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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Monday, May 11, 2009)
 

LONG-TIME WESLEYAN COACH AND ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE NORM DANIELS PASSES AWAY AT AGE 102
(Forty-Year Veteran Coach at Wesleyan from 1934-1973 was Member of First Wesleyan Athletics Hall of Fame Class)

        Norm Daniels, who coached at Wesleyan University from 1934 to 1973 and was inducted as part of the first class for Wesleyan's recently established Athletics Hall of Fame in May, 2008, passed away at the age of 102 early Monday morning, May 11, 2009.  A memorial service was held at 11 a.m. Thursday, May 14 at the South Congregational Church on Pleasant Street in Middletown, followed by a reception in the Coach Norm Daniels Lobby in the Freeman Athletic Center at Wesleyan at 12:30 p.m.  Calling hours at Doolittle Funeral Home in Middletown were held Wednesday, May 13 from 6-8 p.m.
      Born March 25, 1907 in Detroit, Mich., Norm came to Wesleyan University as an instructor in physical education in 1934.  By the time he retired as a full professor following the spring baseball season in 1973, Norm had been head coach of five different sports including one season (1946-47) when he consecutively coached the football team to an undefeated 7-0 mark, the men's basketball team to a 9-5 record and the baseball squad to a 4-12 posting.
      Coming to Wesleyan from Hillsdale, Mich. where he had been coaching and teaching in the local secondary school following his graduation from the University of Michigan in 1932, Norm first coached the Wesleyan wrestling squad, a position he held for nine campaigns.  Despite lettering nine times in a Wolverine uniform with informal All-America honors in football as a receiver and defensive back, all-Big Ten and All-America honors in basketball and starting duties at second base in baseball, Norm had not wrestled in college.  He added varsity baseball coach to his repertoire in the spring of 1941, beginning his longest-standing assignment which covered 33 seasons and a cumulative 253-261-6 record.  A three-year stint as men's basketball coach (1944-47) was overlapped by the introduction of head football coach to his resume in 1945.  He handled the gridmen for 19 seasons with a record of 76-61-10, and directed the squad to its team-record 25-game win streak from 1945 through 1948.  That streak was incorporated into a 28-game unbeaten string which started with the last game of 1942 and carried through 1948. Add to that two seasons as men's squash mentor (1948-50) and a handful of additional duties with freshman squads and a brief stint as chairman of the department of physical education, and you have a very full plate for the 39-year veteran Cardinal coach.  Norm was elevated to assistant professor in 1941, the same year he earned his M.A. from Michigan; associate professor in 1947; and professor in 1948. 
     Among all individuals ever to coach at Wesleyan University since its inception as an institution of higher education in 1831, Norm Daniels ranks third in longevity, behind only Hugh McCurdy who served the Red & Black for 46 years (1922-1968), and Fritz Martin who was on board for 43 years (1920-1963).  Only six others have made it to the 30-year mark, most recently Don Long and Dave Snyder, both of whom retired in 2003 with 38 and 33 years of service under their respective belts.  Current Athletics Director John Biddiscombe has been a member of the department since 1974, putting him at 35 years.  Herb Kenny (31 years) and Elmer Swanson (35 years) are the remaining two males.  Gale Lackey, Associate Athletics Director and head women's volleyball coach, recently joined the club as the first woman, having competed her 31st year in 2009.
       While at Wesleyan, Norm was consistently active in the local community as a part of numerous organizations, committees and associations around Middletown including a three-year term on the Middletown City Council.  He remained in Middletown after his retirement and maintained his residence in the City until a recent downward turn in his health forced him to relocate closer to his family .
       On April 5, 2007, with about 100 well-wishers in attendance, Wesleyan held a 100th-birthday reception for Norm in the then bridge lobby of the Freeman Athletic Center.  The greatest surprise birthday gift was announced by Wesleyan's Vice-President for University Relations Barbara-Jan Wilson as she revealed the sign that would soon hang in the lobby permanently giving it the name Coach Norm Daniels Lobby of the Freeman Athletic Center.  Located adjacent to the Silloway Gymnasium, the lobby is constantly used for gatherings by teams and other on-campus functions such as the health fair. After a proclamation by the Mayor of Middletown Sebastian Giuliano designating April 6, 2007 as Norm Daniels Day in Middletown, the lobby sign was unveiled.