Coach Dick Conrad. Dick was an accomplished Football, basketball, and baseball player at Proviso East from 1960-64. After high school, Dick attended Illinois State University where he focused his athletic talent on baseball. After his freshman year, Dick was the starting 3rd baseman for the Redbirds and played on teams that won seventy-five percent of their games. He led the team in total hits each year and hit .339 during his career. He was voted Most Valuable Player by his teammates in 1967 and was chosen to be the Captain his senior year. In 1967, Dick received the prestigious Richard G. Browne Award presented to the student athlete at Illinois State University with the highest academic average. Dick was inducted into the Illinois State University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1975.

Dick was hired as the Department Chairman for Health and Physical Education at Carl Sandburg in 1974. During his tenure from 1974-2001, he coached a variety of sports. These included Varsity Football, Varsity Girls’ Basketball, and Varsity Baseball. Regardless of the sport he coached, the expectations were challenging and the athletes responded accordingly. He believes that any success he had as a coach was due to the efforts, dedication and determination of the players. He hopes that the athletes learned as much from him as he did from them.

After retirement, Dick worked at the Orland Park Sportsplex for twelve years teaching. In 2005, he authored a fitness and nutrition book, Get Fit for Life – The G.A.P. Way.

Dick married his high school sweetheart, Mary Ann. They have been married for 54 years and have lived in Orland Park since 1976 and have two sons, Rick and Randy. Dick and Mary Ann also have three grandchildren and have thoroughly enjoyed spending time with them through the years.