Heidelberg Athletics Hall of Fame
Those who saw him play best remember his famous hook shot on the basketball court or his fastball sending batter back to the dugout shaking their heads.
Chris Reichert, with his 6'7", 235 pound frame was definitely an intimidating figure in Heidelberg sports.
Coming to Heidelberg from Montezuma and Celina High School, Reichert finished a career totaling 1,702 points to rank 11th on the all-time Ohio Athletic Conference list of scorers.
His intimidating factor was also shown on the boards where he finished with 1,043 rebounds to rank 10th on the all-time OAC chart.
He started every game in four seasons for the Student Princes and established a number of Heidelberg career records including: games, 103; points, 1,702; rebounds, 1,043; field goal percentage, .524; field goal attempts, 1,369; field goals, 718; and personal fouls, 380.
Reichert was the first Heidelberg player to score 400 or more points in three successive seasons (451 as a sophomore, 495 as a junior, and 488 as a senior) and the first with 200 or more rebounds in three successive seasons (278 in 1976-77, 281 in 1977-78, and 292 in 1978-79).
His coach, John Hill, once labeled him as the best offensive center in the OAC.
"The game I remember most was against Memphis State. Chris had 22 points and the coach gave him the game ball. He was unstoppable. No one could stop the Reichert Hook," Hill said. Reichert also pulled down eight rebounds in that battle.
Reichert gave credit to coach Dave Grube (current head coach at Kent State University) with convincing him that Heidelberg was his next move out of high school.
When it came to baseball, Reichert was considered one of the best hurlers in the OAC. Named to the Dean's List while at Heidelberg, Reichert had an 88 percent winning percentage in baseball in garnering All-OAC first team honors in 1977 while earning honorable mention in 1976 and 1979.
His baseball career statistics included 373 strikeouts; 24 wins; 35 complete games; 2.95 earned run average; 19 strikeouts in a nine-inning game; and 17 strikeouts in a seven-inning game.
Residing in Lexington, Kentucky, he has been employed by Reynolds and Reynolds for over nine years as a sales representative, earning the top selling award for five years. He is active in youth baseball and basketball as a coach, umpire, and league official; including president of the Garden Springs Baseball League.
The success story continues.
(This profile appeared in the 1992 Hall of Fame Banquet program. Â Mr. Reichert passed away on Feb. 24, 2013, at the age of 55.)
