Bob Pepka (’72) was a fine athlete during the formative years of the Westfield varsity athletics program in the early 1970s. 

Pepka was a three-year All-New England selection for the men’s volleyball team, which began its inaugural season as a varsity sport in 1970. A first team All-New England selection in 1970, he led the Owls to a third place finish in the New England collegiate volleyball tournament. During his senior season he was a first team All-New England and all-conference selection and led the Owls to first place in the Mass. State Colleges tournament. 

The two-time captain received the team’s MVP award for volleyball in 1972 and was listed in Who’s Who in Collegiate Athletes of America. He also participated in four sports in Westfield’s highly competitive intramurals program and quarterbacked his team to the football championship. 

Pepka played on Westfield’s first varsity lacrosse team and was a two-year member of the baseball squad. He played in 18 of 27 games during his senior year, batting a team-high .420. During his junior year he hit for the cycle vs. Fitchburg State. 

Prior to Westfield, Pepka was a three-year starter and two-year Border Conference all-star at Bartlett High School in Webster; he was the team MVP his senior year. 

Following his graduation from Westfield, Pepka served a distinguished career as both an educator and a coach. He was the head baseball coach at Bartlett High School for 14 years and posted a 158-100 record with two conference championships. He was twice named conference coach of the year and his teams qualified for the state tournament in six of his final 10 seasons. 

Pepka also served as an assistant baseball, soccer and basketball coach for a total of nine years and officiated high school and collegiate volleyball games for eight years. He was the scorekeeper and announcer for Bartlett High School boys’ and girls’ basketball games for 20 years and is a member of the high school’s Hall of Fame committee. 

Pepka was an educator for 35 years, including 33 years in the science department in the Webster school district, and has master’s degrees in health and administration. He was chairperson of the Bartlett science department for seven years prior to his retirement in 2007. He received the town of Webster’s Quo Vadis Award as the outstanding teacher in the school district and served on numerous committees, including five NEASC evaluation teams. 

Pepka and his wife, Karen, reside in Dudley and have two children, David (28) and Bethany (26). He is an avid golfer, winning two flight championships at the Dudley Country Club, and also enjoys fishing and woodworking.