A FAMILY AFFAIR RELATING TO THE 1897 MADISON CHAMPIONSHIP…PART 1
- 21 hours ago
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Updated: 17 hours ago
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.
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.
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 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:
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.
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.