Hall of Fame
Whether serving as an educator, a coach or a sports official, David Markwell has excelled at a high level. His accomplishments display a versatility along with proven results that have been achieved by a select few throughout the state of Illinois.
That versatility was first shown on the baseball diamond at McKendree, where David was a four-year letterman for the Bearcats. He served as team captain as a senior. A pitcher and outfielder at McKendree, David led the team in both hitting and earned-run average as a junior. He also spent two years as a member of the Bearcats’ basketball program.
Following his graduation from McKendree, David embarked on a career that saw him serve as an educator, coach and athletic director at various schools around the state. In 1983, he led the Beecher High School baseball program to a runner-up finish in the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Class A state baseball championship. For his efforts, David earned Coach of the Year accolades and was selected to coach in the East-West All-Star Game. David also served on the IHSA Baseball Advisory Committee from 1984-88. Four times in his baseball coaching career, David was named as Coach of the Year.
In 1988, David took a teaching/coaching position at Oakwood High School. In more than two decades as the school’s wrestling coach, he led his teams to nine conference titles, 11 county championships and eight regional crowns. In his time at Oakwood, David coached 33 state qualifiers, 11 state place winners and even one high school All-American.
In a coaching career that included baseball, wrestling, basketball, cross country and track, David had a hand in nearly 770 team victories. A nine-time wrestling Coach of the Year honoree, he was inducted into the Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Hall of Fame in 2009.
Along with his coaching accolades, David was also an accomplished official in the IHSA. He was a baseball, softball and basketball official for more than three decades. David was picked to work state finals events in both basketball and baseball by the IESA for three years. David was also selected to umpire several USSSA National Tournament events.
