Hall of Fame
GENE WESTENDORF - Men's Basketball, Football, and Baseball - 1934-1941
From 1939 to 1941 Westendorf earned eight varsity D's; two in football, three in basketball, and three in baseball.  At the same time he was compiling these letters Gene also was able to accumulate a 3.0+ average in the School of Engineering. Although Westendorf came to the University of Dayton primarily to play basketball and baseball, he decided to give football a try.  He lettered his junior year and was a standout both offensively, as a quarterback, and defensively as a halfback, in his senior year.  Westendorf played under Harry Baujan and his Notre Dame offense which requires the quarterback to be a blocker and a receiver.  Despite his lack of any football background Gene became a skillful and vicious executor of the downfield block and a fine pass receiver.  At the close of his last football season with Dayton he was picked as the year's Most Valuable Player and was named Honorable Mention to the All-Ohio team as a quarterback.
On the basketball court Westendorf proved to be not only a high scorer, but a spark plug of the team.  During the times when forty points would win a basketball game, Gene averaged over 10 points per outing and was the team's second leading scorer.  The appreciation of Gene's efforts in leading the Flyers to three successful basketball seasons was shown by his teammates when they picked him as the team's honorary captain.  Westendorf was also named to the All-Ohio first team as a guard.
During baseball season, Gene would turn to the outfield and head for right field, where he excelled as a fielder and a hitter.  In his senior year he hit over .500 which is quite an accomplishment in itself. In 1941 Westendorf was picked as the Athlete of the Year.  Based upon his high academic rating and his great athletic ability, Westendorf was also picked to receive the Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Athletics.  This last award is the most important award in his collection for it exemplifies both aspect of the personality and talent of this great University of Dayton product.  Gene lives in Dayton and is working as a Sales Engineer for the General Electric Company.  He and his wife, the former Betty Neff, have four sons and two daughters.
