Hall of Fame
In 1974, Lou Abel became just the second All-American in Point Park history. During his time at Point Park, Abel batted a remarkable .389 (sixth in school history) and is in fifth place in single season batting average (.451). Along with fellow teammate and Pioneer Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2003 inductee Harry Westwood, Abel came to Point Park as a non-traditional student after serving in the United States armed forces. Together, “Hawk” (Abel) and “Bear” (Westwood), as they were known, formed perhaps the fiercest one-two punch in the baseball program’s history. When Abel came to Point Park in his mid-twenties after serving in Vietnam, many of his coaches and teammates dismissed him as being too old. Abel simply laughed off their derision, joking, “Scouts have been telling me I’m too old since I was 18.” At the time of his graduation in 1974, Abel owned the top spot in several major offensive categories including single season batting average (.451), career batting average (.389), hits in a season (37), career hits (189), career RBI’s (129), career doubles (27) and total games (136).
