GW Athletics Hall of Fame Spotlight: Danny Rouhier
1/5/2022 9:30:00 AM | Baseball, General
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Baseball standout's statistics have stood test of time
On an unassuming September afternoon, Danny Rouhier thought he was headed into a segment talking calls about the Washington Football Team during the daily sports radio show he co-hosts with Grant Paulsen on 106.7 FM The Fan.
Instead, the caller "Gregg in D.C." had a decidedly different agenda for where Grant and Danny would go next.
"I'm honored to be on here and speaking to you guys – I'm a big fan," GW baseball Head Coach Gregg Ritchie told the hosts after he'd been IDed by the former Buff and Blue diamond standout. "But today, I'm going to have the great honor and pleasure, Danny, of sharing with you and your listening audience that as a part of the George Washington Athletics Hall of Fame, Class of 2022, our own Danny Rouhier is being inducted!
"Danny, congratulations! Thank you for all you do for the Buff and Blue!"
Rouhier remains a staple of the GW baseball record book after posting four productive seasons from 1998-2001, a run during which the Buff and Blue established themselves as A-10 contenders.
The D.C. native recruited out of St. Albans School was part of Hall of Fame Head Coach Tom Walter's first recruiting class at GW, and proceeded to appear in 203 games during his career, hitting .331 with 167 runs scored, 55 doubles, six triples, 36 homers, 194 RBIs and 89 walks.
Upon his graduation, Rouhier was the program's all-time RBI leader and ranked among its top-five in seven different categories. He remains within the top-11 in program history in hits, runs, RBIs, doubles and home runs.
Rouhier landed All-Conference honors at first base as a junior in 2000, hitting .343 with a career-high 21 doubles, nine homers and 51 RBIs to help the Buff and Blue secure 37 victories and a share of the A-10 West Division title.
He closed out his college career by hitting .303 with 56 runs scored and 65 RBIs in 2001 for a squad that went 38-23 and advanced to the A-10 Championship final.
After earning his degree in Political Science, Rouhier launched a career in stand-up comedy that set him on a winding path to his dream job as one of the leading sports radio voices in his hometown. He's in his eighth year paired with Paulsen, and they're nearing their one-year anniversary in the afternoon drive slot from 2-6:30 p.m.
Along the way, Rouhier's connection to the program and athletic department has remained strong. He finds time to host events and offer his mentorship to the next generation while representing his alma mater on the local airwaves.
He looks back on his decorated career on the diamond in the fourth edition of our Hall of Fame Spotlight series.
What was that moment like finding out on air?
"At first, I was confused, but that feeling pretty quickly gave way to, honestly, being very moved. It was touching. It was really neat. We're supposed to be talking about something else. Or at least that's the impression that I'm under. We're talking about the local football team. 'Hey, will they be any good?' Parenthesis: The answer is no, of course. But we're still having the conversation. And the voice on the line, I recognize it right away. It's Gregg in D.C. I took my mic off, and I'm trying to get my co-host Grant's attention. And I'm waving to him and going, 'I'm pretty sure this is Gregg Ritchie. I think this is Gregg Ritchie.'
Instead of acknowledging that fact, Grant's pointing his cell phone in my face like I'm on TMZ at the airport or something like that. I'm sitting there going 'Pay attention to me. I'm trying to tell you something.' He's not interested in that, and I'm listening to what Gregg is saying and it's not on the topic that we're talking about. Next thing you know, he's telling me the incredible news. I'm so moved and honored, and it all comes together that I've had a nice, little, friendly prank played on me to catch me in a pretty amazing moment.
"I didn't know what to say. I was floored. It's such a neat honor. It's something that is hard to quantify. I think the emotion that I felt the most, if this is even an emotion, was how neat it is that something that I did 20 years ago is in any way being discussed as worthwhile. It really is overwhelming to know that there are advocates for you. Whether I made it in or not at the end of the day, just that fact alone is so awe-inspiring and humbling."
As a senior, Rouhier helped the Buff and Blue advance to the A-10 Championship final.
Looking back, why was GW such a good fit for you?
"Out of all the places that I was looking at, the GW coaches were the only ones that said flat out, 'We'll give you a chance to play as a freshman.' That meant a lot to me. Not that I was promised anything, but they were willing to open up the door. That was the theme of my time at GW: There's opportunity here. What you do with it is up to you.
"I probably didn't do a great job of taking advantage of that for a couple of years until I grew up a little bit, but I'm always and forever grateful for the opportunity that Tom Walter and Joe Raccuia and Dennis Healy gave me. They were just so instrumental for me and helpful to me in turning into a bona fide grown-up."
Tom Walter is a Hall of Famer himself. What made him such a special coach?
"Faith. If he believed in you, and presumably he did because he recruited you, then through slumps, failures, setbacks and the inevitable adversity that comes with sports and academic life and social life and everything else, he believed in you and he was in your corner. That support was just so profound.
"Everywhere else I played, no matter the sport, you mess up, you sit down. You screw up, and now you need to be punished for your failure. That pressure on young athletes is so profound at times.
"Coach Walt, he was steadfast. He was just this piece of iron in the tempest. I was amazed by that. I would mess up and think, 'OK, Here it comes. I'll be benched for two weeks.' But it wasn't that. It was, 'You've got to work it out, dude. We're at our best if you're at our best.' That feeling of support and faith in his players is what made him so special. You always tried to reward his confidence in you that you would eventually get the job done."
What are the special moments from your career in Buff and Blue?
"Wow, there are tons to choose from. It's a combo of two things. I know it's hard to believe, but those 10-hour bus rides were the best. Those moments of watching a grainy video on a tiny VCR in the corner of the bus. You're craning your neck to see this tiny screen to watch Goodfellas on the trip up to Philadelphia. Those moments with your teammates are just so priceless and so irreplaceable. It's funny to say as a 42-year old: I would do anything to take a bus trip to Dayton with my teammates again.
"In terms of on the field, I think a moment for me that felt great was freshman year. I'm trying to win a job. I'm trying to get myself on the field as part of the everyday lineup after I had just a miserable fall. Spring comes around, and I had a game-winning hit against James Madison, which was another school that I'd considered. They weren't as interested in me as I was in them, and that was just a wonderful moment for me. It was validating. It was confidence-building. It was 'Hey, you belong here.' I'll never forget that."
Rouhier (left) poses with teammates Eric Mitchell and Bryan Beggs.
You've had a chance to stay involved in the program through mentoring and hosting events. Why is it important to you to stay connected and do what you can to help out the program?
"I don't know how to answer this without sounding selfish, so I'll just do it: It feels good. It feels like the right thing to do.
"Once you move past that certain stage in your life, you're forever invested in that experience, and you want to see that program continue to grow. You want to see those kids do well.
"Once a week during the season, I'll check the stats of kids that I've never met who don't know me from Adam. It feels like you invested so much in there and you want to see the fruits of the tree. It feels good to be able to give just a little bit back in terms of energy and time and commitment to a place that gave so much to me."
Maybe you're not talking about GW every day on your show, but what does it mean to you to represent the Buff and Blue on local radio?
"It's not as if I'm a real celebrity or anything like that, but when you're talking on air for almost five hours every day, it's inevitable that elements of your life and your background are going to come up.
"That's certainly one element that I never shy away from. That path is what led me here. It was a circumlocutious path, I will say. It was challenging in a number of ways with a lot of stops and starts and frustrations and setbacks like anyone else's path, but that foundation is something I'm very proud of.
"What we accomplished there, I'm proud of. The friendships with my teammates and how many people had to say yes for me to even have a small sliver of an opportunity is something that's overwhelming to think about. It's an honor and something that I'm definitely grateful for."
