UNM Alumni Letterman's Association Kiosk

Jack Abendschan: Jack Abendschan

It’s probably not a coincidence that the three years Jack Abendschan played offensive guard for the University of New Mexico – 1962-1964 – were the three seasons UNM captured Western Athletic Conference titles. In fact, this is Abendschan’s second induction into the UNM Athletic Hall of Honor, the first being the entire 1961 team in 1990.

Abendschan was a three-year starter and was twice name first team All-WAC. He earned second team guard All-American honors from the Associated Press his senior year. Former teammate Gary Ness remembered, “Jack played the offensive and defensive guard positions on those teams during the one-platoon days. His pull around the end to lead sweep plays was a thing of beauty (or terror if you were the opponent cornerback).”

Abendschan enjoyed a storied career in professional football, too, playing 10 seasons (1965-1975) with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the Canadian Football League. He was a five-time all-conference selection at guard and kicker and played on the Roughriders’ 1966 Grey Cup championship team. In 1975, Jack was named to the Roughriders’ all-time team and in 1992, he was forever enshrined in Saskatchewan when he was inducted into the Roughrider Plaza of Honor and was recognized as one of the greatest players ever to wear a Saskatchewan uniform.

Abendschan’s accomplishments on the field were paralleled by his accomplishments off the field as a first-class citizen and businessman. His professional experience is divided into four career paths: professional football, human resource management, sales and marketing, and education and coaching.

Jack Abendschan’s induction into the UNM Hall of Honor is validated by his level of performance as an athlete, his representation of the University of New Mexico both by his accomplishments and his remarkable personal qualities and character, and the fact that he has remained that New Mexico high school athlete who played all out all of the time.
Jim Hulsman: Jim Hulsman

Born in Pittsburgh, Pa., Jim Hulsman came to New Mexico in 1940. He graduated from Albuquerque High School in 1949 under the leadership of Coach Pete McDavid. At AHS, he lettered in track and football. He lettered in basketball at the College of St. Joseph before moving to the University of New Mexico where he received his bachelor’s degree in 1959.

Shortly after returning from the Korean War, Jim first hung a whistle around his neck at Albuquerque High as head track and cross country coach and as an assistant coach for the football and basketball teams. In 1961, he took over as the Bulldogs’ head basketball coach and began a career full of honors and successful athletes lasting 41 years.

Students at Albuquerque High School always knew basketball season was about to begin when the boys on the basketball team appeared at school with a buzz cut at least ½ inch above their ears. Regardless of the current fashion and their personal preferences, Hulsman’s teams showed their respect for and loyalty to their coach by adhering to his requirements. He checked grades so often that he could intervene before the student fell too far behind. After an athlete was hurt, he was at the hospital to be with the family – almost before the ambulance.

Hulsman is also a historian of his players. He knew each player by name and continues to remember the smallest details about them – weight, height and funny anecdotes. Without prompting, Hulsman can name a number of kids he coached or taught, and then proudly proclaim that he also coached or taught their mother, father, aunt or uncle. He continues to celebrate successes with his players and he can tell you where they are, what they are doing and, sadly, remember who has passed on. He donated his unique and sizeable documentation on his players and Albuquerque’s Athletics to Zimmerman Library, thus distinguishing himself as a notable historian.

Hulsman became Albuquerque’s winningest coach with 660 wins, 24 state tournament appearances and seven state championships.

Hulsman is the recipient of two national coach of the year awards and was He was named state coach of the Year 15 times. He has been honored for his significant contributions to the field of education with the UNM Alumni Association’s Bernard Rodey Award. His list of speaking engagements goes on for pages.

After retirement, Coach Hulsman didn’t slow down. He taught basketball theory classes at UNM for upper-division students, coached basketball clinics in the U.S and abroad, served on the New Mexico Athletics Association Commission and the New Mexico Coaches Association Board of Directors.

Hulsman was also an accomplished baseball coach. He coached a local semi-pro team to a fifthplace finish at a national tournament in 1955. In 1972 he decided to forego a career managing baseball though he had compiled a 225-74 record as a manager at all levels before working as a baseball scout for the Cleveland Indians from 1962-1972.

At his side or in the seat behind him at games, his wife, Mary Lois, has always been deeply involved in the sports programs at Albuquerque High School. She continues her avid involvement and support of all Coach Hulsman’s activities.
Maria Gurreri: Maria Gurreri

During her time at the University of New Mexico, Maria Gurreri made a huge impact on her peers, professors and teammates. She was known for being a great leader, an intense competitor and a strong hitter. Maria was a four-year starter (1987-90) with the UNM volleyball team and team captain in 1990.

“Maria Gurreri exemplifies the image one perceives of a student-athlete. She is a UNM scholar-athlete; she was an outstanding competitor within conference play and on the national level; and when time permitted, Maria was involved with several community programs. She exhibited team leadership, particularly her senior year when she served as captain of the volleyball team,” said Pat Trainor, former director of the UNM women’s sports information office.

Gurreri was first tam all-conference in 1989 and ’90. As a senior, she was tournament MVP twice, WAC Player of the Week twice, Albuquerque Sports Hall of Fame Co-Female Athlete of the Year and WAC All-Academic Team with a grade-point-average of 3.02 in Nursing.

Gurreri played in the 1989 and 1991 U.S. Olympic Festivals, taking the gold medal as a team captain in ’89. She was praised for her power and strength despite being just 5-foot-9.

“She lit it up. She’s only 5-9, but she’s such a powerful jumper that it’s difficult for blockers to time her. And she’s definitely got a terminating arm swing,” said Olympic Festival South coach Lisa Love.

Originally from Amherst, N.Y., Gurreri received her bachelor’s degree in Nursing. She worked at UNM Hospital for a few years and then moved to Missoula, Mont., where she worked as a nurse.
Leanne Palmisano: Leanne Palmisano

Leanne Palmisano (1982-85), always thought her strength was as a doubles player, maybe because she grew up playing tennis with her sister and brother Sandi and Steve. In her senior year at UNM, she discovered that she had a singles game … and it took her to great heights.

Palmisano’s accomplishments peaked in 1985 when she became the first UNM woman tennis player to qualify for the NCAA Division I Tennis Championships. That year she won the Intermountain Conference Tournament in both singles and doubles and was named all-conference team for the second time. She was also named the Lobos’ team MVP.

“Doubles was my specialty. When I played with Kelli Fackel, we were nationally ranked my junior year, but didn’t make the NCAA. In my senior year, my singles play took off. I played several nationally ranked top-10 players and was fortunate to beat them,” Palmisano said.

Palmisano was excited to play tennis at UNM. “The opportunity to play in my hometown, at my hometown university was an honor,” she said. An added bonus, she said, was that she got to play for two years with her sister Sandi, two years her senior.

Palmisano made her way from the baseline to the sideline when she transitioned from player to coach after graduating. She only coached the Lobos one year, but continued to coach as she moved to Colorado to serve as head coach for both men’s and women’s tennis at the University of Denver. She brought out the best in her players, exemplified by conference championships three of the four years she coached there.

For the past 20 years, Palmisano has served as director of tennis for the Crestmoor Tennis Association in Denver.

Palmisano views her induction into the UNM Alumni Lettermen’s Association Hall of Honor as an unexpected accolade. “I didn’t anticipate it. It is dear to my heart, and I am privileged to be part of it and part of the group of honorees,” she said.
Joe Behl (posthumous): Joe Behl (posthumous)

Joe “Punchy” Behl was quarterback, basketball player and an all-conference baseball player for the Lobos from 1939-42. He died May 27, 2007 at the age of 88.

Behl grew up in Pennsylvania, though he considered himself a local. He arrived in Albuquerque in 1939 by train after UNM offered him an athletic scholarship. He packed his curveball when he made the move and was the first UNM pitcher to beat Arizona. It was 1941, but the draft forced him to trade the playing field for the battlefield.

As a naval reservist, he received officer and flight training and then went to San Diego

for his assignment in the Pacific as a torpedo pilot. He piloted a carrier-based Avenger on 23 combat missions and stacked up a commendable battle record. For his bravery, Behl was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and an Air Medal with five clusters. His proudest award came when he earned the nation’s second highest military honor – the Navy Cross – for disabling a Japanese aircraft carrier while a pilot off the USS Hornet. He later flew as a commercial pilot.

Behl signed with the Albuquerque Dukes in 1946 for $325 a month and $3 per day meal money. He also earned an additional $125 for driving the team bus. Behl pitched for the Dukes from 1946-48 and later served as a coach for a number of managers, including his good friend, Duke Snider.

When Behl played for the Dukes from 1946-48, one of his proudest distinctions is that he never allowed a home run to Joe Bauman, the slugger of lore who hit 72 homers for the Class D Roswell Rockets in 1954.

Sports wasn’t just a game for Behl, it was business. He ran a sporting goods store and the Red Lion restaurant, a popular hangout of Lobo fans.
George Heard (posthumous): George Heard (posthumous)

George L. Heard, better known as the “Buffalo,” was born in Laurel, Miss. At a very young age, his parents, the late Granget Heard and Wilma Heard moved the family to Phoenix. While attending South Mountain High School he lettered in football and track, receiving numerous awards in both sports. Heard was awarded a full football scholarship to UNM.

Because of his strength, size and speed, Heard’s teammates started calling him “Buffalo.” He displayed that speed by finishing second in the 100-yard dash at the 1961 Skyline Conference championships. Later that year, Heard and his UNM football teammates beat Western Michigan in the Aviation Bowl.

In 1962, “Buff” was selected as an All-WAC tight end and chosen to play in the All-American Bowl in Tampa, Fla. Heard graduated from UNM in 1963 with a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts.

After graduation, Heard played tight end for the Saskatchewan Rough Riders of the Canadian Football League. After pro football ended, he became a field agent for the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, known later as the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

By 1968, Heard was assigned to the Los Angeles regional office as a group supervisor where he had responsibility for overseeing the enforcement activities of 10-12 special agents. In 1979, Heard was promoted to Resident Agent-in-Charge of the DEA office in Las Vegas, Nev. He was transferred to Miami’s Field Division in 1982 where he was appointed Director of the Florida Joint Task Group. As the director, Heard provided leadership and directed the activities of a combined staff of approximately 200 DEA, U.S. Customs managers and drug investigators.

Many promotions and relocations ensued, culminating in his appointment as Special Agent-in-Charge covering the northern, eastern, and western districts of Texas, and all of Oklahoma. It was during this tenure that Heard witnessed first-hand the destruction of lives and property that resulted from the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995. His professional duties—yet more importantly, his very humanity—required that Heard counsel and comfort fellow agents, as well as their families.

Heard retired from federal service in 1996, spending his remaining years traveling with his beloved wife and daughters, golfing, riding his Kawasaki Vulcan Motorcycle, spending time with his parents, his brother, five sisters, and coaching various youth basketball and football teams for his grandsons.
Jeff Apodaca Distinguished Service Award: Jeff Apodaca Distinguished Service Award

• Santa Fe native who played football at UNM from 1983-85, and graduated with a degree in Communication & Broadcast Management

• A cancer survivor, Apodaca spent 1983 as the American Cancer Societies national spokesperson and continues to work with children fighting cancer…in 1999, Apodaca founded the Jeff Apodaca Celebrations of Life Fund, which has raised over $1 million for cancer survivors and the Children’s Hospital of New Mexico…Apodaca was treated for his rare sarcoma from 1979-1980.

• Vice President of Integrated Sales and Marketing for Univision Communications UVN, the leading Spanish-language media company in the United States.

• Also served as Vice President of Sales and Operations Southwest/West Coast for the Excite Network where he created and launched successful integrated sales programs for numerous high-profile clients
Jerry Apodaca Distinguished Service Award: Jerry Apodaca Distinguished Service Award

• Played football at UNM from 1954-56

• Teacher, coach, businessman, entrepreneur, author and publisher, politician, State Senator and Governor of New Mexico

• Elected to the New Mexico State Senate in 1966 and re-elected in 1970 and 1972

• In 1974, he was elected New Mexico’s first Hispanic Governor since 1918

• Served as Chairman of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports in 1979-80

• Named to the UNM Board of Regents in 1985, and served as president for two years

• Received numerous honors and recognition, including “One of the Leaders of Tomorrow” by Time magazine (1974), Distinguished Service to Higher Education from CASE (1977), LULAC Hall of Fame (1987) and Man of the Year by the Grand Council of Hispanic Societies in Public Service (1988)
Ray Birmingham Coach of the Year: Ray Birmingham Coach of the Year

• UNM finished 34-25 record and 16-8 (2nd) in the Mountain West in Birmingham’s first season…34 wins ties for seventh on the all-time Lobo wins list

• The Lobos appeared in the MWC Tournament championship game for the first time

• UNM began the season 7-0, the best start since 1973

• UNM had eight players named to the All-Mountain West Conference teams

• Catcher Rafael Neda became the first Lobo to be named Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year…Neda was also named to three Freshman All-America teams
Katie Coronado Female Athlete of the Year: Katie Coronado Female Athlete of the Year

Track & Field

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• Finished 2nd in the javelin at the NCAA Championships – the highest NCAA finish ever by a UNM woman and best by a Lobo (man or woman) at the NCAA meet since 1985

• Placed 6th at the U.S. Olympic Trials

• MWC javelin champion for the second straight year

• NCAA Midwest Regional javelin champion – the first UNM woman to win a regional title

• Posted a 9-1 head-to-head record vs. collegiate competition during the season

• Broke her own school record and moved into second on the MWC all-time list (179′ 6″) and became the first UNM woman to throw over 170 feet in the javelin

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John Sullivan Male Athlete of the Year: John Sullivan Male Athlete of the Year

Football

• From walk-on to consensus 1^st team All-America kicker in 2007

• Set school and conference records, and led the nation by making 29 field goals (in 35 attempts) in 12 games

• Led the nation by making 2.42 FGs per game, the highest average in college football since 1984

• Also made a school-record 18 consecutive FGs during one stretch

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