Members
Inductee
BILINSKI, BILL
BILINSKI, BILL
Born on July 30, 1957
South Bend, Indiana
Inducted On
June 7, 2024
Location Inducted
South Bend, Indiana
Region Number
2
SB St. Joseph High School
Merit - Sportswriter
South Bend St. Joseph
1975
Despite playing at St. Joseph High School alongside prolific passers and IFCA Hall of Fame quarterbacks Mike McCray and Frank Johnson, Bill Bilinski holds the honor of being the first 1,000-yard rusher at St. Joe during a 9-1 campaign in 1974.
He also was a starting infielder on the Maurice Matthys team that played in the Senior League World Series Senior League in 1972 as well as the state championship team for South Bend American Legion Post 357 in 1975.
In Bill’s four years at St. Joe, the Indians won 34 games and lost only six, and in 1974 he seldom left the field during games, whether he was playing running back or cornerback or returning kickoffs and punts. Bill returned a kickoff for a touchdown and was one of St. Joe’s leading receivers out of the backfield.
Hanover College
B.A. in English
1979
Bill was an exceptional athlete, having played football, basketball and baseball at St. Joe, and later took his talents to Hanover College where he started at running back in football and second base in baseball. He graduated from Hanover in 1979 with a degree in English.
He also was a fixture in Hanover’s offensive backfield, especially after gaining 150 yards in his first start as a sophomore and returned kicks for the Panthers. He earned three letters in football and four in baseball at Hanover.
Bill and his wife, Jolene, reside in South Bend and are proud parents of daughter Jenna Mrozinske (Jared) of South Bend and son Shane of Atlanta. Their eldest child, Nathan, passed away in 2019 after a lengthy battle with brain cancer. Grandson Jett Mrozinske has commanded much of Bill’s and Jolene’s attention since arriving in 2022 and will be joined soon by a brother or sister
The son of William Sr. and Dolores Bilinski, Bill pursued his passion for writing and athletics and became one of Indiana’s premier sports writers at the LaPorte Herald Argus, Plymouth Pilot News and South Bend Tribune before retiring in 2020. During 38 years at the Tribune, he covered Notre Dame football and other local sporting events, and was the editor of the Notre Dame-centric magazine Irish Sports Report for two years before replacing Bill Moor as sports editor in 1993. Bill was inducted into the Indiana Sportswriters and Sportscasters Hall of Fame in 2012. He published a book titled Champions: Lou Holtz’s Fighting Irish, a behind-the-scenes look at Notre Dame’s 1988 national title run. He still occasionally covers Notre Dame men’s and women’s basketball for Inside ND Sports.
A natural leader whose dedication to excellence served him well in his athletic and journalistic endeavors, Bill had a knack for combining a fierce competitive drive with a kind and thoughtful demeanor that inspired those around him to be better at all times. He thanks his teammates, former colleagues at the Tribune, former St. Joe coach Phil Teegarden and former Hanover College coach Rick Carter for instilling a drive he exhibits to this day.