Hall of Fame
Northwestern Oklahoma State University baseball alum Richard “Rikki” DelVecchio attended Northwestern from 1990-1993 after transferring from UConn where he was a two-sport athlete playing baseball and hockey.
In his three years with Northwestern, the Braintree, Massachusetts, native was the catcher for the Rangers. In his first season with the program, he finished the year hitting .356 with 62 hits, 16 doubles and 31 RBI. He played in 55 of the 56 games that season before being selected to the 1st Team All-Oklahoma Intercollegiate Conference and All-District 9 team as the only sophomore on the team.
The following season began his two consecutive years to 1st Team All-OIC team and 1st Team All-District 9 following an astonishing .448 batting average with 77 hits, 17 doubles, 52 RBI and an incredible walk-to-strikeout ratio of 34-7 in 212 at-bats. His final season before graduating he made his third straight 1st Team All-OIC team after hitting .402 during the season. He was also named to the 2nd Team All-District 9.
Upon graduating from Northwestern, DelVecchio continued his success in the sport of baseball as the head coach of South Shore Seadogs for eight seasons. Later he coached the East Cobb Astros, winning multiple tournaments and 12 National Titles. He ultimately became a college umpire, which was his dream job.
DelVecchio was inducted into the Braintree Hall of Fame for both baseball and hockey in 1999, as well as the Cranberry Baseball League Hall of Fame in 2009. He was named Umpire of the Year for the Cape Cod League in 2015. DelVecchio passed away on May 1, 2020.
