A letterman’s sweater featuring the Lincoln High School ‘L’ belonged to Al Malanca, who won the letter playing football for the Abes in 1944. Malanca was part of Lincoln’s heralded 1944 backfield that helped lead the team to the state championship. Then-coach Phil Sorboe called his backfield “the best he’d ever coached or seen.” Nicknamed the “Three M’s and a K,” Malanca and his teammates ran wild in an unbeaten season, scoring 242 points to 13 against. Malanca converted from halfback to quarterback and he excelled. Lincoln culminated its season with a 38-6 win over Stadium on Thanksgiving Day in a muddy Stadium Bowl to win its title without dissent.
