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.

1940'S+...THE GREATEST GENERATION BEGINS TO SHINE…PART 2

Yes, I know I spent a lot of time on the 1940’s Great Teams. This was a generation of superb programs and I wanted to highlight their accomplishments. This was the decade when the first official All-State teams were named, starting in 1945 by the Associated Press. The first statewide press poll for the top teams on a weekly basis was in 1947, introduced also by the AP with Appleton (8-0-0) nosing out Wausau (7-0-1). The polls would be for only that year in the 1940’s but not revived by the United Press International until 1958. Now, for more.

THE BEST GAME

Again, a number of choices but I found the best to choose from involved Marinette vs. Menominee (MI). The 1943 7-0 Marinette win was a classic featuring Earl “Jug” Girard. 1949’s 19-0 win by the Marines received national attention in Life Magazine. But I chose the 1948 14-12 battle between the two was also a classic. It pitted the undefeated #3 ranked, in the final 1947 AP poll, Marinette (8-0-0) vs. 7-1-0 Menominee which was the Michigan press’s top Northern team in the state and was undefeated until they lost the heartbreaker from the other side of the river.

Geography plays a part of these two twin cities. The Menominee River, flowing from Green Bay which is part of Lake Michigan and forming a good portion of the border between Wisconsin and Michigan, divides the two cities. Marinette got the better harbor area and after the area business of timber logging began to lag the town became known as a shipbuilding haven. Menominee also prospered in the logging business but moved into manufacturing as its main interest in business.

Menominee won their first two games against Wisconsin teams, Oshkosh and Shawano then reeled off five more wins against Michigan foes before meeting Marinette. The Maroon’s were a force to be recorded with as they had three All-State players and three more that were named to the All-Northern Michigan team. Marinette had beaten Fond du Lac, Eau Claire and Watertown as Wisconsin foes. They played four Michigan teams with Escanaba and Iron Mountain being comparable opponents. Marinette was the underdog with two starters out with injurie and another hobbled with bad knees. The Maroon’s had shut out five teams and had allowed only 12 points. Things looked tough for the Marines.

It was a crazy defensive battle. Menominee kicked the ball to end Dick Pederson who ran 67-yards to the three to set up the first score of the game. It took Pat Dionne three tries to get the ball over the goal, but he succeeded, and Pederson kicked the extra point and Marinette had the lead. On the ensuing kickoff co-captain Mike Shatusky for the Maroons returned the ball 80-yards for a touchdown but the extra point was missed. Later in the first quarter Menominee drove the field for the next score as halfbacks Shatusky and Mike McCormick traded carries with McCormick scoring from the 11-yard line. Again, the extra point was missed and so the score stayed 12-7 with Menominee in the lead until the fourth quarter. It was a defensive struggle for both teams. On a fourth and inches run late in the quarter the Maroons failed to pick up he first down on the Marines 25-yard line and then Marinette got to work. Quarterback Ted Wolfe completed two crucial passes in their only good drive of the day getting the ball to the Menominee four-yard line. Wolfe ran off left tackle for the score and Pederson again kicked the extra point and the game would end 14-12.

Two good offensive teams played fine defense in the 51st meeting of the two teams, a series that started in 1894. Marinette led the series 25-20-6 as they gained only 163 yards in the game but allowed only 167. The key was three fumble recoveries and intercepted one pass. Pederson and end John Krueger, who caught the two long key passes in the final drive, were the heroes of the game.

SPECIAL NOTE: THE FIRST WEEKLY TEAM RANKING POLL: The final AP poll was released the same day of the game, November 11, Armistice Day (Now called Veterans Day). The pollsters gave the Orange Terrors of Appleton the top spot in the final poll as the sportswriters gave them five first place votes. Wausau, 8-0-1 dropped to the #2 spot, also with five first place votes. Marinette had two first place votes for the top spot, but some voters gave them a few lower points based on their not playing more Wisconsin teams and missed the second spot by just four overall points. Team standings were figured on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis with 10 points for #1 and 1 for #10. The previous week Beloit had been #3 but traded spots with Marinette. Here is the final poll:

As you can see Madison Edgewood didn’t receive any first- place votes nor did Milwaukee Messmer. Like Messmer, Milwaukee Custer’s name was misspelled, missing an” e”. Menominee dropped from the #5 spot in the overall Michigan poll down to #9 but was the Northern champions. Had the poll been taken the next week Marinette may have moved up even further in the polls.

THE BEST COACH

While the decade produced many great coaches, many mentioned in the blog THE 1930’s, part 2, there really can be only one at the top of the list. That was Win Brockmeyer of Wausau.

No team dominated the state football scene in the 1940s like Wausau High School. Win Brockmeyer would coach Wausau for 34 years (1937-70) and in that time posted a career record of 230 wins, 33 losses and 19 ties. In 1993, 23 years after he retired, he was voted in a poll of former coaches and sportswriters conducted by the Milwaukee Journal as the top coach in the previous 100 years (1893-92). As the head coach, not only did Wausau enjoy a 45-game win streak (fourth longest in Wisconsin high school history) during the late 1930s and the 1940s but they also had a 70-game conference unbeaten streak. From 1938 through 1949, Wausau won 83 games, lost four and tied five. 55 of those games were shutouts.

Win Brockmeyer…Wausau HS Yearbook…1945

Born in Mankato Minnesota, Win Brockmeyer attended the University of Minnesota and starred on the football field, graduating in 1929. Even with all-time college and NFL fullback Bronko Nagurski playing in the same backfield, Brockmeyer led the team in rushing. He then played a season of semi-pro football before moving on to coach Fergus Falls (MN) in 1931-33 and then Faribault (MN) in 1934-37. While at Faribault he coached Bruce Smith, a future all-American and 1942 Heisman Trophy winner at Minnesota. Moving to Wausau in 1937, Brockmeyer spent the next 37 years not only coaching football but also basketball (1938 state champions and runners-up in 1939), track, boxing, golf and tennis. Besides coaching Crazy Legs Hirsch, Brockmeyer would also coach a second future Pro Football Hall of Famer in Jim Otto. A center/linebacker at Wausau, he went on to attend the University of Miami and achieved superstardom with the Oakland Raiders for 15 seasons.

As you look at my Best Players list. There were some hard choices and more than just 11-players for the 11-man team. Several Honorable Mention players just missed making the Best Player list.

THE BEST PLAYERS

If I had to pick the top player of the decade, I would choose Elroy Hirsch of Wausau. He played left halfback in his teams Wing-T and led the squad in rushing, scoring and passing. Yes, I reported in the previous blog the team’s overall stats but other than scoring, individual totals were not available. The teams 1,084 yards passing probably was a state record for a team. Because Coach Brockmeyer substituted liberally Hirsch’s official rushing and passing totals were not super but when he was in the game, he was a powerful force

1940'S... THE GREATEST GENERATION BEGINS TO SHINE…PART 1

NOTE: The following may be more of an in-depth look at this decade than others. Mainly, because of all the history here in the two blogs…Part 1 and Part 2. I want to pass on to you the best story I can.

NBC broadcaster, Tom Brokaw wrote a very good book in 1998 entitled The Greatest Generation depicting Americans who came of age during the Depression, went on to fight in World War II and forge a new and better life for themselves and their families. These people overcame tremendous hardships and those of us today owe much to them. The star players of the 1940’s were born in the 1920’s and 30’s. Most of their coaches had survived the First World War years and the post war years to direct classic teams. They were part of The Greatest Generation.

If you look at many of the yearbooks from high schools during the war years you will see tributes to former students who were in the services and an occasional tribute to former students who died. In my book I even mentioned that two players, team captains Dick Arndt and George Howard, for the 1943 Baraboo team were drafted before they had even graduated and following their next to last game that season, they left for basic training. Most of the time it was the January graduates who were first to serve. That was the same for many draft age teachers and coaches.

While I like to concentrate mainly on high school players and coach’s I want to mention a bit about college players and some coaches. In 1940 Elroy Hirsch of Wausau was the top high school player in the state. After graduating he chose to attend the University of Wisconsin in Madison and played there as a freshman and a sophomore. Following his sophomore season he enlisted in the Marine Corps and after being inducted he was sent to the University of Michigan as part of the V-12 navy College Training Program, and he played football for the Wolverines. Later, after graduating he played football for the Marines in Virginia and California. He was one of several hundred thousand recruits/draftees went through the Army, Navy and Marine programs to develop officers for the services. The military though football was a way to best develop physically men for future combat.

The Navy had special teams at four major colleges, Iowa, North Carolina, St. Mary’s in California and Georgia. The 1944 Iowa Pre-Flight team went 9-1-0 playing an independent schedule and ended up ranked #6 in the final college AP poll. Meanwhile, the University of Iowa Hawkeyes went 1-6-1, going 0-4-1 in the Big Ten. Even if you think you know a lot about Elroy Hirsch look at the Wikipedia page and you will be amazed at how good of an athlete he was: Elroy Hirsch - Wikipedia. The war interrupted the lives of millions of football players. Many entered the services and would finish their college education several years after the war. The NCAA relaxed eligibility rules for those student athletes and that proved to be a boom for some college programs who received returning players who were now older and stronger.

As mentioned, this was a time of great changes to the Wisconsin athletic landscape. Young teachers were inducted into the military, thus interrupting their civilian careers. Some returned as teachers and coaches and others, now older, moved into administrative positions. I alluded to some of those changes in my blog on Waukesha 1943-63: Waukesha 1943-63 (wihifootball.com)

The 1940’s had more than a number of GREATS…Teams, Coaches and Players. There are so many choices. Here are the great teams:

First, the honorable mentions (In no special order):

1942 Milwaukee Marquette (9-0-0), 1947 Appleton (8-0-0), 1941 Prairie du Chien Campion (9-0-0), Racine St. Catherine’s…4 Catholic state titles…1943 (7-0-1), 1945 (8-0-0), 1946 (8-0-0 and the #4 team, 1949 (8-0-0), Madison Edgewood…4 Catholic state titles…tied with St. Catherine’s in 1946 (8-0-0), tied with Milwaukee Messmer in 1947 (8-0-0), Individual championships in 1944 and 1945 (8-0-0 both seasons), 1947 Milwaukee Messmer (8-0-0) and 1943 Shorewood (8-0-0).

Now, for the top 10…well, actually the top 15 (there are three ties so let’s make it the top 13.

#13 1940 Milwaukee South Division 8-0-0

This team had it all. Size, speed and ability. They conquered the Milwaukee City Conference for the second consecutive year under the direction of Art Krueger who spent nine seasons as South’s head coach, winning three city titles. This was the best of them led by one of the all-time great’s, John Strzykalski who was a versatile speedy halfback, a good passer and a sure handed receiver as well as a devastating tackler. John was one of five 1st team All-City players on the Milwaukee Journal team. He went on to star at Marquette University and was the first-round pick in the 1946 NFL draft, taken by the Green Bay Packers but he never played for them. Instead, he spent seven seasons with the San Francisco 49’s. The team scored 286 points and allowed only 33.

# 12…Tie between 1949 Milwaukee Pulaski (8-0-0) and 1949 La Crosse Aquinas (9-0-0)

1949 was a classic season for football. Other than 1942, this season may have produced the best assortment of teams. Pulaski had a fine offense and a very tough defense. The school was opened seven years before and Coach Gene Wozny was blessed with a lot of talent. Six members of the team were named to the All-City team Heil Worden was the leader on the team and earned All-State as well as honorable mention All-America. He led the conference in scoring, and he would take his talents to Notre Dame, playing fullback. He later played in the NFL and the Canadian Football League.

Aquinas not only tied with Racine St. Catherine’s for the 1949 Catholic title. Aquinas, along with St. Cat’s they would have been a fine match for any of the public schools. The BluGolds waltzed through the season scoring 252 points and allowing 70. End Jim “Dumbo” Temp was the largest player on the team standing 6’3,200. No other player weighed more than 185 pounds and most starters were 145-170 pounds. Granted that there were only three high schools in La Crosse but seven of the All-City team (Named by the La Crosse Tribune) were from Aquinas. They were cousins Chuck Skemp, halfback, and fullback Mike Skemp, halfback Jim Skaff, guard Dick Coughlin, tackle Dick Pouzar, end Bob Gilbert and junior Jim Temp who is on my top players of the 1950’s.

# 11 1945 Milwaukee Washington 8-0-0

Lisle Blackbourn would coach two more seasons at Washington, leaving after the 1947 season to coach Marquette University and later the Green Bay Packers but this 1945 team was one of his best. Powered by his son, Lisle Blackbourn Jr, who earned All-State honors on both the AP and UPI teams and was awarded a special trophy as the state’s top player. He scored 104 points as he crossed the goal line 14 times, kicked 18 extra points and two field goals. The Puregolders were held to 19 points, a season low by Madison East, in the season opener but after that they scored between 32-58 points in the next seven games. They put up 322 points on the season and allowed 50. Tackle Robert “Red” Wilson stared on both sides of the line.

#10 Marinette 1943 8-0-0

Playing tailback at 5’9,145, Earl “Jug” Girard guided the Marines to an undefeated season. Not a big size team, they used their speed and abilities to master their opponents. Girard latterly carried the team offensively passing for six touchdowns and rushing for 13. He was a good kicker, making 13 extra points, but he was a superb punter. On a soggy, mud-soaked field in near freezing weather he scored the only points in a 7-0 win over Menominee. He carried the ball 56 times (Another report I had read said 49 carries and that was listed in my book) for178 yards and the win. In 1993 he was named to the first team of the 1993 All-Century Football squad in the Milwaukee Journal as a punter. He would miss two seasons due to military service but return and after graduating from the University of Wisconsin he would play 10-seasons in the NFL.

#9 Whitefish Bay 1948 8-0-0

Champions of the tough Suburban Conference the Whitefish Bay Blue Dukes beat their three main contenders for the conference title: Shorewood, 26-0, Wauwatosa, 14-6 and Waukesha, 14-7. All had fine seasons going 5-2-1, 5-3-0 and 6-1-1 respectively as Whitefish Bay prevailed. Only the final game of the year against West Milwaukee, was the outcome really in doubt. West Milwaukee posted a 1-7-0 record, but they came into that battle fired up and though they lost they put up a good fight with the Blue Dukes coming out on to, 6-0. Coach Eddie Jankowski kept the team together as that season the weather was bad and there were a few injuries. The last three games against Wauwatosa, Waukesha and West Milwaukee were all played in heavy rain or with the field is poor shape due to earlier inclement weather. They scored 197 points at a clip of almost 33-points a game before the final three and only allowed 40 on the season. Five members of the team made the All-Suburban team.

#8, #7 and #6 Wausau 1945 (8-0-0), 1944 (8-0-0) and 1943 (8-0-0)

Combined, all three of these were very dominating as they held 16 of their 24 opponents scoreless. As you will read later, Coach Win Brockmeyer was the most successful coach of the decade. His 1945 team scored 184 points and allowed 41. During these three seasons the most points scored by an opponent was in the 39-21 win over Stevens Point in 1945. In all the other seasons no more than eight points was scored by the opposition and that was also in 1945. In 1944 the defense was very stout allowing only a single touchdown in a 31-7 win over Antigo in the second game. The Cardinals scored 203 points. 1943 was the better of the three teams offensively as Wausau scored 240 points, including a 1-0 forfeit by Nekoosa and allowed 19 points. For many seasons Wausau played only a conference schedule but when Nekoosa dropped out of the conference, they had to step out of their comfort zone. Being the largest city and then the largest school in the Wisconsin Valley Conference, Wausau dominated the region for many years.

#5 Marinette 1949 8-0-0

This was a top-notch team with many stars. Quarterback Jim Strem earned All-State honors passing for 897 yards and 13 touchdowns, scored four more himself and kicked 21 extra points. While 1943’s Earl “Jug” Girard was a tailback who threw and ran the ball, the offense changed when Strem arrived on the scene, and he was a very good quarterback. Many from the area thought he was superior to Girard as a field general. Any team would have been glad to have either. Sophomore fullback Allen Felch gained over 1,000 yards rushing. Hall of Fame coach Howard Stiehm preached defense as well as offense. Playing an independent schedule, the Marines beat two very good Michigan teams, an Indiana squad and opponents from Two Rivers, Watertown, Antigo, Rhinelander and Eau Claire.

#4 Racine St. Catherine’s 1949 8-0-0

Yes, the Angles tied with #12 La Crosse Aquinas for the state Catholic title but this team was even more loaded with talent. I think my blog on the team: THE GREAT 1949 RACINE ST. CATHERINE’S TEAM (wihifootball.com) says it all but I will state here that this team could play well with any other top team from the 1940’s. Passing, rushing and defense were hallmarks of this team.

#3 Milwaukee Washington 1942 8-0-0

Many thought that this team was even better than the 1939 mythical state championship team with the great Pat Harder. Halfback Don Kindt and fellow halfback Alex Karbowski were first team all-city backfield mates. Tackle Tom Trester, guard George Woracheck and guard Warren Stenkellner were all-city lineman. Five other players made the second team led by fullback Robert Schultz in the backfield, team captain Norm Hollenbeck at center, end/kicker Bill Cross, end Ron Pullan and tackle Charles Gumm. With a great defense and powerful offense, the team was never in any trouble of being defeated. Some in the Milwaukee area declared them to be the state champion but the power of Wausau’s undefeated, untied and unscored upon season and St. John’s season against opponents with an overall record of 45-17-2 won people over to their side. On offense they scored 326 points and allowed only 25 with five shutouts.

#2 1940 Wausau (7-0-0)

At the advent of and then the Wausau dynasty was Elroy “Crazy Legs” Hirsch. He would go on to the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame with his success playing for both the University of Wisconsin and Michigan for college and with the Chicago Rockets and the Los Angeles Rams as a professional. While in LA he stared in movies (Watch “Zero Hour”. This was the movie that the David and Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams “Airplane” was based on. Hirsch plays the part that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played). He later became the Athletic Director at Wisconsin. In 1940 he scored 102 of his teams 299 points. The team allowed only 12 points and those were scored in the season finale in a 45-12 win over Merrill. Besides Hirsch who played left halfback, fullback Rodney Liljequist, and ends Henry Olshanski and Glen Gahnz were all All-Conference. The Cardinals rushed for 1,667 yards and passed for 1,084 yards as well as intercepting 17 passes. The eight wins started a then state record 46-game winning streak.

#1 Tie between 1942 Wausau (7-0-0) and Delafield St. John’s (8-0-0)

It was Win Brockmeyer’s 1942 team that really got the state’s attention. 1940 had been very good and 1941 was also an undefeated year but this team was truly outstanding. They scored 225 points, not as many as 1940, but the defense was even better by shutting out all eight opponents. Led by fullback Roger Trotzer, who scored 106 points. He was one of six players who earned All-Conference. The defense never allowed an opponent to penetrate beyond the Wausau 25-yard line and gave up only 15 first downs!!! On offense they averaged 312 yards per game and 13 first downs. Because of the war they dropped a non-conference game to only play a conference schedule. Brockmeyer was very liberal in his substitutions, so he was able to build on the current season and give experience to the younger player for the next.

1942 Wausau

The states press raved about this team and with their undefeated season they continued their winning streak (More about that in the next blog). However, some members of the press began to make suggestions of a “match” game with undefeated St. John’s, but two things stopped the potential matchup. First, St. John’s football season stretched into the beginning of Wausau’s basketball season. The second reason was that the WIAA wouldn’t allow it. The organization didn't allow "post regular season games" (Games not on the formal schedule) . A formal request never reached the WIAA to make a decision, but it would have been a great battle.

For the first time in the school’s history since the 1884-86 seasons, St. John’s only played one college team in a season and that was the Ripon College freshman who were the only Wisconsin school they played. All the others were high schools from Iowa, Indiana and Illinois. The Lancers scored 217 points and allowed only 47 and were led by back Terry Lenz who scored 17 touchdowns. Again, they earned the National Prep Championship Trophy as the top prep school in the country. This was Coach Edison Lerch’s final season as the football coach. He was in the Marines Reserve Corp and was activated soon after the season was completed. In 11-seasons Lerch compiled a 70-20-2 record and coached the 1932 and 1933 state champions as well as the 1942 title that he shared with Wausau. This was also the last title St. John’s would win until earning the 1988 Class B WISSA championship.

1942 Delafield St. John's

Check out Part 2 for more on the 1940’s coming soon.