IUP Athletic Hall of Fame
As a pitcher on the IUP baseball team from 1962-65, Rodney Ruddock amassed numerous accomplishments but gave up very few hits.
In his very first varsity start in 1962, Ruddock tossed a one-hit gem against Saint Francis. He then threw a no-hitter in each of the next two years and narrowly missed a third no-hitter in his senior season of 1964, giving up a single to Clarion with two outs in the seventh.
Ruddock's stellar 1964 season garnered a spot on the NAIA All-America team as he finished with a miniscule earned run average of 0.80 to rank 16th in the nation in that category.
As the ace of the staff, Ruddock led the 1964 Indians to the District 30 championship and the NAIA Area 8 title game. The Indians lost to eventual national champion West Liberty State, which featured future Major League pitcher Joe Niekro.
In 1965, his senior season, Ruddock was co-captain with Larry Panaia. Ruddock, who has been enshrined in the Indiana County Sports Hall of Fame since April 2002, has the unique distinction of throwing ceremonial first pitches at Forbes Field, Three Rivers Stadium and PNC Park.
Ruddock recently completed 35 years in public education and 37 years in military service. He was a long-time principal at the Indiana Junior and Senior high schools and spent a total of 25 years as a school administrator for the Indiana Area School District. Ruddock was elected to a four-year term as an Indiana County Commissioner in January 2004.
He has also served on IUP's Presidential Advisory Committee on Athletic Policy, including 10 years as the committee chairman, and was appointed to the Advisory Committee of the John P. Murtha Homeland Security Institute at IUP.
Ruddock retired from military service with the rank of Major General. He began his military career in 1965 when he was commissioned a second lieutenant from the ROTC program at IUP. Ruddock is a graduate of the prestigious Army War College and served on active duty with the Army Security Agency during the Vietnam War.
Ruddock coached baseball on the high school level and officiated football, basketball and baseball on both the interscholastic and collegiate levels.
Ruddock holds both a bachelor's and master's degree from IUP and was a 1996 recipient of the IUP Distinguished Alumni Award.
Ruddock and his wife Ellen are the parents of sons Dana and Darin and have two granddaughters.
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