A FAMILY AFFAIR RELATING TO THE 1897 MADISON CHAMPIONSHIP…PART 1

Back in early January I sold a book and the buyer’s name was familiar.  I couldn’t quite place the name, but it was my son Tom, who had been my book editor, who recognized it as the same name of one of the 1897 Madison National Championship football players. 

, Lucius “Lute” Donkle From the 1897 team photo

If you’ve read my earlier stories on the championship team, I’ve mentioned Lucius Donkle several times.  Born in 1877 in Verona, WI, Lucius attended Madison High School and in 1897 was named the team captain.  My Lucius Donkle, (Lou) as it turned out upon my inquiring, is his grandson, Lucius III.

Lucius Sr had an older brother, Alfred, nicknamed “Big Dunk” who played on the 1894and 1895 state championship Madison squads.  Known as “Little Dunk” or “Lute” on the teams to tell them apart, Lucius Sr. was one of seven children growing up on a farm.  One of his jobs was to carry heavy tree trunks to be split into rails.  He later claimed that the heavy loads lowered his left shoulder so much that ready-made suits wouldn’t fit so he had them specially tailored.

After high school he attended the University of Wisconsin and then on to the University of Illinois, Chicago Medical School.  Lucius was one of six players on the 1897 team that were later physicians.  A seventh member was Joe Dean who acted as a coach for the championship game along with the main coach, Harry Cochems (Who became a noted lawyer).   Alfred graduated from UW in 1898 and then on to the University of Illinois, Chicago Medical School.  The two brothers planned on working together but in 1903 Alf died from complications a burst appendix.  Lucius and Alf were friends with the Mayo Brothers of Rochester Minnesota fame and the Donkle brothers had wanted to open a similar clinic.  Joe Dean would urge Lucius to return to Madison but he declined and stayed for the rest of his life in the Chicago area.  For many years he served many underprivileged individuals.  He was also known for his skills as a general surgeon.  Having studied in Vienna just before World War I he learned about radium treatment for cancer.  He taught surgery to Loyola University medical students at St. Bernards Hospital in Chicago.  Keeping a private practice, he moved his family to the Chicago south side.  He passed in 1948 at age 71.  

Lucius would marry and have three children, two daughters and then a son who he named Lucius II.   Lucius Jr. attended Hyde Park High School in Chicago and in 1939 the team went 7-3-1 making it to the Chicago Public School finals. He was one of the stars on the team, playing tackle like his father.

1940 Chicago IL. Hyde Park H.S. Yearbook

Lucius Jr. would serve in the military during World War II and eventually graduate from Cornell University with a BSME and then from Harvard University with an MBA.  He would work in the engineering and marketing fields in Illinois. His son, Lucius III, who bought the book, would also play high school football as a tackle (A family tradition) for Rich Central High school in Olympia Fields Illinois and would, like his father, attend Cornell and become an engineer. 

Lucius Donkle III high school picture.

Lucius III lives in Valparaiso Indiana and it is here that the 1897 football continues, 128-years later.  Lucius III pointed out to me that he also had an emergency appendix operation when he was in his 20’s, like his grandfathers’ brother Alfred.  It was the stories that Lucius Sr. told Junior about the championship team that were then passed down to his two sons, Lucius III and Chris and his daughter Heidi that will lead us to the main part of the story.

On October 6, 1997, the Madison School District threw a centennial celebration and reception for 29 relatives of the team players and coaches. Lucius Jr., his son and other family members attended, and a video link is attached:

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?ref=saved&v=10208572357574263

In 2006, to elevate and to help preserve the memory of the MHS 1897 team’s achievement, Lucius Jr. contacted the NCAA headquarters in Indianapolis and offered a copy of the original photos of all four school championship teams, including the 1897 team’s achievements noted below the pictures.  The pictures had been awarded to his father, Lucius Sr. who had been the team captain.  The NCAA graciously accepted the photo array and placed it the hallway between their building and that of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), which is located next door on the same campus.  The location between the NCAA and the NFHS buildings selected to represent the transition of student athletes to collegiate athletics.

Lucius Jr. and Lucius III looking at pictures of the early Madison teams.

The citation under the photo’s notes that Madison High School won what is believed to be the only true national high school championship.

Lucius Jr.  with his wife Joellen and Lucius III standing by statues representing the “Flying Wedge” a formation that led to the sport nearly being banned by President Teddy Roosevelt because of so many deaths that occurred playing the game. The formation of the NCAA saved the game through changes in the rules. 

This isn’t the end of the story.  There’s more to come as the “traveling” statue goes to Florida.  Next time, soon, PART 2.

EAST VS. WEST…MADISON…1977

On October 22, 1976, two teams met up to help decide the conference championship and secure the Madison city championship.  That championship covered the four Madison public high schools…East, West, Memorial and La Follette.  West blanked East, 12-0 and the next week would end up with an 8-1 record.  The setback for East dropped their championship chances, narrow as it was, and they would end the season with a 6-3 season record.  Neither team earned enough poll points for the WIAA to set them up for the first public school playoffs.  Both teams had a number of underclassmen, and they expected to have good seasons in 1977.

The two head coaches were looking forward to the September 23, 1977, matchup.  They each knew they had “the horses” to go all the way to the state playoffs.  Sometimes there were split loyalties in families entering a city game.  It all depended on where you lived.  The season before in 1976, Dick Falch became an assistant to West’s Burt Hable while his son, Rich was a halfback at East.  Now, Rich was back for his senior year.  Going back to 1975 Ben Hable, an all-state end for Madison Memorial opposed his father in the clash between the two schools.  Ben scored a touchdown that game, but Memorial came up very short in a 41-6 trouncing by West which was also Hable’s 100^th career win.  For this 1977 September game the question was where would Mrs. Helen Falch, Dick’s wife, Rich’s mother, sit for the game?  She chose the Purgolders side to support her son. 

The 1977 regular season matchup came two days after the WIAA released its first of the season computer rankings.  Ther Regents were rated #1 in the Class AA poll and the Purgolders were in the #4 spot behind #2 Stevens Point and #3 Green Bay Southwest.  East’s head coach, Knobby Kelliher, was feeling the effects of a bad case of the flu but he was up to coaching.  East would use halfback Rich Falch and fullback John Richards to be the lead blockers for one of the state’s best runners, Timm Minor.  The Purgolders played 22 starters, none who went both ways and had several larger defensive players in the 220-pound range.  West had six two-way players in Tim Straka at offensive end and defensive back, Jeff Knoche who also played o-end and d-back, quarterback/ d-back Pat Devine, halfback/d-back Pat Gilbert, o-guard/d-tackle Kevin Miller, fullback/linebacker Matt Svensson and offensive tackle/ defensive guard Dick Judd.

It was raining hard for the September 23^rd game and East jumped to a 14-8 lead.  Pat Gilbert scored first for West on a 12-yard run and then the two-point conversion run.  Timm Minor, the City and Big Eight Conference scoring leader blasted in from the five for East’s first score.  Rich Falch would get loose for a 44-yard scamper and a two-point reception by end Brian Elliott from quarterback John Robertstand the Purgolders.  Late in the second quarter Easts Tim Straka would haul in a 10-yard touchdown pass from Pat Devive and a kick for the extra point by mark Disrud.   West would enter the lockers at halftime with a 15-14 lead.  The Regents would shut down the East running game in the second half, score again on a Pat Gilbert 1-yard run and a Disrud extra point kick to win 22-14.  Timm Minor would gain only 76 yards in the game, his lowest total throughout the year.  Falch picked up only 54 yards including his big second quarter jaunt.  The stronger Regent defense led by many including Matt Svensson shut down Easts run game.  Svensson also gained 117-yards on 22 carries to power the offense.  Madison West would maintain the #1 spot in the poll, but East would drop out of the top 10.

The two teams would go undefeated until their playoff showdown on November 5.  In fact, Madison West was the only Class AA team to go undefeated during the regular season (9-0).  The showdown was set by the WIAA as the two schools were slated to meet in the first round of the playoffs.  West was favored but with halfback Timm Minor piling up rushing yards and touchdowns East had a good chance to win.  While Coach Kelliher relied on his super star halfback and his team’s defense, Coach Hable’s Regents were more balanced overall.  With a good running game and a little better passing attack, thanks to end Tim Straka’s receiving talents and a bit tougher takeaway defense they had the horses. 

At Madison’s Mansfield Stadium before 7,000+ fans the battle began at 7:30pm and the Regents took quick control.  Junior Dan Trieber broke loose early in the first quarter for a 68-yard sprint and West never looked back.  Trieber again scored on a 4-yard run and along with Mark Disrud’s extra points West took a 14-0 lead, a lead that they held onto at halftime.  Trieber would gain 131-yards rushing and along with the Pat Gilbert’s 75-yards as West piled up 234-yards on the ground.  Minor would rush 29 times for 128-yards and the Purgolders only score.  Gilbert would score a final West score in the fourth period and the Regents would win 22-6.  Trieber would run for a two-point conversion to complete the scoring.

The next week West would meet Stevens Point for the title and win 19-14 for the state title.  Tim Straka would star as he hauled in two touchdown passes (21 and 68 yards) and intercept two of the four Regent passing takeaways to seal the title.  Down 14-0 in the second quarter, Straka led the comeback.  As it turned out it would be the city of Madison’s state title so far in the playoff era.  The next season in 1978, Madison Memorial would make it to the finals against Antigo and lose 21-14 in OT.  This would be the last time a Madison team would make it to the state finals.

Both coaches, Wayne “Knobby” Kelliher and Burt Hable were elected to the WFCA Hall of Fame, 1999 and 1996 respectively.   Knobby also wrote a book, “Football, Madison Style” that gave me some insight into the various early Madison teams that I used for my book on Wisconsin high school football history.  Burt Hable coached me for a week during the summer of 1969 when I attended a pre-season camp in upper Wisconsin near Eagle River prior to my senior year.  Both coaches’ efforts helped me in different, positive ways to view the game.

The season totals:

        Madison West:                                          Madison East:

Offense:

Rushing             2.826                                             2,140

Passing                641                                                454

Total Yards       3,467                                             2,594

Average P.G.   315.2                                            259.4

Defense:          

Rushing:          1,423    1,074

Passing               641                                                  541

Total Yards     2,064                                               1,615

Average P.G.  187.6                                                161.5

Comparatively speaking, both had adequate offenses, comparable to that era, to get the job done and very good defenses.  Each team also had star power. 

For All-City honors (There were seven Madison high schools at the time), West had eight players named in nine first team positions.  Tim Straka was named as an end on offense and a defensive back on defense.   Kevin Miller was named at offensive guard, Vic Hoffman at offensive tackle, Pat Devine at quarterback and Pat Gilbert at running back.  Named on defense, besides Straka, was defensive lineman Dick Judd, linebacker Bart Wear and linebacker Matt Svensson.  Three players on offense and three others were named to the All-City second team plus six others earned honorable mention.  On the season Straka would catch 25 passes for 452 yards and seven touchdowns to go along with nine interceptions.  In four of his teams 11 games Straka caught the go-ahead touchdown.

East was led by Timm Minor who gained 1,332 yards on the ground and scored 18 touchdowns.  Minor was named to the All-City offense along with guard Kevin Powers and tackle Doug Johnson.  On defense Brian Elliott held down a end spot, lineman Paul Gorman, linebacker Ray Nyland and defensive back Paul Ripp.  One East player was named to the second team offense and three were named to the defense as well as nine players received honorable mention.

When the Associated Press All-State team was named on November 23 Tim Straka was again named on both sides of the ball as an end and defensive back.  East’s Timm Minor was also named to the first team at running back.  Bart Wear from West was named as the first team center, Brian Elliott of East was on the first team defense at the end spot and Ray Nyland earned a position as a linebacker.  On the second team, offense Kevin Miller of West was named as a guard while East’s tackle Doug Johnson earned a spot mas well.

Two very good teams coached by two very special men that rose to be the best in the city of Madison and the state.

1922 BATTLE FOR THE STATE TITLE

It was a wild ride to the 1922 football state title.  So many teams could have been considered to contend for the title.  The battle to be named #1 forced changes in the Wisconsin high school sports landscape. 

As of November 13, 1922, 13 schools were, in some way or another in contention for a title game match-up.  Some were undefeated, a few had one loss but they were good teams despite the losses.  A few were “Academies” and the public schools didn’t or wouldn’t take them into consideration for a title game.  Some individuals tried to force others to bend to their wishes to ensure that their school held an undue advantage.  Other schools felt it wasn’t worth the expense or the gate receipts offered to meet up with an opponent. 

The 13 schools were: (Season records as or November 13)

Darlington (6-2-0)             Delafield St. John’s (5-1-2)

Edgerton (7-1-0)               Ft. Atkinson (8-0-1)

Green Bay East (6-2-0)    La Crosse (7-0-0)                            

 Marinette (7-0-0)              Milwaukee Marquette (4-0-1)     

Oshkosh (3-0-2)                 Sheboygan (7-0-0)

Stevens Point (7-0-0)        Superior (8-0-0)

West Allis (8-0-0)       

November 13 was an important date that season.  Many teams played Armistice Day (November 11) games and they often closed their season then.  A few would shoot for a final game on Thanksgiving Day but that day in 1922 was 17-days away, on the 30^th.  Marinette, the 1921 state champion, was on a train on that day, 11/13, to Toledo Ohio to play Toledo Scott High School.  Scott was one of the top teams in Ohio and was undefeated.  It should have been a good match-up of two powerhouse squads.

While Marinette traveled the WIAA decided to issue a statement concerning a possible title game, a game that they often encouraged.  In 1921 Marinette received a pennant from the WIAA honoring their acclaimed state title.  In looking back to 1914 the WIAA had, in years since, presented several such banners.  The association encouraged powerful state newspapers to help set up the match-ups.

On the 13^th Fred J. Holt of Edgerton, the new chairman of the WIAA board of control, said that Superior and La Crosse should meet to determine the top team in that area of the state.  He also issued a statement that there would be no state champion that year.  Paul Neverman, Superintendent of Marinette Schools (1919-24) was an advisor to the WIAA and later the organizations first secretary.  Newspapers reported that Neverman tried to exert pressure on the WIAA board to further help Marinette be part of another championship awarded by the organization.  It was to no avail.

That same day, November 13, prior to leaving for Toledo, Marinette finalized a deal to play West Allis on November 23, later moved to the 30th.  Marquette University High School then issued a challenge to the winner of the Marinette and West Allis game for a “real” state championship title game.  If such a game would happen could the winner claim to be the official state champion?  In truth, the WIAA would not condone the use of the term champion by a school?  In fact, they couldn’t prevent newspapers, egged on by competing schools, from using the term state champion.   So, schools went forward with title talk. 

Two days prior to the WIAA’s declaration of no state title being awarded La Crosse played Chicago Lane Tech on the field of La Crosse Normal.  In a patriotic celebration the Red and Black destroyed their Chicago foe 48-6.  Lane was supposed to be a powerhouse of their own.  The school had 4,600 MALE day students and 1,800-night class attendee’s verses a Wisconsin school that had 300 boys.  Because the schools wanting to facilitate the needs of the students, they actually had three football squads…the “heavies”, the “middies” and the “lights”.  Managed by Coach Clark who moved players from team to team to get what he hoped was the best group to the next games opponent.  Lane played schools all over the place…Toledo (Ohio) Waite, Hinsdale (A Chicago suburb). Flint Michigan, and the Chicago Public School league foes Austin and others.  They lost to Austin and that failed their attempt to win the city title.  Coach Clark claimed that his best team, the “heavies” faced La Crosse but there were doubts.  Following the blowout undefeated Winchester (MA) challenged La Crosse to a game prior to that schools annual Thanksgiving Day meeting with Woburn (MA) Memorial.  Winchester offered to come to La Crosse but were turned down.  The Red and Black chose to meet Superior on Thanksgiving and take the nearly three weeks interim to rest and prepare for the Vikings visit.

What was going on was schools like La Crosse, Marinette, Oshkosh and Madison usually played only home games.  They wanted the local crowd advantage. 

While enroute to Toledo, on top of their setting up a game with undefeated West Allis, Marinette received a challenge from another top Chicago team, a really strong Tilden High School, a school that was large but only had one squad.  The Marines had accepted the challenge but with no contract signed they backed out of the game.  They didn’t want to play in Chicago and Tilden didn’t think the gate split of the receipts would cover their expenses.  Marinette would get blown out by Toledo Scott 45-19.  It was the amount of the gate receipts that made the Marines visit the Ohio city.  When Marinette and West Allis agreed to play, the team from southeast Wisconsin insisted on a neutral site.  They got it but how neutral was it to play the game in Menominee Michigan, across the river from Marinette?  Poor West Allis had to travel over 185 miles to the game while Marinette had to go only less than three miles.  Some neutral site.

All this haggling over gate receipts, teams not wanting to play away games, one team scheduling their next opponent one day then dropping them for a better matchup was driving the WIAA crazy.  They really wanted no part of an official state championship and they were hearing from many schools about scheduling problems.  On top of it all, Marinette still thought of themselves as the team to beat.  With all this haggling over who would play whom it settled down to the following: On November 24 Marquette High School issued a challenge to both Marinette and West Allis to play for a “true” state title.  Marinette turned the challenge down as they didn’t play “academies” (private schools.).  No answer from West Allis.  On November 30, Thanksgiving Day, Marinette beat West Allis 41-0.  Superior beat La Crosse 14-12 that same day.  Marinette and Superior should have been matched up for the un-official title. 

Marinette would, along with the newspapers push, following the Thanksgiving Day game with West Allis, set to meet Sheboygan on a neutral field in Green Bay.  Marinette dictated the event by stating that undefeated Superior had only played one Wisconsin high school.  In fact, while the Vikings played mainly against nearby Minnesota schools, they did play Ashland and Eau Claire so they also didn’t get any love, only the approved title of the Champs of the Northeast

Oshkosh, Stevens Point, Delafield St. John’s, Ft. Atkinson, Darlington, Edgerton and Green Bay East also go “no love” when it came to a title game.   Oshkosh's, Darlington's, Marquette, Ft. Atkinson, Edgerton, Stevens Point and Green Bay East all kept the same records of November 13. Delafield St. John's would end up with a 6-1-1 record, West Allis would go 8-1-0, La Crosse would end with an 7-1-0 season, Superior posted a 9-0-0 season and Marinette would have a 8-1-0 record and the title.

A side note here: Perhaps the schedule played by Delafield St. John’s Military Academy was too tough for a Wisconsin high school to hope to match.   True, the school had no real chance of a final matchup with a Wisconsin public school.  The Lancers would end their year with a 6-1-2 record.  They weren’t considered by the press because they hadn’t played any Wisconsin high schools…only a semi-pro team, six colleges (Some college varsity or school “seconds”, a military academy from Missouri and a team from the U.S. Naval Training School from Great Lakes Naval in Illinois.  They tied 0-0 to Milwaukee Normal (Now UW-M) and Whitewater Normal (Now UW-Whitewater) and lost 7-0 to Carroll College.  They beat the others, playing most games on the road. Their overall record stands tall, though.

 The question would be why any team would decide to play Iin December? But Sheboygan and Marinette did meet on the 9^th.  Marinette would win, 6-3 on a snowy, windy and cold day.

So why is the 1922 season so important in state football sports history? 

Because the WIAA would further insist that schools form into conferences and avoid the challenge system. Stop scheduling on the "fly", so to speak. That was done beginning in the 1923 season with a few exceptions.  Marinette would go 10-0-0 and be declared by the press as the mythical state champion. Scoring 455 points, shutting out seven opponents and allowing only 25 total points, the Marines soundly beat most opponents, with only two exceptions.  First, a 13-0 win over Milwaukee Marquette.  They must have changed their minds about playing academies.  And second, they played a final game against Rockford Illinois and won 14-12.  It was, to my information, the last “challenge” game allowed by the WIAA and maybe the last Thanksgiving Day game played by a state school.  In 1942 Wausau and Delafield St. John’s were undefeated and an attempt was made for the two schools to play a “showdown” game, but it never came off for various reasons but mainly the WIAA rule about no post-season games.  In 1969 the private schools under the WISAA began playoffs and the WIAA would follow suit in 1976.  So, between 1924 and 1968 it would be the press who would declare a state champion.  The first official press poll would be in 1947 and then restarted in 1958.  Between 1924-1946 and the 1948-1955 seasons it was sort of a “gentleman’s agreement” between the press and the state schools as to what team was tops.  And with that, until there were playoffs, only a few disagreements would occur.