Volunteers” to the College’s first Conference Championship and a 25-4 record. Once again, he earned All-State honors when selected to the N.J.C.A.A. All-Illinois Team. Dan Sullivan’s circus catches in football and flashy play in basketball have made him one of the all-time favorite athletes in Red Devil sports history.
