Lehigh University Athletics
Lehigh announces 2011 Hall of Fame Class
4/21/2011 3:56:00 PM | Baseball, Football, Athletics, Volleyball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh Athletics has announced that two-sport standout Bob Naylor '57, baseball slugger Frank Zawatski '73 and record-setting volleyball player Kim (Freedman) Kellow '99 have been elected to the Roger S. Penske/Lehigh Athletics Hall of Fame. Naylor and Zawatski will be formally inducted into the Hall of Fame on Saturday, April 30, while Kellow, who lives in London, will have to defer her induction until next year due to a travel/scheduling conflict.
One of Lehigh's most versatile athletes, Bob Naylor excelled on both the football field and on the baseball diamond for the Brown and White. The winner of six varsity letters, Naylor captained Lehigh's baseball team as a senior and was an all-purpose standout on the gridiron where he excelled on offense, defense and special teams.
In a time where football players played all 60 minutes, Naylor was a standout running back and much more. Naylor returned kickoffs and punts, punted and covered kicks for Lehigh and was named All-Chemical All-American in both 1955 and 1956 as well as All-ECAC southern division in 1956. He still holds the school record for the longest punt return, a 94-yarder versus Temple in October 1955. Naylor added an 82-yard punt return versus Bucknell earlier that season, which ranks eighth in school annals.Naylor began his Lehigh football career by being elected co-captain of the freshman squad. He rushed for a modest 128 yards in his first varsity season, before excelling in his final two seasons. As a junior, Naylor rushed for 569 yards in eight games, to rank fifth in rushing among players from Eastern schools. Naylor led the CAC, averaging more than six yards per carry in 1955. He had a higher per-carry average than future NFL Hall of Fame members Jim Brown (5.2 yards) of Syracuse and Lenny Moore (5.1 yards) of Penn State.
In addition, Naylor passed for 161 yards, giving him 730 yards in total offense, an average of 91.3 which ranked him just three yards behind teammate and Hall of Fame quarterback J. Daniel Nolan. Naylor added another 418 yards and three touchdowns in punt and kickoff returns and led Lehigh in punting average, at 36.3 yards per kick. His 26 points were second only to Nolan for the team's scoring lead.
After missing the VMI game in 1955 due to injury, Naylor enjoyed one of his finest days against the Keydets the following year, rushing for 220 yards on just 17 carries in a 27-20 Lehigh win. Naylor averaged 5.42 yards per carry for his career, ranking him sixth in school history.
Naylor also starred on the baseball diamond where he was Lehigh's cleanup hitter and starting shortstop for three years. He captained the baseball team and was named best all-around team member in 1957.
Since graduating in 1957, Naylor has held numerous positions in sales and sales management working with companies like Air Products, Penn Salt, Metalsalts Corp., Merck and Betz Corp. He is currently the owner and President of Lyndet Corporation.
Naylor and his wife Marlene have four children and 15 grandchildren. He currently resides in Chester Springs, Pa.
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.
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. 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-America by the College Sports Writers of America. He served as a Metalurgy and Materials Science major, accumulating a strong 3.5 cumulative GPA. 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.
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.
Zawatski went on to an impressive professional career in the San Francisco Giants' organization, playing three seasons at the Double-A level at Amarillo. Born on September 15, 1951 in Somerville, New Jersey, he is currently a Retirement Consultant for The Vanguard Group. Zawatski resides in Normal, Illinois.
Kim (Freedman) Kellow had arguably one of the greatest careers of any women's volleyball player in Lehigh history, setting the school record for kills in a season (566) and ranking second in school history in career kills with 1229. Freedman was a member of Lehigh volleyball's first ever NCAA tournament team in 1997 and was a two-time All-Patriot League first-team honoree.
In 1996 Freedman appeared in 25 matches where she recorded 245 kills and 87 digs. Although her sophomore year was solid, things began to pick up for Freedman in 1997. Freedman had 411 kills in the '97 campaign, as she earned seven separate awards on the season. At the Lehigh Invitational early in the season, she won the tournament's MVP award after Lehigh was crowned champion. She also made the All-Tournament team at the 1997 Navy Classic. Freedman won Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week and Defensive Player of the Week on two separate occasions during the season. She earned All-Patriot League First Team honors and was the Patriot League Tournament MVP in 1997 after Lehigh won the league title and advanced to the NCAA tournament for the only time in school history.Freedman had a tremendous season in 1998 as she set the program record for most kills in a season with 566. She earned All-Tournament team recognitions at the Lehigh Mountain Hawk Classic, the Duquesne Invitational and the Northwestern Classic that season. Freedman not only earned Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week honors twice in 2008, but she was also named Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year as well.
Freedman excelled off the floor, graduating with a 3.59 grade point average in the classroom. She was a Presidential Scholar, member of the Dean's List in 1997 and 1998, a two-time Patriot League Scholar Athlete of the Year for volleyball, and an Academic All-District selection in 1998. After graduating with a B.S. in Biology, Freedman began her masters in Chemistry as a Presidential Scholar so she could pursue her dream as a perfumer. Freedman is now just one of only 500 perfumers in the entire world. Freedman and her husband live in London, England, as the couple has one child and is expecting the birth of their second child this spring.
Formal introduction into the Roger S. Penske/Lehigh Athletics Hall of Fame will take place on Saturday, April 30 and the induction is sponsored by the Lehigh Athletics Partnership. For more information, please contact Greg Strobel at (610) 758-3589 or gos2@lehigh.edu.
MHT EP13 - Baseball
Wednesday, March 25
Baseball vs. Holy Cross 2
Saturday, March 21
Baseball vs. Holy Cross 1
Saturday, March 21
Baseball vs. Navy
Saturday, March 14
