Hall of Honor
“Greater athletes than he may have lived, but we doubt it” was the tribute paid to George Fucik in the 1915 Beloit College yearbook. A three-sport letterman, he excelled in baseball and also played basketball and won all-state mention as an outstanding football lineman and punter who helped Beloit to 17 wins and a tie in 23 games. Baseball scouts regarded the right-handed pitcher as one of the best in the West because of his excellent control, great speed, exceptional curve and, in pinches, effective “spitball”. Fucik was the mound mainstay and two-time captain of teams which over four seasons won 25 games and lost 16 while facing such powers as Notre Dame, Minnesota, and Indiana as well as traditional state and conference rivals. He signed with the Chicago Cubs after his sophomore year and spent the summer in professional baseball, returning to Beloit when his father insisted he finish college. After coaching the 1915 Beloit team, he played industrial-league baseball in the Chicago area with the American Steel & Wire Company club. A chemist who directed the firm’s physical laboratory before his retirement, he died October 15, 1982, at age 92.
