Multi Sport Heroes Part 1

This is the start of a series of blogs on some of Wisconsin’s greatest all-round prep stars. Over the years 1,000s of students have played several sports during their time in high school and some in different seasons in the school year. Even in this day of specialization, some players still excel in more than one sport. Here are a few who have really been the best of the best:

In 1912 two former Wisconsin high school football players were part of the great United States Olympic team. A team that was led by the greatest all-round athlete in the first half of the 20th century, Jim Thorpe. Thorpe won the gold medals for capturing the decathlon and the pentathlon. The King of Sweden called him the greatest athlete in the world. Jim Thorpe is a member of the NFL Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame. Thorpe also played professional baseball. Those two Wisconsin stars that were Olympic teammates of Thorpe, Arlie Mucks of Oshkosh and Ralph Fletcher of Delafield St. John’s were great multi-sport stars in high school.

Arlie Mucks was a man among boys in high school as he was an all-state football player at the tackle position, a center on the basketball team, a solid hitting and fielding first baseman as well as a state champion discus and shot putter. He was considered the first American high schooler (He had just graduated from Oshkosh just weeks before the Olympic games) to compete on the international stage. He placed 6th in the discus event. He would go on to play football at the University of Wisconsin. Listed at 6’4.5 and weighing 250 pounds he was huge for his era.

Ralph Fletcher had graduated from St. John’s in 1910 but his athletic feats at the school were outstanding. He lettered 17 times in six sports…football, basketball, baseball, track, fencing and crew (rowing). Named as the school’s top football player in the school’s first 45 years (1884-1927) Fletcher competed in the Olympic sword competition. Fletcher first attended the University of Chicago and then moved to the University of Mississippi where he quarterbacked the football team to a 6-3-1 record in 1913. Graduating in 1914 he returned to St. John’s where he stayed until his death in 1952 acting as the school’s athletic director. He was the football coach from 1914-27 (14 seasons and a 65-25-8 record and directing the 1914 mythical state championship), basketball coach from 1914-28 (14 seasons and a 126-46 record), baseball coach from 1915-28 (14 seasons and a 142-52 record). He also coached track in 1920. Like Mucks, there seemed to be nothing Fletcher couldn’t do and do well in any sport. They are mentioned to indicate how far back many great multi-sport stars go.

This past June, Tom Oates, sports columnist for the Wisconsin State Journal profiled some of the top multi-sport Wisconsin athletes. Specifically, he profiled the nine players who earned first team AP all-state honors in both football and basketball in the same year. Those listed with dual honors were:

• Pat Richter of Madison West in 1958 and 1959

• Rick Brown of Dodgeville in 1963 and 1964

• Dan Moeser of Stoughton in 1963 and 1964

• Jerry Tagge of Green Bay West in 1967 and 1968

• Kurt Spychalla of Schofield D.C. Everest in 1968 and 1969

• Bob Falk of Madison West in 1971 and 1972

• Tim Stracka of Madison West in 1977 and 1978

• Donald Hayes of Madison East in 1993 and 1994

• Jonte Flowers of Madison LaFollette in 2002 and 2003

There have been 13 athletes who made first team AP all-state in one sport and second team in the other. They are:

• Pat Harrington of Green Bay East in 1964 and 1965…2nd team in football and 1st team in basketball.

• Bob Koch of Marshfield Columbus in 1965 and 1966…1st team in football and 2nd team in basketball.

• Dennis Gutzman of Green Bay West in 1966 and 1967…1st team in football and 2nd team in basketball.

• Gary Loose of Neenah in 1966 and 1967…1st team in football and 2nd team in basketball.

• Gary Anderson of Madison LaFollette in 1969 and 1970…2nd team in football and 1st team in basketball.

• Greg Bohlig of Eau Claire Memorial in 1969 and 1970…1st team in football and 2nd team in basketball.

• William Stewart of Milwaukee Rufus King in 1970 and 1971…1st team in football and 2nd team in basketball.

• Jeff Lund of Antigo in 1973 and 1974…2nd team in football and 1st team in basketball.

• Mike Jirschele of Clintonville in 1976 and 1977…2nd team in football and 1st team in basketball. Mike signed a professional baseball contract.

• Anthony Pieper of Wausaukee in 1992 and 1993…2nd team in football and 1st team in basketball.

• Jim Secretarski of Hartland Arrowhead in 1993 and 1994…1st team in football and 2nd team in basketball.

• Jon Krull of Marshall in 2002 and 2003…1st team in football and 2nd team in basketball.

• Johnny Davis of La Crosse Central in 2019 and 2020…2nd team in football and 1st team in basketball.

A special note should be made about another star, Mickey Vandehey of Auburndale. In 1963 he earned 2nd team honors in football and in 1964 he was named to the 1st team in basketball. He signed a major league baseball contract after graduation. A special profile on Mickey will come in a future blog.

Those listed above are just the tip of the iceberg of all-time greats. Next time, a profile on an early 60’s great, Thorp’s Gary Bandor.

1977…The Playoff Controversy Continues

When I last wrote there were problems with the start of the football playoffs by the WIAA in 1976. Undefeated teams were expecting to make the playoffs. Six schools on the final AP Large School poll were undefeated. The Middle School poll had eight undefeated teams while the Small School list also had eight undefeated schools. That totaled 24 teams playing for 16 spots in the AA, A, B and C classes. However, the WIAA, based on the computer ranking, added two game loser Menomonee Falls East into the Class A schedule and now not just eight teams were on the outside looking in but there were nine. Schools knew this could happen going into the season but 24 undefeated teams in a season was a record. Going back to 1945 the most undefeated teams in a season with teams playing at least seven games occurred in 1949 when there were 21 undefeated teams but five made that list with at least one tie. Ties were now a thing of the past so 1976 really stood out.

1977 rolled around and teams looked forward to the playoffs again but some teams were destined to be disappointed. First there was DeSoto, the 1976 Class C champion who ended the 1977 regular season undefeated and possessing a 27-game winning streak. Future Wisconsin High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame member Robert Schulz was not a happy camper when he learned that the WIAA’s $5,000 computer program ranked the Pirates #6 in Class C and out of the playoffs. How could this happen? Well, the WIAA in the off season moved DeSoto from the Northern Division of the Scenic Central Conference to the Southern Division and removed Westby, Royall and Cashton to different conferences. While the three schools were not a sure win, they did have much better records overall in 1977 than the two-win replacement teams, Itasca and Wauzeka. Remember that opponent records were part of the computer’s playoff equation. Beating tougher opponents gave a team more points. Now, with a big win streak, being the previous season’s state champion and possessing a powerful offense and defense, DeSoto was sitting out the rest of the season with their hopes of a second consecutive title dashed.

As Dan Lindstrum of the Wisconsin State Journal put things into perspective in his November 5, 1977 story, the playoffs were full of problems and under attack from all over. Other members of the press from towns that didn’t even have a nearby team with a capable record to be considered for the playoffs recognized the problems. Besides DeSoto in Class C, there were problems in Class AA. Madison West was acknowledged throughout the state as the top school in the biggest class. They had defeated Madison East 22-14 earlier in the season as they stormed through the tough Big Eight Conference schedule. Now, in the first round they were matched up with East again. Yes, two schools from the same conference, one with a single loss, were pitted against each other in the first round of the four-team Class AA playoffs. West would win 22-6 and set up a title game with Stevens Point. The Madison West Regents would win that game 19-14 and take home the trophy. However, how could two teams from the same conference make the playoffs? Was the computer crazy? Surely another school should have been matched against Madison West in the first round. East was a good team but unlike today where it isn’t unusual for two teams in the same conference, in a field of 32, to play each other, even in the first round, this shouldn’t have happened when there were only four teams in the class.

Poynette had a similar situation as DeSoto. They were moved out of the Capitol Conference and placed in the weaker Dual County Conference. Poynette scored 314 points and only gave up 53 on the season. Yes, they had a 9-0 record but the problem was, like DeSoto, their conference opponents didn’t win enough games. Only Dual County Conference teams Rio, Westfield and Pardeeville had winning records so the bonus points they would have gotten from the six winning teams in the Capitol Conference were lost. DeSoto coach Schulz, Poynette coach Larry Thurston and Prairie du Chien coach Paul Bedbow all commented in Lindstrom’s article about the playoffs and Bedbow was very especially vocal about how the WIAA in 1976 had dropped Plymouth down from Class A to Class B and deprived a 10-0 Prairie du Chien team from even participating in the playoffs in their own class. The WIAA’s associate director, Matt Otte, even admitted that there were problems but no solutions were immediately offered.

The WIAA was taking baby steps with the introduction of the playoff system. The WISAA also started small with only one class/division in 1969, with four schools participating. But the WISAA was a newer outfit and they were looking ahead even then to adding more schools to the playoff picture. In 1976 they added a second division to their playoffs and this brought in four additional schools. They stayed with this format until 1989 when a third division was added and a total of 12 schools would enjoy post-season play. You also have to remember that there were only about 32 WISAA members in 1969 and about 45 in 1989 while the WIAA had as many as eight times the 1989 WISAA number of schools playing football.

In 1978 and 1979 a fifth division was added and now 20 teams were part of the playoffs. Division 5 which was the smallest division was given eight playoff spots and that made it 24 teams in the title hunt. But in 1981 the field was expanded to six divisions and eight teams in each, 48 overall teams, were incorporated into the system, allowing conference champions and some runners-up to participate. Eventually in 1996 the field was expanded to 192 schools, 32 in each division. In 2000, the WIAA allowed the WISAA teams to join the association as WISAA disbanded and this allowed even more schools to fight for a playoff spot. A seventh division was added in 2002 adding another 32 schools in search of a gold trophy. And, finally, in 2018, a separate 8-player championship was added to the schedule with eight schools participating in the run for the title. It should be noted that today many Wisconsin schools have a co-op program or have opted to play 8-player football because of low school numbers.

In comparison to the WIAA, Indiana started playoffs in 1973 with three divisions and eight schools in each division and included all high schools in their association, be it public schools or private ones. In 1983 they moved to four divisions with 32 teams in each. The state added a fifth division in 1985 and in 2013 they moved to six divisions with 32 teams in each. Illinois started fast in 1974 with 5 divisions and added a sixth in 1980 and in 2001 they added a seventh and eighth division, and that state has always had 32 teams in each division. That state organization has also included the private schools as well as the public in their playoff program. As you can see, the WIAA’s progress in prep football expansion was sort of in the middle of Indiana and Illinois but still moved Forward, just like the state moto.

It is interesting that DeSoto has participated 36 times in the playoffs, more than any other school. More about them in a future blog.

1976: A LOOK AT THE START OF THE WIAA FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS

The WIAA gave in to pressure from coaches to formulate a football playoff program that would start in 1976. It was a two-year baby step approach to see if the playoffs would stay. Now, if you look at my book, The Great Teams, you will see a listing of the Associated Press and United Press football poll results for the seasons 1947 and 1958-1975 (There were no polls between 1948-57). What you won’t see is the final press poll that was presented in 1976 because it really didn’t mean anything. The playoffs would determine the state champion, not in three groups of teams as the polls did (Big, Middle and Small schools) but in four classes (AA, A. B and C). Sounds easy, doesn’t it? It wasn’t. Choosing who would play and in what class was a problem that the WIAA would have to address. First, let’s look the final polls:

Big Schools:

1) Racine Horlick 9-0

2) Antigo 9-0

3) South Milwaukee 9-0 AND Madison West 8-1

5) Milwaukee Madison 9-0

6) Plymouth 9-0

Middle Schools:

1) Clintonville 9-0

2) Fond du Lac St. Mary’s Springs 9-0

3) Stevens Point Pacelli 10-0

4) Prairie du Chien 10-0

5) Wisconsin Dells 9-0

6) Ripon 8-0

7) Westfield 9-0

Small Schools:

1) Spring Valley 9-0

2) DeSoto 9-0

3) Fall Creek 9-0

4) Wild Rose 9-0

For the most part, setting teams up into three classes would have been easy. Just take the top four schools in the AP poll and be done with it but the WIAA went with four classes and that presented some problems. The WIAA spent $5,000 on a computer program to determine teams using a complex point system based on won-loss records, opponents schedule and overall strength of schedules. What they got was:

Class AA:

• Antigo (#2 in the AP poll) vs. Milwaukee Madison (#5 in the AP poll)

• Racine Horlick (# 1 in the AP poll) vs. South Milwaukee (#3 in the AP poll)

• No Madison West.

Class A:

• Clintonville (#1 in the Middle School AP poll) vs. Wisconsin Dells (#5 in the Middle School AP poll)

• Hartland Arrowhead (#12 in the Big School AP poll) vs. Menomonee Falls East (#20 in the Big School AP poll with an 8-2 record)

Class B

• Mondovi (#8 in the Middle School AP poll with an 9-0 record) vs Plymouth (#6 in the Big School AP poll)

• Iowa-Grant (#11 in the Middle School AP poll with an 9-0 record) vs. Prairie de Chien (#4 in the Middle School AP poll).

Class C

• Spring Valley (#1 in the Small School AP poll and sporting a 43-game winning streak) vs. DeSoto (#2 in the Small School AP poll)

• Westfield (#7 in the Middle School AP poll) vs. Wild Rose (#4 in the Small School AP poll)

• No Fall Creek.

Antigo would rule in Class AA, defeating Racine Horlick 6-0. Menomonee Falls East defeated Clintonville 12-7 to become the Class A champions despite two regular season losses. Plymouth overpowered Iowa-Grant 42-12 to win the Class B title. In Class C DeSoto beat Wild Rose 32-14.

Schools were not happy with the placement or exclusion of several schools in the playoff roster. To say the least, Madison West and Fall Creek were not happy with being excluded while others protested that moving Plymouth down to Class B wasn’t right. What has to be remembered is that the WIAA football playoffs were an experiment. The association wasn’t sure that the playoffs would work so they took small steps, inviting 16 schools to the playoffs. The field would be expanded to five divisions in 1978-80 and to six divisions from 1981-2001. Since 2002 there have been seven divisions and the number of teams allowed to participate has grown from that total of 16 schools in 1976 to 224 schools in 2019. 8-player teams have developed and that has expanded playoff pools even more. The seasons have gotten longer and have started earlier to accommodate the season ending on the Saturday before Thanksgiving. After the completion of 1976 WIAA championships, what had been an experiment, with all its flaws, was now a reality. The expanded games were a money maker. Fans and schools wanted more and there was no going back.

What those fans and school’s got was also a lot more controversy in 1977...