The Case Western Reserve University athletics community mourns the loss of Spartan Club Hall of Fame inductee and Nobby's Ballpark eponym Norbert "Nobby" J. Lewandowski, who passed away at the age of 89 on Sunday, September 6.
"Nobby was a true friend to CWRU athletics," said James C. Wyant Director of Athletics TJ Shelton. "His support over the years was instrumental to the growth of the baseball program and the department as a whole, and his impact on the University and its student-athletes will continue to be felt for generations to come."
In 1965, Lewandowski made a list of 66 things he wanted to accomplish in his life, crossing off item number 55 (ballpark named after him) with the dedication of Nobby's Ballpark in 2007. The current home of CWRU baseball came as a result of his donations to the first solely-athletics campaign of the Forward Thinking initiative.
Lewandowski had supported CWRU athletics in multiple other ways over the past 25 years, presenting motivational speeches, serving as a founding member of the Athletic Visiting Committee, and providing guidance to athletes and athletic alumni. He was inducted into the Spartan Club Hall of Fame in 2019.
"Nobby was a close personal friend for over 20 years and led one of the most interesting and productive lives of anyone I have ever met," said CWRU Head Baseball Coach Matt Englander. "The baseball program will miss him, and I will miss him personally as a dear friend."
Lewandowski received his MBA from CWRU, juggling his class schedule while pitching for the Pittsburgh Pirates' farm system from 1960-62. In 1963, he returned to Cleveland to play sandlot baseball and started for perennial league champion Wenham Truckers until 1970. During that time, he was called "the most dominant pitcher in Ohio amateur baseball during the 60's era" by a Plain Dealer sportswriter.
Lewandoski played baseball at Kent State, receiving the program's first-ever baseball scholarship, and is a member of the Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame and the Akron Baseball Hall of Fame.
Visitation will be held at the Carlson Funeral Home in Medina from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, September 15, and from 9:00 - 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, September 16. The Mass of Christian Burial will be on Wednesday, September 16, at 10:00 a.m. at the Holy Martyrs Catholic Church.
More information can be found in his obituary at https://www.carlsonfuneralhomes.com/obituaries/Norbert-Lewandowski?obId=49533463.
