Friday marks the retirement of a legend at Wabash. Chick will end a 35-year association with the College as equipment manager for the athletics program.
You won't find his name listed on any of the coaching lists, but no Wabash team would ever be able to take the field without his help, not to mention the quiet, confident counsel he's provided to hundreds, if not thousands of Little Giant athletes.
If you've spent any time in the Allen Athletics and Recreation Center during a reunion or homecoming weekend, you know he's the first stop when many alumni return to campus. Coaches have come and gone over the last four decades and the facilities have been through a couple of renovations. But Chick has always been "in the cage."
Yes, Chick remains in the cage, but only for five more days.
However, what won't end on Friday is his devotion to Wabash sports as a diehard fan and supporter. Whether perched in his high-back chair at the end of Chadwick Court during basketball games, or kneeling on a white towel on the football sidelines, Chick has been witness to virtually every Wabash athletic milestone since the 1960s.
Indeed, he's seen plenty of games over his career. He saw the Little Giants win the national title in basketball in 1982 and saw the football team just miss bringing back the 1977 crown.
The games, though, don't stand out. The stories do.
I love hearing the stories that alumni tell about Chick. They're never about the big game or what he did as part of his job at Wabash, lining fields, setting up bleachers, or washing grass and blood stains from football uniforms.
The stories are always about what Chick meant to a Wabash man on a personal level. He's been a friend, a person to talk to, a father figure for so many Wabash students and athletes that have come through the locker room hallways in the last 35 years.
That one-on-one connection Chick made was for so many Little Giants a very real difference in their lives. And that's precisely why alumni come back to see him—to renew that connection and to say thanks for all the little and big things that Chick did for them during their time at Wabash.
The personal side of Chick Clements is, in fact, the principal reason why he has been inducted into the Wabash Athletic Hall of Fame and is an honorary alumnus of the College.
He'll still be one of the biggest Wabash supporters on game days, but now he'll have more time to spend with one of his biggest supporters, his wife, Janet.
Chick Clements will close the door of the equipment room for the final time Friday. But take a look at the west end of Chadwick Court this year and I'd be willing to bet that you'll see him in his familiar spot, cheering for another Wabash win, while being the first person to congratulate a winning team or console a team that came up short.
Chick Clements—Some Little Giant!
Note: A retirement reception will be held for Chick Clements on Friday afternoon, from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. in the Allen Center Lounge. The public is cordially invited to attend.