Roger S. Penske/Lehigh Athletics Hall of Fame
Zawatski, Frank
Frank Zawatski
- Induction:
- 2011
- Class:
- 1973
A 1973 graduate of Lehigh, Frank Zawatski was a standout baseball player for the Engineers. An extreme talent, Zawatski entered Lehigh with high hopes and expectations after getting drafted by the Montreal Expos in high school. He wouldn't disappoint as he went on to hit .354 for his collegiate career, which included two seasons in which he hit better than .400.
“It's nice to be regarded at the same level as my peers in the Hall of Fame,” Zawatski said. “They accomplished a lot during their time. It's nice to be held in such high company.”
Zawatski was the leading extra-base hitter in the MAC, which included a .950 slugging percentage in his first seven games of 1972. He went on to earn a number of athletic awards, including being named to the District 2 NCAA All-Star Team, garnering The Wilbur Cup and Medal, while also winning the Thompson Memorial Trophy.
“Especially being a non-revenue sport, it's nice to be recognized,” said Zawatski “Everyone's partial to the sports they played, so it's nice to get the recognition for the baseball program.”
His impact went far beyond the stat line as Zawatski was named team captain as a senior, beginning the season with seven home runs in the first 14 games. Zawatski also excelled in the classroom where he was named an Academic All-American by the College Sports Writers of America. He served as a metallurgy and materials science major, accumulating a strong 3.5 cumulative grade-point average. Zawatski then went on to earn his MBA from Bradley University where he graduated with high honors. He also became the first baseball player to receive the ECAC Scholar-Athlete Award and was named the Beta Theta Pi Cup winner as the top all-around Lehigh Scholar-Athlete.
“I guess if I had to pinpoint and experience, it would be a doubleheader against Bucknell on my senior year,” said Zawatski. “Between games, they presented me with an Academic All-America honor from the previous year. That was the best day I ever could have had - to also have three home runs and seven or eight RBI in the doubleheader, and to be honored in between games to boot. It all fell together that day.”
Zawatski's influence has extended into the coaching ranks as well as he coached the Lehigh junior varsity baseball team in 1979. Off the field, he has also served as Class Gift Solicitation Chairman while serving as a member of the Knights of Columbus.
When asked what he learned most in his experience at Lehigh, his answer was one many current student-athletes still stress - time management and balance.
“Probably the life skill I've taken away from my years at Lehigh was balance,” said Zawatsky. “We see so many examples of lack of balance in our everyday life. You look at the polarization in Washington right now and you look at college sports where you have parents auctioning off their sons to play different universities. I see it in the work world. That's what I learned most about playing a sport and taking an engineering curriculum at Lehigh. What I appreciate the most was the sense of balancing academics and athletics. It's intuitive; it's not something people can spell out and draw a nice fine line. What's the right mix of those two? As an institution, I think Lehigh does a nice job of balancing those conflicting pulls.”
Zawatsky went on to an impressive professional career in the San Francisco Giants organization, playing three seasons at the Double-A level in Armarillo, Texas. Born on September 15, 1951 in Somerville, New Jersey, he is currently a retirement consultant for The Vanguard Group. Zawatski resides in Normal, Illinois.
“It's nice to be regarded at the same level as my peers in the Hall of Fame,” Zawatski said. “They accomplished a lot during their time. It's nice to be held in such high company.”
Zawatski was the leading extra-base hitter in the MAC, which included a .950 slugging percentage in his first seven games of 1972. He went on to earn a number of athletic awards, including being named to the District 2 NCAA All-Star Team, garnering The Wilbur Cup and Medal, while also winning the Thompson Memorial Trophy.
“Especially being a non-revenue sport, it's nice to be recognized,” said Zawatski “Everyone's partial to the sports they played, so it's nice to get the recognition for the baseball program.”
His impact went far beyond the stat line as Zawatski was named team captain as a senior, beginning the season with seven home runs in the first 14 games. Zawatski also excelled in the classroom where he was named an Academic All-American by the College Sports Writers of America. He served as a metallurgy and materials science major, accumulating a strong 3.5 cumulative grade-point average. Zawatski then went on to earn his MBA from Bradley University where he graduated with high honors. He also became the first baseball player to receive the ECAC Scholar-Athlete Award and was named the Beta Theta Pi Cup winner as the top all-around Lehigh Scholar-Athlete.
“I guess if I had to pinpoint and experience, it would be a doubleheader against Bucknell on my senior year,” said Zawatski. “Between games, they presented me with an Academic All-America honor from the previous year. That was the best day I ever could have had - to also have three home runs and seven or eight RBI in the doubleheader, and to be honored in between games to boot. It all fell together that day.”Zawatski's influence has extended into the coaching ranks as well as he coached the Lehigh junior varsity baseball team in 1979. Off the field, he has also served as Class Gift Solicitation Chairman while serving as a member of the Knights of Columbus.
When asked what he learned most in his experience at Lehigh, his answer was one many current student-athletes still stress - time management and balance.
“Probably the life skill I've taken away from my years at Lehigh was balance,” said Zawatsky. “We see so many examples of lack of balance in our everyday life. You look at the polarization in Washington right now and you look at college sports where you have parents auctioning off their sons to play different universities. I see it in the work world. That's what I learned most about playing a sport and taking an engineering curriculum at Lehigh. What I appreciate the most was the sense of balancing academics and athletics. It's intuitive; it's not something people can spell out and draw a nice fine line. What's the right mix of those two? As an institution, I think Lehigh does a nice job of balancing those conflicting pulls.”
Zawatsky went on to an impressive professional career in the San Francisco Giants organization, playing three seasons at the Double-A level in Armarillo, Texas. Born on September 15, 1951 in Somerville, New Jersey, he is currently a retirement consultant for The Vanguard Group. Zawatski resides in Normal, Illinois.
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