1917 - Part 1: Prologue and the Rabbit Hole

The Initial Spark

When I was researching my book, I found a list of possible early state football champions for Wisconsin online. I somehow came across it and I made a copy which jumpstarted my research. On that list were several schools that should not have really been considered the champion for their year but for the most part it was accurate. On the list for 1917 was the Marinette team so I went to the state historical society to look at the microfilm of the town's newspaper, the Marinette Beacon. That and the 1918 school yearbook were my basis for the story found in my book. But like the 1913 state title controversy, 1917 had its own problems.

On December 20, 2021 my fellow historian Kevin Askeland from MaxPreps.com, based in California published an article concerning the 1917 high school football champions. I mentioned in my January 5th post that Marinette was #45 on the list. Up at #33 was Rochester (MN), the only team of the top 50 to not have a complete schedule of scores. Since my youngest daughter lives in Rochester, I thought that on my next visit there I would go to the library, the county historical society, the high schools and the school district offices looking for the high school 1918 yearbook. No luck. Nobody had a copy so I was off to the Rochester library microfilm files. I found mostly brief stories on the team and only six of eight possible game scores. I was at a dead end, or so I thought.

One of the brief mentions on the Rochester team in the paper was a game with Farmington but no score or game report was noted. Back home I started searching for the Farmington score and I also looked at the Winona newspaper to verify the scores of the Rochester vs Winona High School and Winona Normal games. There was a mention of those two teams playing La Crosse High School so, out of curiosity, I looked up the La Crosse team. They had a great record in 1914-1916 and played Edgerton for the state title in 1916 so I looked closer at their 1917 season. In doing so I found the Rochester season record. Why would they print the season record of a team that was so far away? Rochester was about to play St. Cloud Tech for the Minnesota state title and the La Crosse Tribune newspaper wanted to argue that their hometown team should be in the mix for the Wisconsin title.

Rochester played the Winona Normal College in their season opener and won 7-0. In their sixth game they beat Winona High School 41-0. Meanwhile La Crosse High School defeated Winona Normal 114-0 and Winona High School 90-0. La Crosse Normal beat Winona Normal 101-0. Big scores by the Wisconsin schools and the newspaper didn't think that Rochester could measure up to La Crosse High School. There are reasons for the low Rochester scores compared to those by the La Crosse teams but I won't get into that just yet.

The Contenders

Here is where I began to go down the rabbit hole. While checking the La Crosse newspaper I ran across more information than what I had initially found when doing my research on the 1917 Marinette squad. Back then I had used the school yearbook and the local newspaper but now I reviewed the La Crosse Tribune, the Green Bay Press Gazette, the Wisconsin State Journal and the Waukesha Freeman with a little help from the Marshfield News and the yearbooks from Madison, Marshfield, Watertown and Waukesha.

Many schools were in the mix by mid-season for the Wisconsin state title. Marshfield, Watertown, Madison, Waukesha, Marinette, Green Bay West, Grand Rapids, Fort Atkinson and St John's all looked like contenders.

La Crosse only played against one Wisconsin high school team in 1917, that being Tomah in the season opener. In the second game they lost to Prairie du Chien Campion College and then to Winona St Mary's College. They regrouped and destroyed Winona Normal 114-0 and then followed up with their 90-0 win over Winona High School. Because they hadn't played many Wisconsin foes, the press outside of La Crosse didn't feel they should be in the running for the state title. So the local newspaper hounded other schools with challenges for a game, particularly 5-0-0 Marinette, the last two weeks of November but to no avail. Marinette had cancelled an earlier game because heavy rains made their field unplayable. With a 3-2-0 record, La Crosse moved their scheduled game with St Paul Central (MN), a team they had played in 1915 and 1916 in past November games, to the Sunday before Thanksgiving. La Crosse Normal won the Wisconsin College School title and wanted to play the high school to cap off the season in early December. However, the high school's star back came down with chicken pox right after his team trounced St Paul Central and the game was cancelled. Yet, because they now had a 4-2-0 record the Tribune continued to bad mouth other Wisconsin schools.

In their sixth game of the season Green Bay West was declared out of the running after they lost to Marinette 16-0. And when I say 'declared out of the running' I mean that the major in-state newspapers were pushing for undefeated teams to match up. Green Bay West had tied Oshkosh Normal in their second game 0-0 so they now had a 4-1-1 record. They would finish the season 7-1-1, beating their next three opponents, Wausau, Oshkosh and Green Bay East.

St John's dropped out after starting out 4-0-0. They lost to Shattuck (MN) Military Academy 14-7 in their fifth game. Besides the loss, two Wisconsin high school teams backed out of their matchups with St John's so they found a game against a Chicago public high school to partially fill their schedule. St John's finished 6-1-0 with wins over Oshkosh Normal, The Milwaukee Murry Athletic Club, St Norbert's College, Milton College, Wendell Phillips (IL), and the Racine Professionals (forerunner to the Racine Legion of the NFL). In their six victories they shut out each of their opponents while scoring an average of 67 points per game.

Grand Rapids (now known as Wisconsin Rapids) and Fort Atkinson did not finish strong and were both eliminated from the running. Madison was 5-0-1, having tied Milwaukee South, when they played and lost to the Northern Illinois champion, Rockford, 16-7. With the defeat they were declared out of the title race. They then scheduled and beat Eau Claire 20-0 in a Thanksgiving Day battle to finish 6-1-1 on the season.

On November 18, Marinette played their last regular season game, beating their twin city rival Menominee (MI) and rested with a 5-0-0 record after two other schools backed out of playing them. Having beaten Green Bay West and the top teams in Northern Michigan, Escanaba and Menominee, they were considered the champs of the North, even with only having played five games. They now sat and waited as undefeated Watertown (7-0-0) was to meet a tough 6-1-0 Marshfield on Thanksgiving Day in Marshfield. Marshfield had lost in their second game to Stevens Point Normal 20-6. Watertown had allowed only six points, that in their season opener vs Milwaukee East (Riverside). They had scored 290 points with seven shutouts. Marshfield had outscored their first seven opponents 202-32. Scribes thought this was the best matchup.

But what about 7-0-0 Waukesha? They were considered for the title but they only wanted to play home games. The Waukesha Freeman didn't cover all of their games and there was no season wrap-up in the later editions. Waukesha was undefeated, untied and unscored upon after the first six games, scoring 237 points. I could only find a brief mention about them in the La Crosse newspaper, discounting the team's ability. I had to continue the search. The school yearbook didn't mention the snub or later championship drama. The Saturday before Thanksgiving, Waukesha beat Milwaukee Washington 13-7 (per the yearbook, 13-6 per the newspaper) but they were excluded from the championship game, they contacted schools to play on Thanksgiving and came up with Chicago Lake View (IL). They won 14-0 to end up 8-0-0.

La Crosse's Beef

With the title matchup set due to big help by the Milwaukee Sentinel, Watertown faced Marinette at the county fairgrounds. The La Crosse Tribune criticized the matchup. The paper began to sound like the Oshkosh Northwestern had in years past and the lead squawker was J.E. Dahlgren who wrote a regular feature sports column. The paper seemed to change their tone after being generally fair and honest. In 1914, after La Crosse beat Grand Rapids (93-0) and Sparta (12-7), two teams in contention for the title, things seemed to change. The La Crosse team was good in 1914-1916 and they scored well against two of the Winona schools in 1917 but they weren't as good as the paper claimed. La Crosse was very fortunate to play those Winona teams at the right time.

Rochester (MN) played Winona Normal in the season opener and only won 7-0. One of the brief stories in the Rochester newspaper reported a week before the Normal game that they only had 10 players and the coach was scouring the school for more bodies. Surprising, considering Rochester also won the Minnesota state title in 1916. You would have thought that potential players would flock to the gridiron. The team was able to come up with an 11th starter and a few backups. So, when they went to Winona, they were only recently at full strength. Had they been a solid unit they would likely have beaten Normal by a lot more. Later in the season Rochester played Winona High School and won 41-0. The year before they defeated them 91-0. In that game several Winona players left the game with severe injuries. According to the Winona paper in 1917, several key players were hurt playing Rochester and couldn't play the next week against La Crosse. When the team did play, they seemed to give up after falling behind. La Crosse would also face a beat up Winona Normal team that quickly surrendered the field.

On or about Saturday November 23, Marinette passed on playing La Crosse. Why? Because La Crosse wanted to play a home game and wouldn't travel to a neutral site. Travel in 1917 was difficult especially in late November with bad roads, long train rides, likely facing bad weather and often having difficulty earning enough money to cover expenses. Marinette had no Thanksgiving game but with an undefeated record felt no pressure to move to a neutral site that might have been more profitable for both parties. Since La Crosse turned them down they reached out to other teams, including some from Chicago who asked for more money than Marinette was willing to give for their travel expenses.

Marshfield and Watertown were now set to play each other. Waukesha evidently wanted to play on Thanksgiving, November 29 even with a November 24 game with Milwaukee Washington looming. But they wanted a home game. If Waukesha had played Marinette on Thanksgiving it would have been a great showdown of unbeatens. It may have led to a final showdown of the winners from the two major games. La Crosse had scheduled their November 24th game with St Paul Central so now they proposed another game with Marinette to be played in that western city on Thanksgiving. Marinette turned them down and the newspaper wars really began.

Believe - the story of 1976 DeSoto

I was sitting in a Culver's restaurant in Elkhorn, looking through a scrapbook of the 1976 DeSoto football championship. As I paged through the book, I found a 3x5 with the title "Believe". Below it, additional words were printed that were meant to motivate the reader. Each DeSoto player got their own copy of the 3x5 card. The cards were presented to the team by Coach Bob Schulz. In 1974 Schulz had presented the team with t-shirts. On the front of the shirt was printed "BELIEVE". The players wore them proudly during practice and their first game which was against La Crescent (MN). But, after a lackluster performance, a 16-8 loss, Coach Schulz ordered an 8am Saturday practice and told them to bring their BELIEVE t-shirts. He took the shirts back and then they practiced for an hour and he told them they would have more future Saturday morning workouts after they lost. Fortunately for the players they would only have one other Saturday practice over the next three years. That was in 1975 after a 25-24 loss to Kickapoo.

He was a tough disciplinarian using different things to motivate like the t-shirts. He could be volatile at times. IN 1975 the game wasn't going well. At halftime the team sat in the bus waiting on the coaches. The seniors took the window seats and made the underclassmen sit in the aisle seats. The coach then entered and began to rant. As he walked up and down the bus, he pounded the padded shoulders of those sitting near. Those that hadn't been through one of these outbursts were surprised but evidently not the seniors. In 1976, during a tough stretch of games, just before they were to play Royall, they were having a bad practice and the team was sent to the locker room. Then the coach came in and began yelling and tossing everything that wasn't nailed down. When he walked out, he went to his office. The team was silent in thought when one of the players made a derogatory comment toward Schulz and then the team dressed in a hushed murmur. The next day the coach was still in a foul mood and from then on the team practiced and played with the intensity to match that of their coach. Schulz worked especially hard to get his team ready for their regular rivals, Westby and Cashton. After the 1975 loss to Kickapoo, that team was also on his radar each season.

Motivation by Coach Schulz, like all coaches, is a way to get their players to go the extra mile. He could sometimes be referred to as a Vince Lombardi-type. Sometimes very fiery. Schulz gave the 3x5 card to the team just before DeSoto was to face Spring Valley in the opening round of the initial WIAA Class C championship playoff. The team was very quiet on the bus as they headed toward the showdown at La Crosse's Memorial Stadium. They had read the card and were in deep thought. A few blocks from the stadium Schulz got up and yelled "We are going to a football game, not a funeral, act like it" Afterall, Spring Valley was coming into the final with a 43-game win streak and they were listed as the #1 small school in the final AP poll. He told his players to lighten up and "Believe". The bus then exploded with noise and excitement. The team began to fire up. What the players would break up in their exuberance...lights, windows and seats...would be valued about $1500 in damage to the bus but the team was sure ready to play.

The 1975 season for DeSoto started very well with three big wins before they met up with a good Kickapoo. The DeSoto Pirates lost to the Panthers 25-24. Kickapoo trailed 16-13 at halftime before Bryan Mullendore scored twice in the second half, including a 91 yard sprint to the end zone with 5:24 remaining to move his team ahead 2516. Mullendore gained 241 yards and scored all four of Kickapoo's touchdowns on 42 carries as he carried the team on his back. DeSoto marched back down the field after the kickoff as senior Jerry Furilano took the ball in from nine yards out with 4:15 left. The try for the two-point conversion, and the win, failed. DeSoto didn't get the ball back and they fell to the eventual conference champions. The Pirates would finish in the second spot as they won their final five games and this was the start of a great 34-game winning streak.

Now it was 1976 and the team was ready to sweep their opponents aside. After two non-conference blowouts the Pirates were now geared to take the conference title. The start of the conference season was against Cashton, a team that Schulz considered one of the "big boys" and that he always primed the team to work hard against. That term was used to refer to schools that had bigger players. DeSoto never had many big players and as a result of evaluating how the team could best compete, Schulz dropped the wing-T with two flankers soon after he took over. Upon graduating from UW-River Falls in 1970 Schulz took a teaching/coaching position at Cadott. After one season there he learned of the DeSoto opening and he took a chance and interviewed. He passed the meeting with the administrator and started a 15 year run at the school. After the 1971 season he heard from UW-River Falls head coach Mike Farley who was switching his offense to the wishbone and he invited Schulz to bring a group of his players to a football camp to learn how the new offense worked. Coming away from the camp, Schulz was convinced that if he didn't have big players he would utilize their quickness and speed. It worked and for the rest of his career at DeSoto the wishbone would ravage the opposition. He also utilized the -3 defense most of the time and occasionally would switch to the "Raider" defense.

DeSoto blew by Cashton and now set their sights on Kickapoo to seek revenge for the previous season's loss. The Pirates took no mercy against the undefeated Panthers as quarterback Dale Mueller ran for two touchdowns and scored twice. Junior halfback Greg Furlano added two scored and three two-point conversions along with two interceptions as DeSoto blew out Kickapoo. Next up were the two other undefeated members of the Scenic Central Conference Northern Division, North Crawford and Westby. Both schools gave DeSoto some problems but Schulz and his team were up for the games as North Crawford went down 35-22 and Westby was done away with 28-25.

The "BELIEVE" t-shirts were back for the Westby game and that same word was also written on the players. In 1978 the coach brought out new t-shirts to motivate the boys. In a 60-30 LaFarge win over Seneca running back Vernon Daines carried 27 times for 271 yards, six touchdowns and two 2-pt conversions. The next week LaFarge felt confident coming into the DeSoto game but the Pirates would have nothing of it as they posted a 19-0 win. Defense was the key as they held Daines to 12 yards in 16 carries. When the game concluded the DeSoto players took of their jerseys and they had special t-shirts that read: "No Gaines for Daines". Schulz, always motivating his team.

DeSoto was the top rated Class C team in the AP polls coming into the 1976 Westby game and while they held on for dear life after taking a 28-19 halftime lead, players like Dale Mueller and middle linebacker Dave NIckelotti were the big stars. After the game, Coach Schulz told the La Crosse Tribune: "I believed in my kids. What else can I say. It didn't look good. But we pulled it off." What brought about the quote was the play of his Pirate defense late in the game when things looked dim. Westby had marched 63 yards to the DeSoto one-yard line. It was first and goal. All Westby needed was one yard. They ran four consectuvie times and failed to score. They even lost a yard. On first down Westby fullback Chris Dreves carried to within an inch of the goal line but was met by Nickelotti and defensive tackle Dave Malin. The same on the second, third and fourth downs. The defense held. The dejected Westby coach, Neil Hoven couldn't believe that his team could come so close to victory and yet it slipped through the team's grasp.

The next three games were really tune-ups to get the team ready for the chance to be in the inaugural WIAA playoffs. DeSoto pasted Royall 42-6 and New Lisbon 46-6 before demolishing Hillsboro 73-6. Like in all the blowouts DeSoto substituted very liberally, often using JV players who were suited up for the game. In the Hillsboro game, halfback Greg Furlano ran only four times but gained 134 yards, scored three touchdowns rushing, one other touchdown receiving and ran for three two-point conversions. Quarterback Dale Mueller passed for two total touchdowns and ran back a 40 yard interception for a touchdown. The starters sat down and rested in the second half as the reserves went in.

Around this time there was a bomb scare at the school and all students were told to evacuate. However, the announcement over the speaker was not only to leave in orderly fashion but that all football players were to first gather their gear before exiting the building! While the school was being searched, busses were pulled up for the players to enter and change into their practice uniforms and then they went to the field to workout. After the all-clear signal was given, it was so late in the school day that classes were halted. However, Schulz kept his players practicing and as a result the other students couldn't leave because the players school gear was inside the busses. When practice was concluded the players changed into their school clothes and the busses were finally loaded for the kids to head home.

DeSoto is a small village. If you look at a map you'll see that the team was a team of rivals. The school district covered an area along the Mississippi River starting with Ferryville in the south up to DeSoto in the center and Victory, Genoa and Stoddard to the north along with the small inland areas known as Retreat and REd Mound. Kids came from all over and Coach Schulz made agreements with parents who owned farms that pre-pratices would work around the student's chore schedule. There was also competition between the players to see how many starters from each village would get to play. Out of all the starters on the 1976 team, most came from Genoa, and most had attended St Charles Catholic School. The students and players were proud of their high school and proud of the area they came from.

Following the Hillsboro game there was a week off before the playoffs were to begin as several contender's teams still had games to play. DeSoto was 9-0 and ranked number 1. Spring Valley was also 9-0 and ranked #2 in the penultimate AP poll of the season. Westfield was 8-0, ranked #4 (tied with Fall Creek) and Wild Rose, 8-0 was ranked #8. In the final poll, DeSoto was dropped to the #2 spot and Spring Valley moved to 31. Westfield was moved to the Middle school rankings and ended #7 in the poll while Wild Rose moved up to #4 in the Small school poll. When the WIAA formulated the playoff schedule, Westfield was dropped tot he Class C grouping. Fall Creek, a Class C team that was 9-0, like other teams, failed to make the cut even though they were ranked #3, one spot ahead of Wild Rose. But the AP poll did not factor into the computer rankings the WIAA used which placed DeSoto, Spring Valley, Wild Rose and Westfield in the playoffs.

Leading by 10 points at half time, DeSoto made some adjustments and finished off Spring Valley to cruise to the playoff semi-final win before a crowd of more than 3000 fans. Shulz was proud of the team effort and felt that the only way anybody could beat his team would be if they beat themselves. Mueller, Furlano and Nickelotti were again the big stars but a lot of fired up players contributed in the 36-12 victory. Alan Bark and Dave Malin all played very well. Schulz was flying high in his exuberance about team's effort. He was quoted: "I think we played better teams this year-maybe one or two. I think North Crawford and WEstby were better on the nights we played them. Maybe they (Spring Valley) just had a bad night, but I think our players are better than theirs."

Wild Rose had held off Westfield in the semifinals, 34-30. Wild Rose led 34-8 and had sent in the reserves when Westfield made a furious comeback.

The temperature the night of the championship game was in the low 20s with winds blowing 10-15 mph. The players had no gloves or warm hats to wear except on the sidelines. Both coaches felt that turnovers would be the keys to winning the title that was set to be played at La Crosse Memorial Stadium, the scene of DeSoto's semifinal win and in friendly territory for DeSoto. Coach Schulz felt that his team's superior speed that they could overcome the Wild Rose offensive attack. As it turned out Wild Rose had a strong running attack, rushing for 292 yards vs DeSoto's 335 and the game was close, 20-14 going into the fourth period but the Pirates scored twice and won 34-14. One of those fourth quarter touchdowns was an 18 yard return of a fumble by Alan Bark, a score that sealed the victory. Dale Mueller carried only 12 times, but gained 145 yards and a touchdown with Greg Furlano chipping in with 100 yards on 11 carries and two second half touchdowns. Schulz heaped praise on just about every starter as he cited the front defensive line of Bark, Dave Malin, Curt Abbott and Curt Mikkelson. Nickelotti also received praise for his defensive play but he stated that he didn't think that he played all that well. Tackle Brad Jambois had been injured in the Spring Valley game but he came back and performed well. Back Kirk Laylan and end Errin McGinnis were also mentioned as well as Mueller and Furlano. It simply was a team effort as it had been all season long by the team of rivals.

You can see how dominant the team was by checking out the scores below:

Stats for the season were hard to come by as the main newspaper, the La Crosse Tribune, didn't print box scores. The following is the best info I could come up with. The big star of the 1976 season was Dale Mueller who ended up attending UW-River Falls. He was recruited as a running back. In his senior season at DeSoto he earned All-Coulee Area First Team (The Coulee area covered the surrounding La Crosse Region) as a back, having completed 36 of 74 passes for 979 yards and 16 touchdowns while rushing for 842 yards and 19 more touchdowns. The passing stats aren't a misprint. That's 27.2 yards per completion. He also had six interceptions and was named to the AP First Team All-State team as a defensive back. Mueller would graduate from River Falls as the school's all-time leader in rushing and scoring (since broken) with 2,885 yards and 44 touchdowns. Thanks to defenses keying on the DeSoto running game he was able to mix things up and hit his receivers, mainly to Erin McGinnis, who also earned First Team All-Coulee as a 6 foot 3 inch, 198 pound wideout (he was the biggest player on the team). From what I've been able to piece together, junior Greg Furlano had about 1,366 yards in total offense with 25 touchdowns and ran for 12 2-pt conversions. Dale Nickelotti was a demon on defense from his middle linebacker position. Standing only 5 foot 9 and weighing 165 pounds (teammates remember him as being even smaller) the senior Nickelotti totaled about 167 tackles and was named AP All-State Honorable Mention as a linebacker.

I recently had the chance to speak with Coach Schulz for about an hour on the phone. We talked about his career and especially the 1976 team. After leaving DeSoto he moved to Menasha as the head coach where he held that position for three years and then was an assistant for another twelve. Following his stay at Menasha he has been an assistant at Onalaska, Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau (G-E-T), Holman, Blair-Taylor and now back to Holman. He had several assistants over the years that were key to the DeSoto success. Among them were Paul Dritzkowski, Bart Gray, Rod Nelsestuen, and Gene Taylor. While at DeSoto, Coach Schulz directed the team to a 151-51 record and twelve conference championships earning a spot in the WFCA Hall of Fame. His 1983 and 1984 teams were Class 6 state champions and then, in the 1985and 1986 seasons they moved up to division 5 and finished as runner-up both seasons.

Finally, that 3x5 card that Coach Schulz gave to his players. Here's what it read:

Words that could motivate just about anyone.

The Rest of the Best of the 1910s

After reviewing the best teams of the decade I'd like to highlight the best players, coach and game from 1910-1919.

The Best Game

The 1910 game between state champion Oshkosh and Marinette was a battle between two titans. Not only were the two teams evenly matched but it was a game that featured two of the best linemen for the first 30+ years of Wisconsin high school football. Junior Arlie “Hercules” Mucks for Oshkosh and senior Richard “Jab” Murray of Marinette faced each other. Oshkosh featured three all-state players and Marinette had two that season. Also playing for Oshkosh were three more future all-state payers so there was a lot of talent on the field. Playing on an inch and a half of snow, per the Appleton Post-Crescent, both teams struggled to hold onto the ball. Marinette struck first but a blocked punt and return tied the game for Oshkosh. Oshkosh's Archie Slover secured a safety on the subsequent kick-off by Mucks. In the third quarter, a fumble recovery, scoop and score (the second for end John Rasmussen) for Oshkosh put them up 13-6 which is how the game would end. Oshkosh's offense never scored but Muck's booming punts and Rasmussen's two fumble returns were enough to defeat Marinette.

Oconto fell to Marinette two weeks before this prime matchup. Chippewa Falls, the 1909 state champion, had an opening in their schedule and they challenged the Marines to a game but their only opening was the next week, one that Marinette was to play Oshkosh. Marinette asked the Titans to move their match back a week so it was agreed and Marinette went on to beat Chippewa Falls 11-8. With an open date of their own, Oshkosh challenged Oconto, who was also without a game that week and they prevailed easily over the smaller school 33-0. After beating Marinette, Oshkosh set up a title game with Eau Claire which ended in a 0-0 tie. Oshkosh then claimed the state title due to their not having been beaten by a high school team that year. They ended with a 5-2-1 record after having lost to Ripon College and Oshkosh Normal.

Despite all the talent from Mucks, Simpson, Murray and others, John Rasmussen was the star of this game with his two scoop and scores for Oshkosh. He went on to play for Nebraska and was eventually named an All-American in 1917 while playing at Camp Grant and starring in a victory over Camp Custer. Two World War I army training facilities:

Spalding's 1918 Official Football Guide

The Best Coach

Ira "Irl" Tubbs coached at Superior towards the end of the decade to two state titles as the Vikings dominated the northwest part of Wisconsin and the northeast part of Minnesota. He was a great innovator utilizing the pass to help his powerful ground game. He was also an inventor who developed the needle that is used in sports balls to inflate them. He also developed better pads and footgear for the football field. He left in 1922 to coach at Superior Normal and later as the head coach at Iowa and Miami (FL).

His 1918 Superior team ranked 3rd on my list of the top teams of the decade.

The Best Players

Yes, I know that the main Best of the Best team has seven linemen and four running backs with a total of 14 members as well as 10 very talented honorable mentions. One of those players was a tackle from Fort Atkinson named Earl Pottinger who earned first team all-state as a center on three separate press teams and on a fourth team he was named as a guard. he was hard not to put on the main all-decade team and was relegated to the honorable mention list. Note that the 1911 Fort Atkinson team has four players on that honorable mention list. I included John Hancock to the Best team as he was a super fullback for Superior as a sophomore in 1918 and a junior in 1919. He led the state in scoring for those seasons as well as in 1920. Making the selections for players whose careers overlapped decades is difficult to decide what year to show as their season on the list. For almost every list I have just the player's senior year. Arlie Mucks from Oshkosh started as a freshman in 1908 and played until 1911. He was most dominant from 1909-1911. I actually could have added him to my 1884-1909 list even as a freshman. he was that good.

Many of these players, coaches and teams are profiled in more detail in my book!

Final Note

I want to thank Dana Bertelsen of the Hoard Historical Museum in Fort Atkinson who did some very helpful research in getting the first names of seven players and coaches from the local high school for the 1902-1911 period. Those names are Coach George Lloyd who coached Fort Atkinson from 1902-1908 who directed them to the 1902 title and Coach Allen Vosberg who coached the 1911 state title team. Two of the star members of the 1911 team were already known, those being Howard Lee “Whitey” Woodin and three-year starter at halfback Earl Beach. First names were found for Earl’s brother, Burns Beach who was also a three-year starter at the other halfback spot. Other first names were found for star center Earl Pottinger, end Arthur Mussehl, guard Ralph Owens and quarterback/kicker John Dickoff. Thanks Dana!

Another thanks goes to Jerrod Roll, the Director of the Monroe County Local History Room & Museum (Sparta) and his Volunteer Researcher, Barb for their sending me great information on both the 1907 and 1913 Sparta squads. Without their help the information here and in several other stories would not have been complete.