Gary Grodzicki, a Village of Santiago resident since 2012, was recently honored by his alma mater and inducted into its athletic hall of fame.
Grodzicki took the baseball field and basketball court as a Yellow Jacket at American International College from 1970 to 1974.
The Meriden, Conn. native was a three-year starter on the basketball team and a three year pitcher on the baseball team under former New York Yankee pitcher and AIC baseball coach, Art Ditmar, as well as former AIC baseball coach Richard Bedard.
On the basketball court, he scored over 600 points in 70 games and averaged double figures in scoring his senior season, receiving the Christopher Ellis “Outstanding Hustle” basketball awards in both the 1972-73 and 1973-74 seasons.
In baseball, Grodzicki was a standout pitcher and ranks third in wins in a single season and completed his baseball career with a 2.28 ERA. In 1974, he was named co-captain of the baseball team and was awarded the prestigious F. J. Maloney Trophy as the college’s “Most Outstanding Athlete” for a four-year period.
Grodzicki served as a credit union executive for over 35 years and retired shortly after moving to The Villages, but is still actively involved as a “Wish Granter” for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Central and Northern Florida. He was also inducted into his high school athletics hall of fame in 2006.
