Athlete – Track & Field
Inducted 2009
James “Jim” Neppl is a graduate of Our Lady of Good Counsel High School in Fonda, Iowa; Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa (1964) with a B.A. in economics and University of Iowa College of Law (1967). Neppl is fluent in six languages including Russian, Spanish, French, Italian and German. He was a four-year letterman in basketball while in college and is a seven-time Paralympic gold medalist in track & field. Remarkably, Neppl continues to hold the world record in the men’s shot put (B1), set in 1988. Neppl is a past regional chair for the North American Region of the International Blind Sports Association and a past chair for the Americas for the International Paralympics Committee. He has been a member of the USABA Board of Directors and served as vice-president for seven years. Neppl is currently an attorney and has a private practice in Illinois.