Waukesha 1943-63

After the 1942 season ended, Waukesha had a series of coaches who did a fair job but couldn’t quite compete with the accomplishments of Lee Saubert and Clifford Goerke. In 1950 a talented coach appeared in Waukesha by the name of Vince Gavre. Born in Port Edwards, Wisconsin Gavre attended Madison and was the Badgers quarterback from 1936-38. He was drafted by the Packers but chose to take a teaching and coaching position at Merrill. After serving as a captain in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II he returned to Madison as an assistant for the 1947 season before taking the head coach’s position at Western State College in Gunnison, Colorado for the 1948 and 1949 seasons where he posted an 11-7-0 record. He returned to Wisconsin with his family and became a teacher and the football coach at Waukesha High School. 1950, his first season at Waukesha, was a disaster as the Blackshirts posted a 1-7-1 record. He turned the program around the next year with a 7-0-0 record and the Suburban Conference title. The polio epidemic of this period caused a cancellation of the West Allis Central game. A close 19-18 victory over Whitefish Bay was the key to the season’s success as the team scored 138 points and allowed only 44. The 1951 season was followed by a 3-4-2 record in 1952, 5-3-0 season in 1953 and finally a 3-5-0 posting in 1954. His family came first to Gavre so he decided to step down to make way for a new coach. It seems that Waukesha is a great place for former head coaches to stay and teach. Like Saubert and Goerke, Vince Gavre stuck around for 21 more years as a well-respected teacher of American problems, sociology and economics.

The new man on the scene as the school’s football coach and physical education instructor was Ken Hollub. Born and raised in Oshkosh, Ken chose to attend the University of Wisconsin at La Crosse. He served in the military and was an assistant coach at La Crosse from 1952-54. He and his family moved to Waukesha where he taught physical education with Lee Saubert and coached football for 22 years. Over the years he also coached swimming, track and wrestling. Ken Hollub believed in the ground game and for many years passing wasn’t often in his playbook.

Taking over from Gavre in 1955, Hollub matched Waukesha’s record from the previous year with a 3-5-0 season. 1956 was even worse as the team‘s record was 2-5-1. These were two of the three losing seasons that Hollub had. The other was a 3-4-1 record posted in 1967. Things began to roll in 1957 as he posted a 7-1-0 record and a tie for the Suburban title. The 1958 and 1959 brought undefeated 8-0-0 and 7-0-1 records (A 12-12 tie with South Milwaukee) respectively. In 1960 the team again “slipped” to 7-0-1 (A 7-7 tie, again, with South Milwaukee). Very good records for those four seasons of 1957-60 as they posted a 29-1-2 record in that stretch. Now, if you have read Ken Hollub’s profile on the WFCA Hall of Fame page it states: “His teams from 1957 through 1960 were undefeated” but they did lose in game five of the 1957 season 20-0 to Whitefish Bay. During the four season run Waukesha was ranked in the UPI prep poll as high as #2 in 1958 and #9 in 1959 while finishing ranked #10 in 1960.

With three players named to all-state teams the 1958 squad dominated the Suburban Conference as they went 8-0-0. The #2 ranked Blackshirts finished a close second in the final UPI team poll to Superior Central. Fullback John Loden gained over 1,000 yards and averaged 7.5 yards per carry as he was the best back in the conference. Loden was on the UPI 1st team and earned a 3rd team spot on the AP team all-state squads. He led the Blackshirts in scoring and was a strong defender. John Pichette (A future Waukesha athletic Director) was the top lineman in the Suburban and earned a first team placement on the AP team. The AP citation stated that he was the best lineman in the Suburban Conference as he cleared the way for the “Black Knights” backs. Evidently the "Black Knights” name was a misprint. Dennis “Rawhide” Williams earned honorable mention at the end spot for the two “all” teams.

South Milwaukee, Cudahy and Shorewood were predicted to contend for the conference title but they were dispatched. One of the highlights on the season was the 71-0 homecoming win over Greendale (A newer member to the conference). The 71 points was a school record. Kicker Johnny Fuchs led the Suburban with 25 extra points and a field goal. Besides Loden, Pichette and Williams, guard Jerry Ruetten earned 1st team all-conference placement and center Paul Senn was named to the second team. The 1958 season was the first undefeated, untied team for Waukesha since 1951.

Coach Hollub had a good 5-3-0 year in 1961 but jumped up to 7-1-0 in 1962 before 1963 rolled around. The “Shirts” again went 8-0-0 and again were ranked at the end of the season #2 in the UPI poll, behind undefeated Wausau. In fact, that Wausau team (9-0-0) was profiled in my book and #3 Stoughton (9-0-0) was profiled here back on February 8. While the 1963 Waukesha team wasn’t a super high scoring team, posting about 150 points less than Wausau and Stoughton, they had a strong defense. Waukesha allowed only 40 points on the year and didn’t allow more than seven points in a single game.

In the opener they started slowly but picked up the pace in the second half with two scores to overpower South Milwaukee 26-6. In game two they sort of shot themselves in the foot as they totaled 170 yards in penalties but the Blackshirts were able to gain just over 280 yards and scored an18-7 win against West Allis Central. Ted Bear scored three times in the first half of game three, a 39-0 win over Wauwatosa East. The Wauwatosa school district added a second high school in 1960 and an additional school was added to the Suburban Conference. The West Milwaukee Mustangs were up next and it wasn’t close as Waukesha crushed them 40-7. They trimmed the Shorewood Greyhounds 13-0, allowing only 92 yards. Fullback Dave Michler scored his fifth touchdown of the season and keyed the ground control attack. Quarterback Ken Oaks didn’t throw often but he tossed several key passes throughout the year and Michler was on the receiving end of some of those completions.

Following the Shorewood win there was a close game, a 12-7 win over Wauwatosa West. A late fourth quarter score by Waukesha and an interception by Ted Bear on the game’s final play turned a near defeat into victory. The homecoming game against West Allis Hale was one of the season high points as the Blackshirts played ball control for most of the game by outgaining Hale by over 130-yards on the ground. The final victory was an 18-6 win over Cudahy to clinch the conference crown.

Five players were named to the Waukesha Freeman All-County Team. Halfback Ted Bear gained 344 yards and scored four times on the ground in only 41 carries. He also caught eight passes for 173 yards and three touchdowns. Though the team didn’t pass a lot Ken Oaks was the team's MVP as he completed 29 of 78 attempts for 418 yards and seven touchdowns. On the ground he carried 76 times for 261 yards and six touchdowns. Fullback Dave Mickler had 97 rushing attempts for a team leading 478 yards and five scores. He also caught six passes for 75 yards and two touchdowns. End Chuck Verlow was a superb blocker who caught only eight passes for 114 yards and three touchdowns but was also a good defender. Against West Milwaukee Verlow intercepted his only pass and returned it 67-yards for a touchdown. Guard Cliff Goerke (son of the former coach) was named to the team as a first team guard. Linemen Bill Cox and Jim Kranpitz were members of the honorable mention squad.

So, if you add up the rushing and passing yards you will see that, as I said earlier, this wasn’t a high scoring or offense team but they prevailed against tough Suburban Conference opponents. This would be Ken Hollub’s last undefeated, untied team but he would coach other strong squads.

The 1938 Blackshirts

Many changes occurred in the 1930s for Waukesha High School (now Waukesha South). First, the name of the school nickname changed.

The team was once known as the Cardinals. During the Great Depression, the school needed to purchase new football uniforms. Unfortunately, the cost of jerseys made with red dye was too expensive for the school’s budget. Therefore, they decided to go with less expensive black jerseys. At the time black was apparently a rare color for football uniforms, so the opposing teams and their fans made fun of the Waukesha athletes and called them the “Black Shirts.” Rather than be embarrassed, the school decided to show pride in the name and therefore re-named themselves the Blackshirts. They also decided to keep the cardinal as their mascot, renaming him “Blackie Blackshirt.”

Did you ever wonder where your favorite school teams came up with a nickname? How about the Butternut Midgets, the Washburn Castle Guards, the Cudahy Packers or the Manitowoc Lincoln Ships (Shipbuilders). In 2015 Frontier Communications, a company that is the nation's largest provider of communications services focused on rural America began a series of stories covering high school nicknames that WisSports.Net picked up and featured on their website. The above explanation focused on the Waukesha South nickname. Steven Okonek was the author. I had asked South’s athletic director, Todd Sobnlsky how the name changed from Cardinals to Blackshirts and he provided the information from the web story.

The other major school change was the major change in coaching as Lee Saubert stepped down after 17 seasons. He had posted a 83-37-9 record in football and while he continued to coach other sports like basketball and track he cast a strong shadow on the team as the school’s athletic director. His replacement for football was a former star from the 1925 and 1926 teams, Clifford Goerke. After graduating from Waukesha in 1927, Goerke attended Carroll College where he lettered all four years in football and basketball and three years in track. As a junior in 1929 he earned all-conference as the team quarterback and in 1930 he garnered all-conference honors as a halfback. He’s named to the schools hall of fame in all three sports.

Under Goerke’s tutelage the Cardinals/Blackshirts posted the only undefeated record in southeastern Wisconsin in 1938. The nickname Blackshirts hadn’t completely caught on yet but the uniforms had changed. The yearbook for 1939 used both names. The team didn’t have a great, high scoring offense but their defense was spectacular, posting six shutouts.

The passing combination of Andy Sobrofski to Harry Frayett and La Vier Staven were key offensive components to the season. Don Kluge did the kicking with 8 extra points and a field goal along with placing kickoffs deep into enemy territory. Sobrofski also starred on defense hauling in five interceptions. After hurdling the first three opponents, all by shutouts they now faced the Packers, the most exciting game of the year. The victory over Cudahy came at the last minute. Down 6-0 they scored with only 10 seconds left as Sobrofski passed to Schneider who lateraled to Staven who, with key blocks by Harry Schneider and Harold Brecher, rambled fifty yards for a touchdown to tie the score. Don Kluge kicked the extra point and the Cardinals were number one in the conference with three games on the season to go.

The next game was a Homecoming 26-0 victory over Shorewood, the first victory over the Greyhounds in four years. This game was followed by a 14-0 victory over Wauwatosa which had been a thorn in the side of the Blackshirts for the past seven years. The season finale was a 19-0 shutout of West Milwaukee.

They did have some stars with five players on the All-Suburban first team and four on the second team. End Harry Frayett, tackle Don Kluge, guard Le Roy Mielke, quarterback Andy Sobrofski and fullback La Vier Staven were the first team members. Henry Schneider, Bob Williams, Perry Scheel and Harold Brecher were on the second team.

It was a successful coaching debut for Clifford Goerke. The 1939 season was a disaster as Waukesha went 1-7-0 but they improved to 3-5-0 in 1940 despite a number of injuries. 1941 the record jumped to 5-2-1 and a large number of young players were primed for the next season where the Blackshirts would cruise to a 8-0-0 record.

1942 Waukesha

No year received more attention in my book, The Great Teams, than 1942 with 6 different teams being profiled. Wausau was in the midst of their 46-game winning streak. Coached by the great Win Brockmeyer who directed his Cardinals to a 7-0-0 record, a team that was not only undefeated and untied but unscored upon. They were considered the top public school in the state. Another prominent program was Delafield St. John’s Military Academy directed by Edison Lerch who posted his third mythical state title (Tied with Wausau) with a 8-0-0 record as the Lancers also won the National Military Prep Championship trophy while scoring 217 points and giving up only 47 points.

In my book I also profiled the Milwaukee Washington Purgolders, coached by Hall of Famer Lisle Blackbourn who had a 8-0-0 record as they scored 326 points while allowing only 25 while having five shutouts. Milwaukee Marquette was the top Catholic high school in the state with a 9-0-0 record and coached by Robert Cummins for only that one year. The Junior Hilltoppers scored 212 points on the season with allowing only 20 points and they had five shutouts. The Northeast was represented by the Green Bay West Wildcats. Not a high scoring team, the Cats only scored 112 points but allowed only 25 points during their 7-0-0 season. Lars Thune was the coach at West. The best small school in the state was the Blanchardville Eagles, coached by Francis Sheehan, that soared to a 9-0-0 record while scoring 278 points and allowing only 26 points with seven shutouts.

These teams were coached by a group of top coaches. Win Brockmeyer was voted in 1993 to have been the state’s all-time best coach in the Milwaukee Journal poll. Along with Brockmeyer, Lisle Blackbourn and Francis “Fran” Sheean are in the WFCA Hall of Fame. Edison Lerch has been overlooked, for some reason. 10 years are required to be part of the HOF and Lerch coached 11 seasons before World War II took him away from coaching football. Lars Thune was on his way to a HOF career when he had to step down after only seven seasons due to poor health. 1942 appears to be the only season of record for Marquette’s Robert Cummins. He, like other young teachers/coaches, went off to war and fate had other plans. Many failed to return to their old professions after returning home.

There were two other teams that I failed to include in my book and they both came from the Suburban Conference. This brings the total number of undefeated teams in 1942 to no less than eight schools. The Shorewood Greyhounds had a 8-0-0 record but only scored 118 points. Coach William “Whitey” Ketelaar’s defense, like Green Bay West’s, was super as they allowed only 19 points with six shutouts. The Suburban Conference added a new team that year, West Allis Hale, and some schools had to drop long term rivals for that year to include the new school in the conference schedule. Since the conference was formed in 1924, Shorewood and Waukesha had always met but not in 1942. Why all the members of the conference didn’t all play each other is a mystery. Besides Shorewood and Waukesha the other teams were: Cudahy, South Milwaukee, West Allis, West Allis Hale, Wauwatosa, West Milwaukee and Whitefish Bay. With nine teams in the conference some schools played only an eight game season and others a nine game season but they all scheduled just six conference opponents and two non-conference opponents. If they had each dropped a non-conference opponent they could have scheduled a complete conference schedule for a nine game season.

In 1945 the Suburban teams did switch to a conference only schedule. The old, longstanding early season non-conference games went away. At the time most schools in the state only scheduled eight games and continued to do so on into the 1960s. The move to an eight game season may have had a lot to do with the war and the economics of acquiring enough gas for transporting the teams as rationing was taking place so that may have been a factor. So, eight games was maybe the accepted scheduling limit.

Another note about Waukesha’s rival Shorewood. This was not the school of the 1980s and 90s that set the state record with a 63-game losing streak or the current co-op team of Shorewood and Messmer that has struggled on the gridiron as of late. The 1940s were very good to Shorewood as the school often dominated the Suburban Conference and once posted a 39-game unbeaten streak (A 37-0-2 stretch) from 1940-1944 along with several football conference championships after that. You may hear more about the Greyhounds glory days sometime in a future blog.

Coach Clifford Goerke and his Waukesha Blackshirts were coming off a 5-2-1, 1941 season. That one tie was against Suburban Conference champion Shorewood. There were a number of returning lettermen for the new year and expectations were high. Coach Goerke got the team primed for the conference battles with three weeks of drills followed by matchups with two Milwaukee City Conference foes, Pulaski and Boy’s Tech. Those two teams didn’t play each other in the season but posted identical 1-7-0 records, 1-5-0 in conference play. Evidently not tough competition for Waukesha. The City Conference was composed of 11 schools and they played a six-game rotating schedule plus two non-conference games, usually against teams from the Suburban Conference. They were no match for the Blackshirts who rolled over them by identical 33-0 scores.

Now, on to conference play and the new school, Nathan Hale was first up. The game followed the same score as the first two, a 33-0 win for Waukesha. As usual, Wauwatosa was a difficult opponent and the 19-0 win proved to be the teams closest scoring game.

Next up was Whitefish Bay and the easiest victory of the year, 38-0. The next week Bay would lose only 6-0 to Shorewood. The win over the Blue Devils by Waukesha earned the team their fifth consecutive shutout. Another would be the next week as the West Milwaukee Mustangs went down to defeat, 26-0. The yearly homecoming game was sort of a disappointment as West Allis became the first team to score on the Blackshirts. But, it was still a 27-7 win and now a traditionally tough opponent was to be faced for the final game. Waukesha finished off South Milwaukee with ease in a 33-3 victory.

The usual lineup had:

Ends Ged Gosa and Ralph Greb

Tackles Bob Robertson and Ray Plehn

Guards Tom Sinkovits and Joe Tenke

Center Louis Bucci

Quarterback Len Meola or Charles Joy

Halfbacks Bill Beitz and Fred Patrinos

Fullback Al Hanke

Hanke mad first team all-Suburban and was the conference’s leading scorer. Joe Tenke made first team at the guard position along with end Ged Gosa who often ran end-around plays that picked up key yardage. Bill Beitz made the second team all-conference team as a halfback. The players mentioned above were part of what Goerke called his “Iron-Man” team as he seldom substituted. It wasn’t until the next season that the rules changed and it became easier to substitute a player. Len Meola was the offensive quarterback but was substituted for on defense by Charles Joy.

As with St. John's Edison Lerch, Shorewood's William "Whitey" Ketelaar and Marquette's Robert Cummins, the military came calling for Clifford Goerke. This would be his last season as coach as he entered the Navy in 1943. As a teacher at Waukesha he instructed students in accouting. He started to teach again upon being discharged in January of 1946. Soon after he returned he was appointed vice-principal of the high school and shortly thereafter became the school's principal. He stayed in that position until he retired in the early 1970s.