Some have called Wilkins the greatest athlete ever to play for Oregon. They may well be right. One of the last of the three-sport stars, Dick still stands as the 11th top scorer in Duck basketball history a half century following his last game. The hoop squads on which he played won 60% of their games in his four years, and he was a Northern Division all-star his 1945 freshman season. Dick also was an outstanding pitcher for the Webfoot baseball squad.

Although he played only a single football season, (1948) he led the team in receiving and helped the Ducks to nine regular season victories and a Cotton Bowl invitation. In that game, he caught a 24-yard TD pass. After playing in the Hula Bowl, Wilkins was drafted by the New York Giants and also played professionally for the Los Angeles Dons and Dallas Texans. With Dick’s son, Olympic discus champion Mac Wilkins, also a member of the University of Oregon Sports Hall of Fame, the two became the school’s second father-son tandem to join the Ducks’ athletic elite.