Heidelberg Athletics Hall of Fame
William "Bill" Yackey joins the Hall of Fame with three varsity sports under his belt at Heidelberg. Yackey was a four-year letter winner in both basketball and football while competing in one season of baseball.
Although Yackey was a three-sport star at Heidelberg, he is best known as a basketball player. He was a four-year starting point guard for the Paul Hoernemann coached Student Princes. Yackey and teammate Kenny Mast combined to be one of the best backcourt tandems in Heidelberg history. Yackey was the team captain during his senior season when The Berg finished 14-3 posting the best winning percentage in school history. For his outstanding performance on the hardwood, he was voted Honorable Mention on the All-Ohio Conference Team.
Yackey also played football under the direction of head coach Hoernemann in an era when "winning was the rule and not the exception." As a 17-year-old freshman he secured a starting spot as a defensive halfback for the Student Princes. In his four seasons of football, the Student Princes went a combined 29-4-1. Yackey is also a member of the 1948 Hall of Fame team.
After college, he spent 39 years in various plant management and human resource positions with companies such as Babcock and Wilcox, Tyler Refrigeration, and Clark Equipment Company. He has negotiated more than 60 labor agreements with international unions including United Auto Workers, Teamsters, Machinist, Steelworkers, and Allied Industrial Workers. Yackey is currently retired and resides in Sarasota, Florida.
Bill married Heidelberg graduate Julia Burkholder in August of 1951. They now have three children and eight grandchildren.
(This profile was published in the Hall of Fame Banquet program.)Â
