Player of the Year: 1903-1944

In June, I wrote about the Players of the Year for 1945-1965 and I promised a list for the very early years, 1900-1944. After a lot of research I have come up with a list for 1903-1944. I spent a lot of time looking for possible players to nominate but some years have empty slots. Several years have a back but no lineman or vice versa. There are some interesting picks and in the case of some players I could have mentioned them for multiple years just as I did for 1962 and 1963 when I named Rocky Bleier of Appleton Xavier as the top back or lineman. In fact, I did name one player as the Back of the Year three times!! That was John “Ronc” or “Bone” Hancock of Superior, 1918-1920. It’s true, I have him in a tie with another senior in 1920, Jim Crowley of Green Bay East. The accomplishments that the two performed made it impossible to just pick one. Crowley would go on to star in the Four Horsemen backfield at Notre Dame, earn All-America honors and have a successful coaching career. Hancock was converted to a tackle at Iowa where he earned All-Big 10 as a senior. He moved into coaching and in 1936, while head football coach at Colorado State Teachers College (Now Colorado State University) he also coached wrestling and started the state wrestling championships. He is called the “Father of Colorado Wrestling”. While they both had Hall of Fame honors, what Crowley and Hancock did at the high school level is why they are on my list.

Hancock would set career scoring records that would last until 1982 when De Forests' Scott Reinhart would score one more point, 486, to Hancock’s 485. That’s 62 years that he held the record!! Reinhart would score 66 touchdowns and kick 81 extra points, one field goal and run for three two-point conversions in his career. “Ronc’ scored a record 73 career touchdowns (In addition to 47 extra points) and that record lasted until 1989 when the great Jeff Messenger of Marinette scored 78.

You can ask about my start date, 1903. Why that year? That was the first season I could find a reasonable candidate, Eau Claire’s Len Roseth. There were years I couldn’t make a Sophie’s choice. Between 1904 and 1908 it was hard to find a worthy POY. I just did my best. So, here it is. Look it over. I know there are gaps. But I hope you enjoy it.

YEAR PLAYER SCHOOL POSITION

1903 Len Roseth Eau Claire Back

1903 Line

1904 Back

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1905 Back

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1906 Back

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1907 Ralph Fletcher Delafield St.John's Back

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1908 Back

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1909 Gus Dorais Chippewa Falls Back

1909 Richard "Jab" Murray Marinette Line

1910 Back

1910 Richard "Jab" Murray Marinette Line

1910 Howard "Cub" Buck Eau Claire Line

1910 Arlie Mucks Oshkosh Line

1911 Back

1911 Arlie Mucks Oshkosh Line

1912 Eber Simpson Oshkosh Back

1912 Line

1913 Hank Gallo Milwaukee South Back

1913 Raymond "Tubby" Keeler La Crosse Line

1914 Walter "Willie" Reget La Crosse Back

1914 Howard "Whitey" Woodin Ft. Atkinson Line

1915 Walter "Willie" Reget La Crosse Back

1915 Clinton "Bud" Miller Milwaukee East Line

1916 Rollie Williams Edgerton Back

1916 Line

1917 Back

1917 Arnold Peters Marinette Line

1918 John "Bone"/"Ronc" Hancock Superior Back

1918 Howard "Harry" Woodin Delafield St.John's Line

1919 John "Bone"/"Ronc" Hancock Superior Back

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1920 John "Bone"/"Ronc" Hancock Superior Back

1920 Jim Crowley Green Bay East Back

1920 Line

1921 Back

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1922 Back

1922 Clarence Barofsky Marinette Line

1923 Einer Lund Marinette Back

1923 Line

1924 David Zuidmuller Green Bay East Back

1924 Line

1925 Back

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1926 Back

1926 Milt Garterbern La Crosse Line

1927 Arnie Herber Green Bay West Back

1927 Chester "Swede" Johnson Appleton Back

1927 Jack Riley Delafield St.John's Line

1928 John "Bull" Dohring Milwaukee West Back

1928 Art Krueger Milwaukee Riverside Line

1929 Back

1929 Champ Siebold Oshkosh Line

1930 Francis "Pug" Lund Rice Lake Back

1930 Milt Trost Milwaukee Washington Line

1931 Billy Angel Racine St. Catherine's Back

1931 Alphonse "Tuffy" Lemans Superior EasT Back

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1932 Eddie Jankowski Milwaukee Riverside Back

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1933 Arnie Hanson Eau Claire Back

1933 Ray Bulvid Port Washington Back

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1934 Howie Weiss Ft. Atkinson Back

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1935 Back

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1936 Irv Comp Milwaukee Bay View Back

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1937 Back

1937 Dave Schreiner Lancaster Line

1938 Back

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1939 Pat Harder Milwaukee Washington Back

1939 Paul Hinnbrunner Darlington Line

1940 Elroy "Crazey Legs" Hirsch Wausau Back

1940 Line

1941 Paul Romano Madison Central Back

1941 John Strzykaski Milwaukee South Line

1942 Roger Trotter Wausau Back

1942 Line

1943 Earl "Jug" Girard Marinette Back

1943 Line

1944 Stan Heath Shorewood Back

1944 Line

Several other notes: As mentioned last time, Arnie Hanson was the POY as a back for Eau Claire in 1933, playing as a halfback. In 1961 his son Dick earned High School All-America honors as the quarterback for Eau Claire Memorial and was POY as a back.

For 1914 Howard “Whitey” Wooden of Ft. Atkinson is the lineman POY. A freshman starter and member of the great 1911 Fort team that went undefeated, untied and unscored upon, Wooden was earning notices from around the state at age 15. He went on to play for Marquette and was one of the original members of the Green Bay Packers Ring of Honor. Four years later Howard “Harry” Wooden of Delafield St. John’s Military Academy is my pick for the 1918 lineman POY. He also went on to play for Marquette and started for a while until injuries forced him to give the sport up.

Speaking of linemen, stepping back a few years before “Whitey” Wooden in 1909 Richard “Jab” Murray of Marinette was considered the top lineman in the state as a junior. The next season, 1910, he had competition as the only time three players for the same position are named as lineman Player of the Year. Murray repeated as a senior but two others were so good they earned the POY honors as well. Howard “Cub” Buck from Eau Claire was the best in the northwest while junior Arlie Mucks of Oshkosh is also named here. Mucks would hold the sole POY lineman spot as a senior in 1911.

So much praise was heaped on John Strzykalski of Milwaukee South that I could have named him as the only player of the year for both as a back and as a lineman (Linebacker) for 1941. Known as a great power runner who threw the ball well, he led the Milwaukee City Conference in touchdown passes and scoring. He was also noted as a devastating, bone crushing tackler. He was a well sought after player by the colleges. As good as he was as a back I did pick Paul Romano of Madison Central as the top back, the Big Eight conference leading scorer and for leading Central to an undefeated season.

If you have any other suggestions or wish to challenge my list with other names feel free to pass the names on. Thanks.

1967 Oconomowoc - An Unexpected Season

After an average 4-4-0 season in 1966, Oconomowoc changed head coaches as the former coach, Ralph Lonergan, had moved on to a college job in Illinois. Moving up from an assistant's position, Ed Rux took over the helm of the Conney program. After losing five All-Little Ten conference players even Rux was wondering how the team would do. The “Purple Reign” (Another nick name for the team) would surprise even themselves with an impressive 8-0-0 record.

In 1966 the team was good in the sense that they had talent but it took a change in head coaching to change the 1967 team from thinking modestly and gaining confidence. Rux had two assistants, Gale Douglas and Dave Thomas and together they instilled pride and the confidence that the team had been lacking. As sports editor Mark Hutchinson of the Waukesha Freeman and the Oconomowoc Enterprise said in a 2013 story, many players still wondered then what would have happened if the team had made the WIAA playoffs. Those playoffs were still eight years away and the requirements to be one of the four teams chosen to play in the first three divisional games was quite stringent but those members of the 1967 team were confident they could have been state champions.

The coaches had worked the team hard and the players came through. Rux told a writer for the Freeman that the team may have had 11 letterman back but depth was a problem. They had average speed in the backfield and good, average speed on the line. Some of his players lacked size like returning letterman Larry Manne who was only 135 pounds. He may have been undersized but he was a hitter. Returning all-conference linebacker Jerry Flach was returning as was 245 pound two-way tackle Bill Tweeden. Rux picked West Bend to win the southern division of the Little Ten Conference and Watertown to be the No. 2 team with Oconomowoc in the middle of the pack.

The season opener was against Milwaukee Don Bosco, a traditional Catholic Conference title contender. For several years Don Bosco had been the season opening game for the Racoons. While Bosco was not a huge school they more than held their own against the bigger Catholic schools, Marquette, Pius, Racine St. Catherine’s and Messmer. Don Bosco would merge with Pio Nono in 1972 to form St. Thomas More High School. Oconomowoc had never beaten Don Bosco although in recent seasons they had played to 7-7 and 13-13 ties This game was just as close and after a Bob Cicenas 18-yard run in the first quarter. It took an extra point by Roger Jaeger to earn the squad their first win. This was a confidence builder to say the least for the team. As stated, the team lacked depth and only 13-players for Oconomowoc made it onto the field of play, but play hard they did. Not only was Jaeger’s foot the difference in the scoring, so was his line play as the 210 pound tackle spent much of his time on defense in the Don Bosco backfield where he tossed the opposing quarterback three times for big losses. Jim Zatrow also harassed their opponent by having nine solo tackles and four assists, stopping Bosco several times on key plays. The Dons were considered to be contenders for their conference title and would be the Catholic Conference champs as they posted an overall 7-1-0 season record and a 6-0-0 total in conference play. But, the Coons showed their fans who was better and the victory got the team off to a great start.

Even though the Coons had been outgained 139-171 the team was alive and waited for the next weeks opponent, Kettle Moraine. A 1-7-0 team in 1966, the Lasers were to graduate their first senior class in 1968. Coach Norm Bronson told the Freeman that his team would be an “awful lot better” squad in 1967 than in the previous season. Well, they were awful when they faced Oconomowoc, losing 42-0 as seven Cooney players scored six points in the game. The offense got into gear as they outgained Kettle Moraine 336 yards to 48. The defense held the Lasers to a -3 yards on the ground. KM had five first downs in the game and only one of those was in the second half. Roger Jaeger kicked the extra point after each Cooney touchdown. The game was so out of control after the third period coach Rux played his reserves the whole fourth quarter and those players gained more yards than the first team. Oconomowoc had only 25 yards in penalties to 105 for Kettle Moraine. Three quarterbacks were used in the game by the Racoons. Senior Rich Snyder started the game but junior Dan Shaw and sophomore Tom Luby filled in. Luby, in fact, scored the lone fourth quarter touchdown as he bulled his way to the endzone from 26-yards out. The Lasers would finish with a 3-5-0 record. Not awful and better than 1966.

Next up was Waupun and while they had dreams of an upset, the Racoons turned them back 21-0 for their second shutout. Bob Cicenas was the star on offense as he picked up 179 yards on 19 carries and two scores. Jim Zastrow was again the star on defense as he had seven solo and six assisted tackles plus an interception. The first three games were non-conference games and Oconomowoc was tuning up to play conference foe West Bend. Again, the defense did a superb job in stopping their opponent as the Racoons costed to a 24-0 win. Roger Jaeger played very well on the line and was proving himself to be the best blocker in the county. He also kicked three extra points and a field goal from 24-yards out after just missing on a 38 yarder earlier in the game Oconomowoc was in such command that the reserves played much of the second half. On defense, back Steve Bertram had 10 total tackles and two interceptions.

Homecoming against Homestead, a team that would finish in the middle of the pack in the Braveland (Yes, they were in the Braveland back then) Conference was on the horizon. The Highlanders would fall 28-9. Oconomowoc led 28-2 until Homestead finally crossed the goal line in the fourth quarter. Cicenas had 121 yards on 19 carries to lead the offense. Jaeger pitched in with four extra points and a blocked kick that was recovered by Jim Younger which led to a touchdown. The Cooney offense outgained the Highlanders 298 to 144.

The final three conference games were coming up and the team had great expectations. They could feel the wins coming. And win they did as they started off by beating Beaver Dam, 21-6. The usual stars shone bright that game led by Bob Cicenas who picked up 141 yards on 27 carries, two touchdowns, 27 yards on two pass receptions while contributing 10 tackles on defense. He also had punts of 42, 44 and 53 yards in his three attempts. Cicenas wasn’t the whole show. Jim Younger had 19 total tackles and stopped a Beaver player from scoring as he took the guy down on the one yard line. Roger Jaeger was one of several linemen who opened holes for Cicenas as well as continuing his streak of 17 extra-point kicks on the season without a miss. While the Racoons held the edge in total yards, 314-171, they could have had more as two third down touchdown runs, one a 39-yard run by the quarterback Rich Snyder. Offensive end/linebacker Jerry Flach had his best game since the season opener against Don Bosco and Jim Zastrow was praised by coach Rux for his play as well.

You wouldn’t expect that a team with 140 yards in penalties would level an opponent as Oconomowoc did in their 37-6 trouncing of Watertown. They had the large amount of penalty yards but the offense regrouped time and time again and crushed the Goslings as they gained 507 total yards, including 428 yards on the ground. Bob Cisenas again had a great game, picking up 207 yards on 17 carries. He scored once on an 82-yard run. But Bob shared the offensive limelight with Fred Smith who totaled 118 yards on eight carries. He finished with touchdown runs of 44,11 and 38. Smith had missed a lot of time because of injuries but now he was back and healthy. Roger Jaeger made all five extra points and stood out on defense as he tackled the Watertown quarterback for a safety. Up next was Hartford, an undefeated conference foe with a good offense and an equally strong defense.

Oconomowoc destroyed the Hartford Orioles in a great showdown, 14-0. Hartford had the conferenced leading scorer in fullback Dick West who would rush 22 times for 92 yards but not cross the goal line. In fact, Hartford gained only 87 yards on the ground as quarterback Tom Dillon ran and threw for his life. Dillon, who had over 400 yards rushing coming into the game was constantly tossed for a loss but also completed only two passes in 15 attempts with three interceptions. Bob Cisenas gained 113 yards and scored the two Cooney touchdowns. He batted down several passes, sacked Dillon twice and used his foot to punt the Orioles deep into a hole. Oconomowoc gained 224 total yards and had only 45 yards in penalties. Jaeger helped open holes and converted two conversions to make it 27 on the season without a miss. Jim Younger, Jim Zastrow, Tim Murray and Bill Tweeden also did their job on the line. Fred Smith gained enough yards to keep the pressure off Cisenas and returned a punt 42 yards to set up the second score of the game.

The Hartford game ended the season but the team and player honors were just starting to roll in. First, the team was named to the AP press final poll as the #10 ranked squad. Roger Jaeger earned All-Waukesha County as an offensive guard and as a defensive end. Other all-county players were offensive tackle Bill Tweeden, running back Bob Cinenas and defensive lineman Jim Younger. Jim Zastrow, running back Fred Smith and defensive back Steve Bertram earned special mention on the county team with end Jerry Flach earning honorable mention. When the all-conference team was announced Jaeger, Cinenas, Tweeden, Younger, Zastrow, Smith and Bertram all made the squad.

The AP all-state team was presented the last week of November and Jaeger made the first team as a defensive end and second team as an offensive guard. Bob Cinenas was listed in an honorable mention spot. About a week later in December the UPI named their all-state team and Roger Jaeger again was listed on the first team as an offensive guard and Steve Bertram was placed on the second ream as a defensive back. Jaeger who besides making 27 of 27 extra points and a field goal had a blocked kick, a safety and 56 overall tackles. He would go on to play for UW-Madison first as a linebacker then later moved to the guard spot before ending as a tackle. He was also the teams kicker for all three varsity seasons. He went on to coach at Luther College in Decorah, IA for 30+ years. He was recently honored by the school as he was inducted in to their hall of fame. Bob Cinenas gained 950 yards in 145 carries with 10 touchdowns. He attended Georgia Tech but transferred to UW-Milwaukee. He later served as head football coach at Kettle Moraine.

The main person behind all the success was coach Ed Rux, who opened his head coaching career with a bang and would become a WFCA Hall of Famer. For the next 23 seasons Rux directed the Racoon’s to a 207-93-2 record. After his long career at Oconomowoc, where the Racoons played their games in Amory Field, it was renovated and renamed in 2014 the Ed Rux Stadium. An honor well overdue for him. His 1967 team has been long remembered in the Lake Country and those former players still wonder how far they might have gone if there had been football playoffs. Quite far, I think.

Player of the Year: 1945-1965

When I wrote my book I created the list of mythical state championship teams. The list was based on research that allowed me to crown a champion for every year, sometime there was a tie, from 1897-1969/1975. (I say 1969/1975 because those were the years that the playoffs began.) Well, after looking at thousands of sports pages from a huge number of newspapers, scanning yearbooks by the dozen’s and reading a lot of online stories, I think I’ve come up with the best players for each year. Specifically, the best back and the best lineman. From the 1945 through the 1965 season I took the best information available from the AP and UPI all-state teams as well as the yearly Scholastic Coach all-America lists. 1945 was the year that the AP started its all-state team’s and 1951 is the first year for Scholastic Coach magazines All-America lists.

When Cliff Christl, now the historian for the Green Bay Backers but back in 1993 he worked for the Milwaukee Journal, gathered a number of coaches and sports writers from around the state to come up with the TEAM of the CENTURY they were able to delve deep into the past. Now, 28 years later many of those contributors to the voting for the team are gone. But the list is a another guide to honoring those great players. I’m sure a few will disagree with a name or two, just like my mythical champion list but that’s ok. I like a little controversy.

At first the list was just going to be about The Best Player. In these early years an offensive back might play the defensive line or linebacker as well. So I had to split the list into both the best back and the best lineman. There were seasons like 1945 where an end may have been the best lineman being picked over an interior player. That year two ends were standouts on both sides of the ball. Tom Biernermann of Kenosha and Stu Locklin of Appleton were tough blockers and tacklers. Instead, I chose center Robert “Red” Wilson because he was named to the second team All-Century team and the two ends were named to the honorable mention list, but it was a tough decision based on all that I read about the three.

There were years I couldn’t make a” Sophie’s Choice”. I just did my best in picking. The reason for ending the list in 1965 is because the UPI, the AP, the Milwaukee Journal, the WFCA and others started naming a player of the year in 1966. So, here it is. Look it over. I hope you enjoy reading all the great names.

YEAR PLAYER SCHOOL POSITION

1945 Lisle Blackbourn, Jr. Milwaukee Washington Back

1945 Robert "Red" Wilson Milwaukee Washington Line

1946 Bob Petruska Lake Mills Back

1946 Ken Huxhold Kenosha Line

1947 Roland Strehlow Wausau Back

1947 Bob Kennedy Rhinelander Line

1947 Pat O'Donahue Eau Claire St. Patrick Line

1948 Harland Carl Greenwood Back

1948 Dave Suminski Ashland Line

1949 Harland Carl Greenwood Back

1949 Don Penza Racine St. Catherine's Line

1950 Alan Ameche Kenosha Back

1950 Jim Temp La Crosse Aquinas Line

1951 Willie Brzeski Arcadia Back

1951 Frank Heiss Menasha Line

1952 Lee Hermsen Green Bay West Back

1952 James Yorton Kenosha Line

1953 Ron Le Mieux Green Bay East Back

1953 Dick Maierie Green Bay West Line

1954 John Cornell Algoma Back

1954 Lowell Jenkins Racine Horlick Line

1955 Eddie Hart Kenosha Back

1955 George Blommel Racine St. Catherine's Line

1956 Tom Bonofiglio Kenosha Back

1956 John Gotta Kenosha Line

1957 Jim Bakken Madison West Back

1957 Tom Downham Marinette Line

1958 Don Van Bibber Superior Central Back

1958 Paul Yutka Kenosha St. Joseph's Back

1958 Pat Richter Madison East Line

1959 Carl Silverski Shorewood Back

1959 Lou Holland Union Grove Back

1959 Jerry Thomey Kenosha Line

1960 Rich Reichart Stevens Point Back

1960 Ralph Farmer Madison West Line

1961 Dick Hanson Eau Claire Memorial Back

1961 Larry Brown Stoughton Line

1962 Robert "Rocky" Bleier Appleton Xavier Back

1962 Tom Jankowski Whitefish Bay Back

1962 Tom Omholt Wausau Line

1963 Robert "Rocky" Bleier Appleton Xavier Back

1963 Walter Paluinski Beloit Line

1964 Roger Lienhard Oshkosh Back

1964 Pat Harrington Green Bay East Line

1965 Bob Olson Superior Central Back

1965 Bobby Koch Marshfield Columbus Back

1965 Don Murphy La Crosse Aquinas Line

As I said, many years were tough to decide on a POY. Take 1949 for the top back. There was Jim Feest, a running back from Racine St. Catherine’s, the 8-0-0 state Catholic champion team (Tied for first with 9-0-0 La Crosse Aquinas). Feest’s teammate, quarterback Jim Haluska, was a star in his own right A great passer who directed the Angels attack. Next was Neal Worden from Milwaukee Pulaski. A powerful fullback, Worden led the Milwaukee City Conference in scoring and rushing. Quarterback Jim Strem from state champion Marinette was the top field general of the northeast. So why did I choose Jim Feest? To me he just stood out a bit more than the others but it was close. Remember, I’m picking players for their high school efforts and not for college or professional feats. I should also mention that besides Jim Feest and Jim Haluska, both of whom earned honorable mention to the All-Century team, end Don Penza was named to the second team list. That must have been a truly great squad. 1954 was another tough decision as end Jim Ewing of Beloit, tackle Lowell Jenkins of Racine Horlick and center Dick Teteak of Oshkosh all earned Scholastic Coach Magazine first team All-America honors. I chose Jenkins for his overall play but the choice was hard.

A multi-season POY is Robert “Rocky” Bleier of Appleton Xavier who earned honors in 1962 and 1963. I’m still working on a list of players who played from 1900-1944. It is hard to come up with some names but I should have a partial list soon. Some special notes about my choices. The first year, 1945, had both the back and the lineman of the year. The aforementioned “Red” Wilson and Lisle Blackbourn, Jr. both of Milwaukee Washington. On the list for 1956 are Tom Bonofiglio, an All-America quarterback who is my back of the year and lineman John Gotta, who also was an All-American. The 1953 0-0 season ending tie between Green Bay East and Green Bay West must have been a real battle. Tailback Ron Le Mieux led East to a 6-1-1 season that year and Dick Maierle was a standout on both sides of the line for West, a team that posted a 7-0-1 mark. Both also earned first team All-America honors. Several players who have made the early list (1900-1944) have a relationship to this one. Arnie Hanson was the POY as a back for Eau Claire in 1933, playing as a halfback. In 1961 his son Dick earned High School All-America honors as the quarterback for Eau Claire Memorial. Two players that were surprisingly not related, in 1932 Eddie Jankowski was my choice as POY as a back while he played for Milwaukee Riverside. In 1962, fullback Tom Jankowski tied for the POY spot as a back with Rocky Bleier. The two schools are just a few miles apart and Eddie coached football at Whitefish Bay but multiple newspaper stories from the time indicated they were actually unrelated.