Dick Matchinsky '57 accomplished some truly remarkable things on the basketball court during his time at Saint John's University.
But perhaps his most remarkable feat was getting there in the first place.
When the Melrose native was 13, he and his twin brother Bob were diving into the Sauk River and he struck a rock and broke his neck.
"Of course, he walked home," his daughter Amy (Matchinsky) Miller said. "He said he got 30 stitches in his head. When we were growing up, he'd show us the scar.
"He always had neck issues, and later in life, his doctor couldn't believe he'd been able to play sports after that happened. Much less at a high level."
But Matchinsky did play at a high level, starting four seasons for the Johnnies and finishing his career with 1,581 career points – a total that still ranks second in school history and is even more amazing when one considers it came before the advent of the 3-point shot.
He earned All-MIAC honors as a junior in 1955-56 when he ranked second in the conference in scoring with a 21.6 points per game average in league play. Matchinsky averaged in double figures scoring all four seasons in Collegeville, including averaging more than 20 points per game as a junior and senior.
"He was a great outside shooter who came in and started right away as a freshman," recalls former teammate Bill Sexton '55, the first All-American in SJU basketball history and a 2019 inductee into the SJU J-Club Hall of Honor. "I got to play with him for two years and I thought he was just excellent."
Matchinsky's exploits were not confined to the basketball court. He also played end on the SJU football team, including during legendary head coach John Gagliardi's first season in Collegeville in 1953.
And, for a time, he was a thrower in track and field.
"My Dad was always very active," said Miller, the youngest of six siblings. "He hunted and fished a lot, and he instilled a love of athletics in all us kids. We each played some sport or another, and we did a lot of activities outside."
Matchinsky was part of ROTC at Saint John's and served in the military following graduation. He also continued playing basketball at the semi-pro level for the Kansas City Kaycees of the National Industrial Basketball League.
He then moved on to a long career in the insurance business.
Matchinsky married his high school sweetheart Jackie in 1955, and the family resided in St. Cloud, Detroit Lakes and Perham before moving to Arizona in 1980. But wherever they went, a connection to SJU followed.
"He was a member of the J-Club and I know he supported the school," said Miller of her father, who passed away in March of 2021.
Jackie followed in November of that year.
"He had an SJU sticker that my son has now," Miller continued. "I know he was so grateful for the opportunities he had there."
