Gannon University Athletics

 
Rick "Stats" Klapthor '79 is the 2014 Distinguished Service Award recipient. Klapthor has been a fixture at the Gannon Basketball Press Table since 1975 and is in the midst of his 39th season as Gannon's official scorer with a three-year hiatus from 1988-90. He worked his first game on November 29, 1975, a game which the Gannon men's basketball team defeated Walsh 93-62. Klapthor has scored a total of 736 men's games prior to the current season, beginning the 2013-14 campaign with a current streak of 390 consecutive games since missing his last game on November 20, 1994. He added women's games to his job duties beginning in 2000.

Known affectionately as "Stats" due to his knowledge of all players and numbers throughout the years, Klapthor has also traveled to numerous road games to work for both teams on his own budget. Since his retirement from the Postal Service on August 31, 2012 after 25 years of service as a mail handler, he attended almost every road game last season to keep the scorebook for the Gannon basketball teams.

The Erie, Pa., native has served under men's head coaches Ed Sparling (three years), Dick Fox (six years), Tom Chapman (five years), Bob Dukiet (seven years), Jerry Slocum (nine years) and John Reilly (nine years). He graduated from Gannon College in 1979 with a bachelor's degree in Accounting. Klapthor was part of the final graduating class of Gannon College before it became a University.