From field to classroom with Dr. Wib Leonard
NORMAL, Ill. — Dr. Wib Leonard has dedicated his life to sports. Now in his mid-70s, he’s spent over 60 years as an athlete and scholar.
Even before entering organized sports, Wib played pick-up games with his friends and neighbors in his small Appalachian town in Western Pennsylvania—everything from baseball, basketball, and football to track and wrestling. He began in earnest as an athlete in 7th grade and has continued to play ever since, even on a faculty basketball team at ISU. He went on to practice sport in theory by developing the first course in the sociology of sport, which he has taught for nearly 50 years. Later, he coached his young son in soccer and baseball, teaching the next generation the lessons he’s learned through sports.
From the beginning, Wib’s athletic career was filled with accolades. He recounts, “I graduated from Northern Cambria High School in 1961—wow, that’s a long time ago. I was a multiple-sport athlete, captain, and letter winner. In football, I was co-captain of the team and received the prestigious Duffy Dougherty Award, named after the former football coach at Michigan State.” As a high school student, he broke 14 records and tied two others on his conference-winning basketball team. His senior year, he averaged nearly 25 points per game and scored a record 56 points in one game. (Keep in mind, this was before the three-point arc was established.) This record stands after nearly 60 years and earned him a spot in the “Pennsylvania Individual High Scoring Efforts in Basketball History.”
After receiving a “tender” (the scholarships of the era), Wib played both basketball and football at Albright College. He excelled on the football field, receiving two invitations to try out for professional football teams and getting inducted into both his high school’s and college’s Halls of Fame. Years later while at Ohio State, Wib became a “protégé” of the well-known Buckeye football coach, Woody Hayes. According to Wib, “This is one of my claims to sports fame! I was a student at the time and enjoyed the hoopla of OSU winning the 1968 national football championship.”
Outside of athletics, Wib has always been committed to academics. He studied psychology in undergrad, then went on to pursue his master’s from the University of Pennsylvania and his Ph.D. in sociology from Ohio State. Wib comes from a long line of teachers and educators. Wib explains, “On my paternal side alone, the Leonard family has been in education for over 230 years!”
Wib came to Illinois State in 1970 as a social psychologist and social statistician, diving head-first into the sociology of sport. Wib remembers, “I was a charter member of the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport and have been (past) president, program chair, organizer, and presenter of sessions and papers over the years. I’ve authored six editions of a college textbook titled A Sociological Perspective of Sport, a monograph titled Immortality in Sports: A Sociology of Media, Fame and Infamy, as well as several editions of a text entitled Basic Social Statistics and Sociometrics.” This is in addition to the 50+ articles he’s published in sociology and sport sciences journals and the editorial boards he’s served on.
Wib’s classroom career has been as impressive as his sports journey. Still a Professor of Sociology in ISU’s Sociology-Anthropology Department, Wib is a Distinguished Lecturer and continues to teach full-time. According to Wib, “This is my 51st year, which registers me as the longest full-time teaching professor in ISU’s 160+ year history. My career has merited an annual scholarship titled ‘The Dr. Wib Leonard Scholarship in the Sociology of Sport’.” He’s also been a Faculty Representative to the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics.
At the core of his research, Wib believes that “the social world of sports facilitates symbolic immortality by providing the settings, occasions, mechanisms, processes, and dynamics through which its participants can be remembered, eulogized, and endeared. Because of a unique constellation of characteristics, the social world of sports is a fertile ground for cementing one’s legacy and leaving footprints in the sands of time.” It’s this philosophy that has kept sports as a central and integral part of his life.
Looking back, sports were a social bridge for Wib to his peers, parents, and coaches. He reflects, “What I learned was that sports participation can build character, teach self-discipline and leadership, and produce physical and mental fitness and toughness. I also learned to persevere and not give up when the going got rough.”
Despite his decades of success, Wib’s sports socialization was a journey. He wanted to quit after a particularly tough 7th grade football practice. His mother’s response was, “If you quit now, you may quit in the future.” His father told him, “There are no excuses. Do what has to be done and what’s expected of you.” Their wisdom resonated with young Wib and carried him through that season and beyond.
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