Hall of Fame Class of 2024: Bob Kaczka

Bob Kaczka says it was pure luck that brought him to South Carolina from New Jersey to run track. It turned out to be great luck for the Gamecocks as Kaczka (1968-1971) enjoyed a brilliant career that landed him as one of nine members in the 2024 class of the Association of Letterman’s Athletics Hall of Fame.

“I went to a Catholic High School, and I’m at the Parochial A championships,” Kaczka recalled. “On that day, there are probably four state championship meets going on. I was just very fortunate to have (former South Carolina) Coach (Weems) Baskin there to see me run. He could have been at any one of those other meets, and I wouldn’t have been at South Carolina. He called me over after the race, and my father and I sat down to talk with him. I was originally headed out to go to Ashland College in Ohio. He called me at home later and told me he would like me to come to South Carolina and offered a full scholarship. Having a father who was a mailman and a mother who worked in an electronics facility, and a brother already in college, you couldn’t turn it down. Coming to South Carolina was the best decision I think ever made!”

Kaczka ran mostly middle-distance events and was the ACC Indoor Champion in the 1000 meters in 1969 and 1970, and he also took home ACC titles in the Outdoor 800 meters both of those years well. He also earned All-America honors in 1970 after finishing sixth at the NCAA Championships in the 800 meters. He held the school record in the 1000 meters at South Carolina from 1969 until it was broken last spring by Aidan Hatton, for which Kaczka personally sent a congratulatory note.

Among his greatest memories overall are the friendships he developed with teammates that exist to this day, as well as a neat full-circle moment while competing.

“In my senior year we were running the sprint medley at the Penn Relays,” said Kaczka. “We beat Villanova, who I think had 17 straight Penn Relay championship races under their belt. We beat them, and the news media was all over that. (Assistant) Coach Rob Brown is standing and talking with the news reporters, and all of the sudden, I Iook off to the left and I see my freshman high school coach. I hadn’t seen him in five or six years. The fact that he got to share in that moment is something I’ll always remember.”

Kaczka enjoys maintaining connections with his South Carolina track family as well.

“Now, there is a group of about 50 of us that still have an email link where share stories and keep up with one another,” said Kaczka, who lives in Brookfield, Connecticut. “It’s a group that stays together even if some of them came in years before or a few years after I was there. There’s something about the track team. We’re a tight group of individuals.”

Kaczka earned his degree in business marketing in 1971 and earned master’s in education in 1974. He worked with the Special Olympics in the area while completing his master’s and then took a job teaching in college closer to home. He and his wife, Kristeen, were married in 1975. He went on to work with Merrill Lynch as an investment advisor and office manager from 1984 until retiring in 2018. He stays busy golfing, fishing, traveling and also volunteers to drive seniors to medical appointments in his area. He has been coming back to campus with his former teammates regularly since 2009.

“To see the difference in the program, how it has grown, and the facilities they put up is just incredible,” Kaczka said. “My freshman year we ran on a cinder track. My sophomore year they put in some kind of rubberized asphalt track. You’d wear out a pair of shoes out there in short order.”

While he’s familiar with changes on campus, his next visit to Columbia for Hall of Fame Weekend will be extra special.

“I was stunned,” Kaczka said about hearing of selection for the Hall of Fame. “I was at a loss for words. I’m very honored to be recognized with this elite group of people.

“I’m looking forward to seeing my teammates who are down in the area. We always try to get together.”

The Kaczkas have two grown sons, Evan and Jonathan, and two grandchildren.