In 2019, Bill Hammel among 14 former athletes named to The Dalles High School Riverhawk Booster Club Hall of Fame
Two
stories in October 2019 by Ray Rodriguez in The
Dalles Chronicle are about the first The Dalles High School Riverhawk
Booster Club Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony at The Civic Auditorium in The
Dalles (TD).
Among
14 men and women “named to the highest honor of interscholastic athletics" was Bill
Hammel, a 1966 grad of Wahtonka High School of The Dalles.
Bill
and his wife, Barb Hammel, both Linfield Class of 1970 members, are wheat and cattle ranchers on
Fifteenmile in The Dalles’ Petersburg loop.
Bill
and the 13 others were “celebrated by family members, friends and peers for their
accomplishments at the high school level while at The Dalles and Wahtonka High
School.”
“It
is pretty awesome to go back and look at what these individuals meant and the
impact that they had on The Dalles athletics in the past,” said retired coach
and teacher, Dave Cornell.
“By
doing this, the booster club cemented the legacy of these athletes and their
families. It is important to highlight the past and show all the younger
athletes coming up that they have the chance to be up on that stage one day.”
Bill’s
write-up in the story (with minor edits) follows:
Bill Hammel excelled
in football, basketball and track and field while at Wahtonka High School from
1963-1966.
In his three years,
Hammel lettered in football, basketball and track and field, and in his senior
year, he won all-conference and all-state honors after helping the football team
advance to the district playoffs and added an all-state nod in basketball. He
won co-Athlete of the Year in high school and played in the Shriner’s Hospital
football game.
He earned a football
scholarship to play at Eastern Oregon University in La Grande until transferring
to Linfield College in McMinnville as a sophomore, played defensive tackle,
backup offensive tackle and tight end and was a Northwest Conference all-star.
Hammel earned his
business degree from Linfield and mainly works on his farm. He is currently
serving on six conservation boards.
“Thanks to the
committee for this and to all the coaches I have had that helped train me to
get to the next level in the sports that I played in,” Hammel said. “I really
enjoyed it. I would like to thank my mom and dad who were very supportive of
what I did.”
# End of story. #
Note: In 2004 the two
public high schools in The Dalles, The Dalles High School and Wahtonka High
School, merged to become The Dalles Wahtonka High School. In 2013 the school
changed its name to "The Dalles High School."
#
