Hall of Fame Inductees
Phil Rockwell was a dual-sport athlete at Wesleyan, setting football records in the fall and baseball records in the spring. Off the field, Phil was an English major, DKE brother, and a member of Skull & Serpent. As a senior, he became the first Wesleyan student-athlete to win two major sports awards in the same year: the C. Everett Bacon Award for MVP in football and the Walter MacNaughten Memorial Award for Outstanding Baseball Achievement.
A football letterman, Phil caught 24 passes as a tight end in the senior season, setting a Wesleyan record and earning an All-New England honorable mention. He was co-captain of the Cardinal baseball team that year, earning All-New England honorable mention in that sport as well. Over his junior and senior years, Phil garnered a pitching record of 9-2 for an .818 winning percentage. Phil was dominant against Amherst and Williams, helping to lead Wesleyan to three Little Three Championships. During that time the Cardinals rung up an 11-3 season in 1963 and a 14-2 season in 1964. Phil opened the 1965 season by hitting a home run and pitching seven shut-out innings against Coast Guard.
Phil played baseball for the Wareham Gatemen of the Cape Cod League in 1964 and after graduation played semi-pro football for the Nashua Colts in 1965 and the Seattle Cavaliers in 1967. Forty years later, in 2005, he played for the last of seven times in the Roy Hobbs World Series for senior baseball. During those senior ball years, Phil was voted team MVP three times.
Retired from public relations and development work at Harford’s St. Francis Hospital, Phil continues to serve on several nonprofit boards and to volunteer for Wesleyan in numerous capacities, including as class secretary and athletics mentor for students. In 2011 he received the Kosty Award, given to an alum who generously supports the baseball program, and in 2016 Phil’s name was inscribed on the Wesleyan Baseball Wall of Fame.
