DePauw Athletics Hall of Fame
Jim Hardy led the Indiana Collegiate Conference in batting average in 1961 at .415 (17 hits/41 at-bats) in 11 conference games and with 12 runs scored and was selected as an all-ICC outfielder in 1961 and 1962. In 1962 Hardy hit a team-best .382 in 1962 and led the team with 20 runs and two triples while tying for the team lead with four doubles and two homers. In a game against Wabash in 1962 he hit for the cycle (two home runs, a triple, a double and a single) with six RBIs and four runs scored. Hardy helped the Tigers to spots in the NCAA College Division regional in 1960 and 1961.
Hardy was drafted by the New York Mets in 1962 and went to the team’s spring training in Georgia in 1963 before playing a season with the Auburn (N.Y.) Mets of the New York-Penn League. He was an underwriter for Continental Insurance Companies from 1963-65 before moving on to a sales manager position with Burroughs Corp./Unisys Corp. until 2000. Since 2000, Hardy has served as a substitute teacher in all disciplines from kindergarten through 12th grade. He was involved with the Glen Ellyn, Ill., Jaycees on various projects as was a baseball coach and manager for 18 years from Little League through American Legion. Hardy and his wife, Jean Berg Hardy ’63, have been married for nearly 60 years and have four children, 12 grandchildren and two great grandsons.
