Among the eight inductees, one particular candidate stands out among the rest.  That is not taking away what the other 7 inductees did for the school, but I personally feel that Gary Pinkel helped the standard for MAC football.

Gary Pinkel was the head coach of the Rockets for 10 years from 1991-2000. Before he left to accept the head coaching position at Missouri, he racked up the most wins in school history (73), as well as the highest winning percentage (.659) among those coaches who coached for at least three seasons. He won a MAC Championships in 1995, when his team went 11-0-1, won the Las Vegas Bowl and ended the season ranked No. 22 in the final coaches poll. He also led his team to MAC West Division titles in 1997 and 1998. In his final season in 2000, Pinkel’s Rockets went 10-1, including a 24-6 win at Penn State. His teams ranked in the Top 25 in three different seasons (1995, 1997 and 2000). He was MAC Coach of the Year in 1995 and 1997. He currently is the head coach at the University of Missouri, where his team has cracked the top 10 in each of the past two seasons.

The authors here at Midnight Blue and Gold spent a game or two watching Pinkel pull out miracle wins and fantastic trick plays. I wasn’t a student at the University yet, but I did make the trip north to visit a friend who helped provide the music at the games during Pinkel’s last season and I must say that hearing that cannon shoot off 10 times in one game, now seems like a distant memory. Pinkel was a great coach and and even better person and gave the community something to be proud of. Here’s to you Gary Pinkel, and to the rest of the 2009 Hall of Fame class. Thank you all for representing the University and the city of Toledo with class.