Houghton University Athletics

Dr. Wilbur Zike may best be remembered from his college days for his exploits during Houghton's Purple and Gold athletics competition.

Growing up in the Akron, Ohio area, Zike didn’t have a huge resume from high school sports, playing just one year of high school baseball. His interest in medicine was evident early on, but he says he can’t really point to a specific moment or influence that drew him to that field.

As the son of a Wesleyan pastor, Zike chose to attend Houghton to pursue his study of science in 1949, and it didn’t take him long to get in involved in Houghton athletics, where he proudly competed for the Purple. “The competition was quite intense,” he says. “But also very friendly.”

He participated in four years of class basketball, four years of Purple and Gold basketball, four years of Purple and Gold baseball, two years of Purple and Gold football, two years of house league football and two years of track.

As a member of the senior class men's basketball team, Zike poured in 43 points and led his team to the class championship. He was also on the Purple championship basketball team that year as well as varsity. He was a member of the Big "H" club for men who have obtained letters in four major sports, and was the only one to receive that honor from the Class of '53. He was named athlete of the year as a senior and also voted an all-star in basketball by the students.

Away from the court, field, and track, Zike majored in zoology with minors in chemistry and psychology. He also served as sophomore class vice president, president of the junior class and president of Student Senate and the student body during his senior year. He points to the influences of Dr. George Moreland, Dr. Dora Burnell, Dr. Floyd Reese and Dr. Marvin Nelson as key people instrumental in his pursuits in science.

He continued to follow that passion after leaving Houghton in 1953, moving on to McGill University in Montreal, Canada, where he earned his medical degree in 1957. He also attended the School of Tropical Medicine in London. After completing a year internship and a year of surgical residency in Akron City Hospital, Zike spent a total of six years at Kamakwie Wesleyan Hospital in Sierra Leone, West Africa as a medical missionary, completed surgical training back in the U.S. and then joined the faculty at the medical school at the University of Iowa, where he taught, conducted research and practiced surgery for 23 years.

Still fond of his Houghton memories, Zike and his wife, Jane, retired to Houghton, where they enjoyed the small town life and the many activities in the area and at the college. He served Genesee Valley Habitat for Humanity, Meals on Wheels, delivering senior meals, serving as a church elder and sometime Sunday School teacher and helping at the college on various committees and research projects.

He also found time to pursue an interest in cycling, an activity he enjoys to this day. He could regularly be seen pedaling along the Allegany County roads, and took that pursuit even farther in 1983, when he rode his bike coast to coast.

He and Jane left Houghton in 2012 to live nearer to some of their older children and now reside in the Grand Rapids, Michigan area.