Roger S. Penske/Lehigh Athletics Hall of Fame
Gardner, Gerard W. "Rod"
Gerard W. "Rod" Gardner
- Induction:
- 1998
- Class:
- 1977
When looking through the Lehigh football records and the running backs section, one name seems to pop up in just about every imaginable category: Rod Gardner. Between his seasonal records and his career records, Gardner's name appears numerous times, and that's after missing some time his senior season because of an injury.
Another thing that one notices when looking through the record books is that Gardner’s teams were 29-15-1 during his four years and the Brown and White made a pair of appearances in the Division II National Tournament.
“I was fortunate to play during a great period of Lehigh football,” Gardner said. “During my years we went to two NCAA (Div. II) Tournaments and had really good teams. To me, that overshadows any individual honors or recognition.”
During those four seasons, Lehigh averaged 30 points a contest, including six games with more than 50 points. Of the more than 1,300 points scored during those years, Gardner scored an incredible 302 points on the strength of 50 touchdowns. Through the 2016 season, his 302 points still ranked second all-time in program history, and his 50 touchdowns were tied for first.
“One look at the members of Lehigh’s Hall of Fame will show how lucky I was to play during that era,” Gardner said. “Mike Rieker, Steve Kreider, Kim McQuilken - I got to play with all those guys.”
An Associated Press Second-Team All-American in 1975, Gardner held the record for career rushing yards with 3,188, rushing touchdowns with 42, and of course the total touchdowns mark with 50. His career yardage record stood for 21 seasons until 1997 when Rabih Abdullah broke the mark with 3,696 yards. Through the 2016 season, he was still the program record holder for career rushing touchdowns (42) and was tied for sixth with 14 rushing touchdowns in one season (1974).
Gardner's list of records displays his versatility as he averaged over 10 yards per reception and registered 922 receiving yards.
A quiet and unassuming man, Gardner’s name boldly stands out in the annals of Lehigh Athletics history and his introduction into the Lehigh Hall of Fame brought him to the forefront even more.
“Any recognition I get is from the success of the teams I played on,” Gardner said. “I wasn't the biggest guy or the fastest guy. A lot of things had to fall into place in order for me to be successful on the field and those teams helped make me successful.”
Gardner graduated from Lehigh in 1977 with a degree in business and economics. He went on to work at Synthes in West Chester, Pennsylvania. He and his wife, Nancy had three children, Brian, Patrick and Kathleen.
Another thing that one notices when looking through the record books is that Gardner’s teams were 29-15-1 during his four years and the Brown and White made a pair of appearances in the Division II National Tournament.
“I was fortunate to play during a great period of Lehigh football,” Gardner said. “During my years we went to two NCAA (Div. II) Tournaments and had really good teams. To me, that overshadows any individual honors or recognition.”
During those four seasons, Lehigh averaged 30 points a contest, including six games with more than 50 points. Of the more than 1,300 points scored during those years, Gardner scored an incredible 302 points on the strength of 50 touchdowns. Through the 2016 season, his 302 points still ranked second all-time in program history, and his 50 touchdowns were tied for first.
“One look at the members of Lehigh’s Hall of Fame will show how lucky I was to play during that era,” Gardner said. “Mike Rieker, Steve Kreider, Kim McQuilken - I got to play with all those guys.”
An Associated Press Second-Team All-American in 1975, Gardner held the record for career rushing yards with 3,188, rushing touchdowns with 42, and of course the total touchdowns mark with 50. His career yardage record stood for 21 seasons until 1997 when Rabih Abdullah broke the mark with 3,696 yards. Through the 2016 season, he was still the program record holder for career rushing touchdowns (42) and was tied for sixth with 14 rushing touchdowns in one season (1974).
Gardner's list of records displays his versatility as he averaged over 10 yards per reception and registered 922 receiving yards.
A quiet and unassuming man, Gardner’s name boldly stands out in the annals of Lehigh Athletics history and his introduction into the Lehigh Hall of Fame brought him to the forefront even more.
“Any recognition I get is from the success of the teams I played on,” Gardner said. “I wasn't the biggest guy or the fastest guy. A lot of things had to fall into place in order for me to be successful on the field and those teams helped make me successful.”
Gardner graduated from Lehigh in 1977 with a degree in business and economics. He went on to work at Synthes in West Chester, Pennsylvania. He and his wife, Nancy had three children, Brian, Patrick and Kathleen.
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