Forester Athletic Hall of Fame
Inducted 1992

He entered Lake Forest in 1948 and earned one letter in both basketball and baseball.  He was also a member of Phi Pi Epsilon fraternity.  After one year, he left Lake Forest to pursue his education at Northern Illinois University, where he continued to play baseball and basketball.  He graduated in 1952 with an education degree and then entered the United States Marine Corps, eventually attaining the rank of Captain.  After doing graduate work at Western Michigan University, and Northeastern University, he received his Master's degree in education from Northern Illinois University in 1964.

While he was pursuing his graduate degree, he started his coaching career.  After brief stints coaching with the Marine Corps and Athens Senior High School, he started a 30-year career at Leyden High School. During his tenure at Leyden, he produced ten All-State players, five High School All-Americans, and won 33 championships.  His team set the Illinois state record for most consecutive wins, winning 108 scheduled games.  After 29 years he had a winning percentage of .750 and was the thirteenth winningest coach in the history of Illinois High School basketball.  He is an accomplished clinic speaker and has been the successful director of Future Stars basketball camp for nearly fifteen years.

For his coaching efforts, Norm was voted the best high school basketball coach in Illinois by his colleagues, was coach of the year twice in the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association poll and was coach of the Class AA North All-Star team.  He has received outstanding coaching awards from numerous schools and companies, including the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times and Coca-Cola Company.