Hall of Fame
A two-sport record-holder at UW-Oshkosh, Gary Wild showed outstanding athletic ability at Dodgeland High School in Juneau where he earned 10 letters and was named to all-conference teams in football and basketball.
Wild brought his exceptional speed and ability to UW-Oshkosh, setting school records in football and baseball.
In football, he tied a UW-Oshkosh record by scoring four touchdowns in the 1976 Homecoming Game against St. Norbert College. Wild, who ended a four-year football career at UW-Oshkosh by receiving All-WSUC honors in 1976, ranks as UW-Oshkosh's all-time leader in yards on pass receptions (2,114), kick-off returns (58), yards on kick-off returns (1,375) and yards on punt returns (620). Wild's long scoring plays excited fans of UW-Oshkosh football as he returned a kick-off 96 yards against UW-Stevens Point (1974), returned a punt 60 yards against UW-Eau Claire (1976) and caught a pass and took it 82 yards against UW-Stevens Point (1973).
Wild used his speed in baseball to steal a single-season record of 38 bases (1977) and 79 for his career, the second-highest mark in UW-Oshkosh history. He was afforded the opportunity to steal bases with a .343 lifetime batting average with 82 hits and 73 bases on balls in 312 total at bats.
Wild currently lives in Fond du Lac where he works for an automobile dealership there.
*- Wild was inducted into the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2018 as a referee.
