MESSMER AND SHOREWOOD…THE LONG ROAD TO “MESSWOOD”…PART 1 (Messmer)

Two schools in cities right next to each other on the north side of Milwaukee County, less than two miles apart and both on the same street, Capitol Drive. Divided by the Milwaukee River, today the two cities are a diverse mix of economics. Shorewood is in fact a 15,000+ person village. It is a city, population size, but because if the size of land (Only composed of 1.59 square miles) the people who inhabit the area considered Shorewood to be a village.

The area around Messmer is/was a bit of mixture of residential mainly to the west and south of the school and industrial to the east north of Capitol Drive. This main street that connects the two schools is a heavily traveled thoroughfare that today bridges the two schools. But it wasn’t always that way.

Until the 1970’s the area around Messmer was heavily white but that began to change. More and more blacks moved north into the neighborhood and whites moved out. Like Milwaukee King, which is located about 11-blocks west and three blocks north on Capitol Drive, Messmer experienced the same change in the racial makeup of students beginning in the mid-1960’s. And like Shorewood football, Messmer had also declined.

Opened in 1926 and named Diocesan High School, the schools name was renamed in 1928 to honor the then current Milwaukee diocese Archbishop, Sebastian Messmer who would pass on in late 1930. 1930 was the first season of varsity football for the school and for the next eight seasons the Bishops were pretty much in the middle and lower part of the then five to six member teams of the Catholic Conference. After only one win in 1938 Messmer had 14-returning lettermen going into the 1939 season. The Catholic Conference was formed in about 1931 with Milwaukee Marquette, St. Francis Pio Nono, Milwaukee St. John’s Cathedral, Racine St. Catherine’s and Messmer. St. Stanislaus joined in 1939 and would later change the school’s name to Notre Dame. There were other Milwaukee area Catholic high schools playing football but because they were smaller schools with new programs, they weren’t officially part of the Catholic Conference.

The 1938 final standings for the conference showed Marquette (5-0-1) and St, John’s Cathedral (4-0-2) in first place, Pio Nono (3-2-1) in third place with St. Catherine’s and Messmer (Both with 0-5-1) in last place. You will notice that they show each team playing six conference games. This is confusing. St. Stanislaus played all five of the official conference teams so that makes five “conference” games. Where did the sixth conference game come from? Did they include St. Benedict, a smaller boarding school for black students and located near Marquette University. Not all of the conference teams played St. Stanislaus and I can’t determine for sure the sixth team. There was controversy that year as several teams were caught with playing an ineligible player.

The numbers on the 1939 football squad swelled from 33 to 45 including the 14 returning lettermen and as a result, even after a winless 1938, the team was picked by the other coaches in the league to win the title. The Bishops didn’t disappoint. They rolled to a final 9-0-0 record under the direction of Coach Orv Dermody. Five players would earn first team all-conference and two more made the second team.

Now this is a bit confusing. Or was it? According to a November 6, 1939 story in the Racine Journal Times the records for the teams showed that St. Johns finished with a 4-0-1 conference record and was in first place having defeated Messmer by a score of 7-0. Messmer was in second with a 4-1-0 record followed by Pio Nono (3-1-1), Marquette (2-3-0), St. Catherine’s (1-4-0) and St. Stanislaus (0-5-0) in last place. Two days later it was announced that Messmer had been declared the conference champion when St. John admitted that two starters in the previous Saturday’s victory. This was the third time in four seasons that St. John’s had used ineligible players. The final records for the two schools involved showed Messmer with a 5-0-0 record and St. Johns dropped to a 3-1-1 final standing. This was Messmer’s first title, and they were awarded the Knute Rockne trophy, an award given to the yearly football champion in the early years of the Catholic Conference. Messmer had a 2-0 season opening game win against Whitefish Bay, a 13-6 win over Neenah, followed by a conference 32-18 win over St. Catherine’s. Next, they blew out St. Benedict’s 45-6, then a close 7-0 win over Pio Nono, took Marquette down 20-6 before stomping St. Stanislaus 39-0. They lost to St. John’s 7-0, a loss that was reversed and then they played Prairie du Chien Campion and beat that squad soundly in the season finale 32-7. This would be the first of only two titles the Bishops would win. They would be declared the Catholic state football champions. Their next conference and state championship would come in 1947.

That year,1947, brought changes to the Catholic Conference. Some teams such as Pio Nono closed in 1941 and then reopened as St. Francis Minor Seminary. Don Bosco was opened nearby as a new school. In 1965 DeSales Preparatory Academy opened in place of the Minor Seminary and Pio Nono reopened. Don Bosco and Pio Nono later merged and eventually became St. Thomas More. Confused? Well, it was a confusing time for Catholic schools. St. Stanislaus became Notre Dame and Milwaukee Pius XI joined in the early 1940’s and would forge a second place 1947 spot in the league standings.

Racine Journal Times Nov. 3, 1947

As you can see by the standings, Messmer went through the seven-game league schedule undefeated but with one tie. And you will see that the tie was with seventh place Don Bosco. While doing research for my book I found a citation that showed Messmer went 8-0-0. However, that citation was incorrect and the Bishops didn’t play a non-league game that year plus there was a tie in their record. Just about every game was a battle going into the fourth quarter or to the very end. They opened with a come from behind 14-13 win again Marquette, then another close 6-0 win against Pius. Notre Dame fell 19-6 and then they took down in another come from behind win over St. Francis, 12-7. The only big scoring win was the 26-6 win over St. Catherine’s. Game #6 saw Don Bosco take the Messmer down to the wire and the Bishops tied 0-0 in a rainstorm. The season final was against St. John’s and the gas in doubt before Messmer pulled ahead 24-0 in the fourth quarter.

1947 Messmer

Not much in offense, only 101 points scored with allowing only 32. Six members of the Bishops squad, three backfield and three linemen made the All-Conference team out of eleven overall team members. They were a very highly thought of team and were ranked with Madison Edgewood as the 1947 Catholic state champions.

Messmer would after 1947 be a middle-of-the-road team, never again to be the conference champion. That is, until they merged football squads with Shorewood in 2002. More about that in Part 3. Yes, two more to come, one about Shorewood and then Messwood (The football merger).

MARKED FOR SUCCESS…1983 FOND du LAC St. MARY’S SPRINGS…LUCKY 13, PART 2

After the win over Menominee the Ledgers were tied with Waukesha Memorial for the top spot in the first 1983 WISAA poll, a spot they would hold the rest of the season. The next six games were conference games with only a week eight 14-10 victory over De Pere Abbott Pennings, the #2 team in the FVCC being close. Interceptions were the name of the game as Toshner ended the final Squires threat with a pick of a toss by Todd Gregoire. On an end around Gregoire tried to pass but was hit and Toshner was there to intercept. Earlier, Gregoire had a pick of his own. Pennings was loaded with talent as besides Gregoire they would have four other players named to the Green Bay Press-Gazette All-Metro Team at the end of the season.

A special note is needed here about another special player.

He may have been an opponent, but it would be hard to not make mention of another player. Besides Blaine Toshner, Todd Gregoire was probably the most exciting player in the state of Wisconsin in 1983. He played offensive end, defensive back and linebacker as well as being a top kicker. Todd would earn All-State honors as well as being named the FVCC Lineman of the Year. In addition, he earned honors from the Green Bay Press-Gazette as the paper named Todd to four spots on their All-Metro team. He was listed as an end, placekicker, linebacker and punter. And, yes, he was both the Offensive Player of the year and the Defensive Player of the year. He hauled in 26 passes for 698 yards and 11 touchdown receptions. On defense he intercepted 11 passes, returning two for scores along with kicking 13 field goals and 31 extra points for a total of 142 points. He had a 50-yard field goal as a junior and a 55-yarder as a senior to go with his 31 career field goals. It is amazing that with all his talent he was used mainly as a kicker for his sophomore and junior years, seldom playing on offense or defense. However, it was his kicking talent that led him as a junior to be named to the Press-Gazette’s All-Metro team and was honored as the area’s Offensive Player of the Year for 1982. But 1983 was his big year as he won the AP State Player of the Year award. He went on to star at UW-Madison as one of their all-time kicking greats.

Blaine Toshner was also a multi-talented player. He was named to the first team All-State squads as a running back, but he also played defensive back and was the teams kicker. In 1983 he was the top scorer in the state as he had 23 touchdowns and then kicked 27 extra points and four field goals for a total of 175 points. His 122 points in 1982 placed him in second place on the state scoring list behind Shorewood’s Dave Pollet who scored 124 points. Against Green Bay Premontre Blaine ran for 103 yards, caught passes for 106 more as well as intercepting a pass and making 11 tackles. He scored three touchdowns that game and nearly broke away for a long punt return. He could do it all and for years those young boys who saw him play dreamed of playing for coach Hyland and Springs the way that Blaine Toshner did. He was an inspiration to whoever he met. He didn’t have gaudy rushing totals for an All-Stater, only gaining 1,287 yards on the ground. His top 1983 rushing performance was against Menasha Saint Mary’s Central when he carried eight times for 136 yards and five touchdowns. He also had an interception in that game. Teams usually keyed on him and that left things open for fellow running back John Klinzing and quarterback Tom Lenz to make the Ledgers opponents pay for their actions.

The playoffs rolled along, and Springs would eventually play against three much bigger schools…Milwaukee Pius was 8-2 going into the first round, Waukesha Catholic Memorial was 10-0 before losing to St. Mary’s and in the finals La Crosse Aquinas was 11-0 prior to falling. Springs was leading 24-10 before Pius pulled closer with a score and extra point with 5:04 left in the fourth quarter. The Ledgers were able to shut the Popes down after their final score.

After a punt was downed on the 13-yard line a bad pitch to Toshner rolled into the end zone in the first period and he fell on it for a safety and Catholic Memorial took an early lead, but the Crusaders couldn’t move the ball all game. It took a while, but Tom Lenz ran four yards for the only touchdown of the game. The extra point was no good but later in the fourth quarter Toshner kicked a 25-yard field goal to seal the 9-2 win. It was the Ledgers defense that held memorial to 86 total yards.

Four days later the monkey was off Hyland’s and his Ledger’s backs as they steamrolled La Crosse Aquinas, 31-0. Fighting a sore back that had bothered him for much of the season Toshner closed out a brilliant career rushing for 87 yards in nine carries, returning a punt 48-yards for a score, kicked a 23-yard field goal and two extra points and to cap things off he tossed a two-point conversion pass for the team’s final points. While his career rushing stats do not sound impressive by today’s standards, but he ended his career as the city’s all-time leading rusher with 2,952 yards in 429 attempts. He passed up Phil Johnson who dropped to the #2 spot with 2,367 yards. Blaine would finish with 371 career points on 54 touchdowns, 34 extra points and four field goals. The key to the team’s success was a consistent running game. Passing effectively when needed and great defense. They held an Aquinas team that had averaged 345+ yards per game to only 117 in the finals.

Besides Toshner, Chris Miller was named to the FVCC first team at the guard spot as well to the AP first team All-State team. Mark Feyen was an offensive tackle while Mike Tenley was named as a defensive end and Eric Gross held down a linebacker position. Five other members of the team earned second team honors: Offensive tackle John Klinzing, offensive end Mike Tessner, defensive end Tony Berenz, defensive line Pete Blatz and defensive back Kyle Krueger. One of the other keys to the success was that only three Ledgers played both ways, so the team was fresh for most of their games.

13 wins in his 13th season. That number meant something special for Bob Hyland. The win over Aquinas was especially sweet as they won at Madison Memorial High School’s Marshfield Stadium, the scene of earlier championship defeats. The monkey was off their backs and Springs would move on to win many more titles.

Final Notes

Times change. After Jim Johnson left Goodrich, the school won their next conference title in 1977. Their next title wouldn't come until 38-years later in 2015, as a member of Fox Valley Classic Conference the Cardinals were champs. The team moved to the new Valley Football Association-Southern Conference and won titles in 2018 and 2019 before being realigned into the Fox Valley Association and winning in 2021. When COVID hit and the season was adjusted the Cardinals were the 2020-Spring champion of the Fox Valley Classic A-Conference. A new high school was built and opened in 2001 and the name Goodrich was dropped.

Changes happened to St. Mary's Springs as well. Old buildings were torn down as new ones were added over the years. The school had originally been a girl's boarding school, but that part of the program ended in 1956.

It took a long time for boys to begin coming in any decent numbers to the school so that is why the first record I could find of a football team was 1948. Very little of the school records from those early days of football are available in either the schools' yearbooks or the local newspaper. Today, Springs has both k-4 through 8th grade portions of the combined facilities with the high school.

I included info about the Fond du Lac public high school to show that until recent years much of the support for football in that city has gone toward Springs. Afterall, a team that has won, prior to the 2022 state championships, 17 combined WISAA and WIAA state titles and 31conference titles since 1971.

MARKED FOR SUCCESS…1983 FOND du LAC St. MARY’S SPRINGS…LUCKY 13, PART 1

With school records that go back to 1914 the city of Fond du Lac had only one high school, Goodrich, and one football team. Until 1967 the teams had only been a middle of the road to a lower tier program. In fact, they had only won one Fox Valley River Conference title and had only one runner up team. The period of 1914-1967 shows that the Cardinals had won only five games or more in a single season (57 years) six times. Not a big, proud program. Beginning in 1964 things began to change, all be it, slowly. Jim Johnson who had been an assistant for four seasons took over as the head coach. Things started slowly, going 0-8-0 in his first season 1964. He followed that with a 3-6-0 season the next year and then a 3-4-1 record in 1966. When he started, he brought on Dave Bartolluti as an assistant. George Trtan was the JV coach and in 1965 he moved up to the varsity staff while also staying the JV head coach. 1965 also saw the addition of Wayne Steffenhagen to the varsity staff. He is credited with starting a solid weight program and when he left Fond du Lac after the 1970 season to take over as the head coach at Schofield D.C. Everest, he took the knowledge and experience with him. He later became a WFCA Hall of Fame coach for his work there. His teams would go on to win four state titles.

1967 was the turning point in the Johnson era. Over the next eight seasons Fond du Lac went 59-6-1. They won the conference title four times and finished as the runner up the other four years. In that period as well as placing #1 in the UPI final football polls in 1969 and 1974 they placed in the #2 spot in the 1969 AP poll and #1 in 1974. School pride developed and fans came out to see their team march to victory. The program developed two high school All-American’s in tailback Jim Bond in 1968 and running back/linebacker Pete Johnson in 1973. Johnson, the coach’s son, was a three-time first team All-Stater. Johnson’s other son, Phil (1974) was one of at least nine other players that his dad coached to All-State honors.

Meanwhile, across town, Bob Hyland was just starting at St. Mary’s Springs in 1971. With a program that never had won more than six games in one season (Once) and usually 2-4 wins, it was a tough go in his first three seasons, posting a 4-20-2 record. Springs had been an all-girls school until the late 1940’s with the football program starting in 1948. The teams were usually the door mats of the Fox Valley Catholic (Later changed to Christian) Conference. Things got better in 1974 as the team went 6-3. Johnson retired from coaching at Goodrich at the end of 1974. The Fond du Lac program began to regress a bit beginning in 1975 but Springs caught the attention of the city.

The 1975 Ledgers went 10-1 and lost to Milwaukee Marquette in the WISAA state finals. They were named to the #2 spot in for the middle size schools in both the AP and UPI final polls that year, which were posted prior to the WISAA playoffs. This was the team’s first of four consecutive Fox Valley Christian Conference titles. The Ledgers posted 10-1, 10-2 and 10-2 records in 1976-78. The school lost in the WISAA finals each season, just as in 1975. The city of Fond du Lac was excited each season for the Ledgers as the city’s public school was dropping back to its middle of the road, pre-Johnson era.

1981 brought another regular season undefeated team but in the WISAA semi-finals they lost to Marshfield Columbus to end with a10-1 record. The rumbling in the town was that Springs, particularly Bob Hyland could not win “The Big One” Fans were not even happy with an 8-2 record in 1982. . In Hyland’s first 12 seasons the Ledgers had won five conference championships. Then, 1983 rolled around and the St. Mary’s football squad had targets on their backs. The Fox Valley Christian Conference had the Ledgers, tied with Green Bay Premontre and De Pere Pennings, listed in a coach’s poll as the odds-on favorite to win the FVCC. 1983 would be Bob Hyland’s lucky 13th season at Springs.

1983 Fond du Lac St. Mary’s Springs WISSA State Champions

Springs was one of the smallest schools in the FVCC (And today they are the smallest school in the Flyway Conference) and they have had to matchup against many schools that had much bigger players. As the above picture shows they may have had a small school population but not a small amount of varsity players available. That was the case when the team opened the 1983 season against Weyauwega-Fremont. One of the things that set the Ledgers apart from other schools was that they had speed. They used their speed to overwhelm W-F, 30-0 in that season opener. Tackle Mark Feyen, 6’0, 220 was the team’s biggest and only one of five players that weighed over 200-pounds. W-F had 12. Feyen used his blocking ability for several years opening holes for Blaine Toshner. In 1982 Toshner earned second team All-State rushing 178 times for 1051 yards and scored 122 points. Much of the attention went to Blaine but he had lots of help. Others on the line who opened holes for Toshner and the other backs were Chris Meyer (Guard), John Schommer (Guard), Joe Hughes (Tackle), Kevin Grunwald (Tackle) along with tight end Mike Tessner. All were seniors except for Grunwald who was a junior. John Klinzing shared the backfield rushing chores with Toshner while Tom Lenz handled the quarterback spot. Senior Joe Schneider held down the wide-out spot with juniors Chris Krumm and Steve Lamb sharing the slot back/messenger positions.

The defense was led by Toshner at the defensive back spot along with Steve Lamb, Kyle Krueger and Mike Tessmer at the other defensive back positions, Tony Berenz and John Welsch were the defensive ends followed by Chuck Kramer and Mike Tenley at the interior linemen. Pete Blatz held down the nose guard spot. Then there were the linebackers, Eric Gross and Dean Tighe in the 5-2 defense.

Springs followed up the win over Weyauwega-Fremont with two conference foes, Fox Valley Lutheran, and Manitowoc Roncalli before lining up against the always tough, undefeated Menominee Michigan Maroons. It was a close one, but Hyland and his team pulled the win out with a hard running ground attack and great defense.

Checking out the Ledgers schedule you will see that in 13 games the defense only allowed 54 points with seven shutouts. Theyn also scored 30+ points seven times. The team would move on more glory that season.