Knox College Athletics

What can I say about Reverend Hosutt…I could start by telling you about the midnight painting raid on Mother Bickerdyke; or maybe the midnight raid on the Beta heist to heist the Beta Bell; or possibly the early morning raid on Monmouth College to return the Bronze Turkey to its rightful owner.  We should have known then and there that in our midst was a person with a tremendous energy level and one blessed with finely honed athletic skills.

My good friend, teammate, and classmate is known to Knox College and his many friends as “Pete,” and to his professional colleagues and congregation members as “Reverend Chuck.”  No matter what name he responds to, he brings the same persona: a warm, caring, loving, tough, competitive human being.

I had the opportunity to witness Pete’s athletic prowess and competitive fire first hand…yet a letter I received from Pete when he was stationed in Europe with the 11th Airborne Division where he was the Division Chaplain and the captain of the 11th Airborne Division Football team says it all—he wrote, “ I love what I am doing with the troops…I knock them down on Saturday and pick them up on Sunday!”  (Yes, he was also a paratrooper and I am told was affectionately known as the “jumpin’ preach”!)
            
Pete graduated from Knox in 1955, leaving behind an outstanding example of leadership and hard work in everything he touched.  Pete has given life all he has to give, as he always did on the field of athletics.

Pete was a four-year starter on the varsity football team, which he co-captained his senior year. During his four years on the team, he earned Honorable Mention from the Midwest Conference and received Little All-American Honorable Mention honors by the Chicago Tribute in 1954.  An active member of his fraternity, he was also named a Phi Delta Theta National Fraternity Little All-American.
               
Pete’s football career did not end when he left Knox. In 1955, he co-captained the U.S. Armored Center Team at Ft. Knox, Kentucky and later, when stationed in Augsburg, Germany, captained the 11th Airborne Division squad as previously noted.

Both as an undergraduate and  Knox Alumnus, Pete Hosutt has touched the lives of many people, as an athlete, a pastor, and a citizen of the world.  Pete was a gifted athlete--a fierce competitor--and more importantly he represents all that Knox stands for: intellectual achievement, personal and professional achievement, leadership, dedication, commitment and the LOVE of God, Family, Country and the Siwash.