College of Wooster alumni Paul Dodez '35 and Matt Palm '95 are among the Wayne County Sports Hall of Fame inductees. This year's induction is taking place on June 24 at Greystone Event Center in Wooster.
Dodez, a football star for the College in the early-to-mid 1930s, helped Wooster to an 8-1 record and an Ohio Athletic Conference championship as a senior in 1934. That year, Wooster outscored its eight OAC opponents 231-35. The tackle earned honorable mention All-OAC honors as a senior and was part of teams that went 24-8-3 while enrolled as a student. Per The Index, Wooster's yearbook, Dodez was a baseball manager in addition to playing in the football team.
Dodez came to Wooster from nearby Mount Eaton High School, where he was a baseball and basketball standout. Most impressive was Dodez's ability to contribute on Wooster's football team despite him not playing in high school due to Mount Eaton not having a team. After graduating from Wooster, Dodez embarked on a career in education and service. He coached Wooster High School's baseball (1944-50), basketball (1945-47), football (1945-47), and swimming (1950-55) teams, became the junior high school principal for Wooster City Schools in 1957, helped plan Edgewood Junior High School, which opened in 1963, and was on the board for the Wooster YMCA at the time its present-day facility opened. Dodez passed away at in 1984.
Palm earned two All-North Coast Athletic Conference certificates as a catcher for Wooster's tradition-rich baseball program. He was a four-year letterwinner for the Scots and played on the program's 1994 NCAA Div. III "World Series" team. At Wooster, Palm helped the program make two NCAA regional appearances, win the 1994 Mideast Regional, win the 1995 NCAC title, and the program went 112-55-2 during his career.
Palm prepped at Smithville High School, where he was a baseball, basketball, and golf standout. In baseball, Palm earned first-team all-league honors three times and batted .430 with six home runs, 64 runs, and 62 RBI. In basketball, he earned first-team all-district honors as a senior and two all-conference laurels, while in golf, Palm was tabbed for the all-conference team as a senior.
Since graduating from Wooster, Palm has pursued a coaching and administrative career at the collegiate level. Palm got his start under fellow Wooster alumnus Kevin Howard at Emory University, and later guided Heidelberg to 459 victories, five OAC regular-season championships, four OAC Tournament titles, six NCAA regional appearances, one regional title, and a Div. III "World Series" berth in 15 years at the helm of the baseball program. He served as athletic director at Heidelberg from 2008-21. At present, Palm is assistant athletic director and head baseball coach at Div. II University of Findlay.
Wooster High School coaching legend Mike Gallagher is also part of this year's class. He was a volunteer assistant with the women's basketball staff at the College following his retirement from coaching at the high school level.
Tickets to the Wayne County Sports Hall of Fame induction are $35 for adults and $20 for children 12-and-under. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., dinner is served at 6 p.m., and the induction program starts at 7 p.m. To reserve a spot at the dinner and induction ceremony, please email waynecountysportshof@yahoo.com and include name of guests. Payment is due at the door on the night of the banquet.