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Ted Caldwell stood out on the soccer pitch and on the lacrosse field, literally.
At 6’7” tall, the “Jolly Green Giant” – as he was referred to in historical media guides – intimidated the opposition between the pipes for The College of Wooster soccer team from 1966-69 and posed match-up problems for opposing defenders as a member of the Fighting Scots’ first lacrosse teams from 1968-70.
Caldwell had the uniqueness of playing two sports that experienced tremendous growth during his time as a student-athlete. His primary focus, soccer, grew at the conference level as the Ohio Athletic Conference began to sponsor a soccer championship in 1969, while lacrosse officially became a varsity sport at Wooster during Caldwell’s sophomore year.
On the pitch, Caldwell helped lead the Scots to four-straight NCAA Midwest Regional appearances as part of the NCAA College Division Tournament (Div. III as we know it today did not yet exist) and recorded huge save numbers, but the towering goalkeeper deflected the credit to his teammates.
“I had the privilege of playing with some excellent athletes who were skilled at keeping the ball away from the goal,” he said.
Despite his modesty, Caldwell earned a spot on the All-Ohio Collegiate Soccer Association Team all four seasons, capping his career as a first-team honoree after second-team selections as a freshman and junior and honorable mention status as a sophomore. Wooster compiled a fine record of 31-15-5 (.657) during his tenure, highlighted by winning that inaugural OAC soccer championship (7-0) as a senior in 1969. He also played in the Ohio College All-Star Game that year, the first of its kind.
As a lacrosse player, Caldwell joined the program’s inaugural team in 1968, and was the team’s top goal scorer with 23 tallies as a junior after 18 as a sophomore. He would score seven goals and distribute two assists in three games as a senior, missing most of the season due to illness.
“We wore old football uniforms, ill-fitting helmets, and shattered a lot of wooden sticks,” Caldwell fondly recalled. “We were competitive with most well-established programs.”
After graduating from Wooster in 1970, the economics major taught mathematics, science, French, and social studies at St. Mary’s Academy in Glens Falls, N.Y. He left teaching to become a self-employed building contractor in the Lake George, N.Y. area, then later returned to education with stops as a building trades teacher in a cooperative education program and a resource supervisor at three rural Adirondack school districts leading up to his retirement in 2010.
Personally, Caldwell married Jane Neill, also a member of the Class of 1970, and they have two grown children – sons Ruben (37) and Sam (34). They reside in Bolton Landing, N.Y., and Caldwell keeps active hiking local trails, spending time on Lake George, snowshoeing, cross country skiing, and tending to very large vegetable gardens.