Name/Title
Booklet, Waupun Area High School Athletic Hall of Fame, 2009Description
Waupun Area High School Athletic Hall Of Fame. The acceptance of these people was done at the High School on the evening of December 29, 2009.
Waupun Area High School Athletic Hall Of Fame, December 29, 2009.
Introduction
On behalf of the Waupun Area Athletic Hall of Fame Committee, we would like to congratulate this year's class of 2009 Hall of Fame inductees. The purpose of the Athletic Hall of Fame is to recognize those exceptional athletes, coaches and citizens that became a part of Waupun history. The recognition is not only for the individual, it is for teams, players and community who cherish the memories, excitement and pride these individuals created for the Waupun Area School District.
John Forsythe Co-Chairman
Deb Schulz
Chris Haas
Nick Kuzulka
Jack Nickel
Bill Wucherer Co-Chairman
Bill Eichstadt
Greg Lueck
Phil Leader
Keith Milkowski
Phil Buteyn
Dave Rohrer
Dennis Marshall
Thank You
As co-chairman of this committee, we want to thank all the committee members for their diligent work in putting this project together. We would like to express our appreciation to the following groups and people:
Genevieve Meilhan and the Taher food service staff for preparing, catering, and waiting an excellent meal.
Stan VandeBerg and the custodial staff for organizing the banquet.
Doug Disch for designing the programs.
Nate Schouten for painting the Hall of Fame.
Jim and Ann Smits of Custom Trophies for the making of the plaques and lifetime passes.
Finally, thank you to those who nominated individuals that allowed the selection committee to use you as a reference for information. Without the cooperation of the community, the Athletic Hall of Fame would not be a part of Waupun. Thank you again, to everyone who helped make this a great event.
John Forsythe
Bill Wucherer
Co-Chairmen
Bill Wucherer
Coach, Athletic Director
Bill graduated from Mayville High School in 1947. He earned 8 varsity letters football, basketball and baseball. After his senior year he signed with the legendary Connie Mack of the Philadelphia Athletics.
Bill pitched for the Mayville City team that won the Rock River League Championship in 1948-1950 and for LeRoy in 1951. His best pitching record was in 1949 when he had a 19-0 record. After concluding his high school career, he attended UW-Platteville and received a BS in 1951 and Masters in 1969. Bill earned 2 letters in football and 4 in baseball.
Bill began his teaching career at Waupun High School in 1951 and taught for 39 years. He was named Outstanding Educator of America in 1973. He was varsity baseball coach from 1951 to 1964, his teams won WLT championships in 1952, 1953, 1960 and 1964. Bill was an assistant football coach from 1951 to 1968 with WLT championships in 1960, 1963, 1965 and 1966. Bill coached golf from 1965-1991. The team won WLT championships in 1978 and 1985. The 1980 team qualified for the state tournament.
Bill became Athletic Director in 1969 and held this position until his retirement. He was named the Athletic Director of the Year in 1991. When Bill started the job there were seven varsity sports, when he retired there were 17 sports. Bill will be remembered as a teacher and coach that was fair, consistent and with firm discipline.
Gerald E. Thompson
"Gus"
Administrator
Gus graduated from Monroe High School in 1946 and UW Platteville in 1951. He was the manager of the basketball and football teams both in high school and college. After serving his country in the Army Counter Intelligence Corp from 1951 to 1953 he earned his Masters and Education Specialist degrees from UW Madison. This led to his career in administration.
As an administrator, Gus served the districts of Lone Rock, Lowell-Reeseville, and Brodhead. He than became district administrator at Waupun in 1973 and served until his retirement 1991. During this time he rarely missed an athletic event and was an avid supporter of high school sports. Gus represented hard work and dedication always giving encouragement to students, teachers and coaches. At Waupun he was also a radio sports commentator.
He was an active community member in Waupun and served on many boards and committees including the Athletic Booster Club, Waupun Library, and Waupun Memorial Hospital. In 1973 he was elected President of the Wisconsin Association of High School District Administrators. A Gerald E. Thompson Memorial Scholarship for seniors has been established to honor his name.
David Rohrer
Teacher and Coach
Dave graduated from Mantiowoc Lincoln H.S. in 1961 lettering in football, basketball, wrestling and baseball. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from U.W. Stevens Point in 1965 and a Masters degree in Mathematics from the University of Arizona in 1973.
In 1965, he began teaching mathematics and coaching in the Waupun School District where he remained until his retirement in 2000.
At Waupun, he coached football, golf, volleyball and softball. He coached varsity softball from 1980 to 2000, compiling a 238-155 record, with four conference championships. It was wrestling in which his team's really excelled. Dave was a committed assistant or head coach for 35 years. He was head wrestling coach from 1969 to 1987 with a 161-52-4 record. His teams won seven Little Ten Championships. During his time, he had 37 state wrestling qualifiers and 12 state place winners.
He was a WIAA wrestling official for 32 years and a volleyball official for 16 years. Dave was inducted into the Wisconsin Coaches Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2000.
Dave gave guidance and encouragement to his students and athletes, instilling in them confidence to achieve success through hard work and dedication.
Curt Powell
Athlete
Curt graduated from Waupun High School in 1965, he was a four year starter at shortstop. In his sophomore season he batted .477 and was named team MVP His senior season he batted .423 and was again named MVP. Curt also played basketball, earning 3 varsity letters during his years at WHS.
Football, however, was the sport that Powell, will always be best remembered for. Twice, during his sophomore and senior years, he quarterbacked the Warriors to 2nd place finishes in the Northern division of the Little Ten. It was during Curt's junior year-1963 that he put up amazing numbers for that era. Curt led the Warriors to their first undefeated season in over 30 years. Powell threw for 1187 yards and 17 touchdowns as Waupun recorded an 8-0 record and the conference championship while finishing 9th in the state rankings for large schools. During the three seasons as Waupun's quarterback, he threw for 30 touchdowns and led the team to a 17-5-2 record.
After graduation, Powell went on to Ripon College where he also quarterbacked a championship team, leading the Redmen to the Midwest Conference title in 1968. He currently lives in suburban Chicago with his his wife, the former Diana Wedman, and is the CEO of Presidents Council USA.
Louis A. Pluim
Athlete and Coach
Lou was an outstanding high school athlete who was an eight-time letter winner in varsity basketball, baseball, and football. He was chosen to play in the 1947 All Star North/South football game.
He attended college at Mission House (now Lakeland College) from 1947 to 1950 where he excelled in football, basketball, and baseball. He was recognized as the outstanding athlete from 1934 to 1985 a 50 year period and inducted into Lakeland College Hall of Fame. Lou served his country in the US Army from 1951 to 1953. He graduated from Central College, Pella Iowa, in 1955 where he coached and played football.
From 1959 to 1974 he taught and coached at Waupun High School. His football teams won four Little Ten Championships in 1960, 1963, 1965, and 1966. The 1963 team was undefeated.
Lou was inducted into the Wisconsin High School Football Coaches Hall of Fame in March 1987. He was named Waupun's Father of the Year in 1973. He was also co-owner of an American Family Insurance Agency.
Keith Milkowski
Coach, Athletic Director
Keith began his coaching at Waupun High School in 1987. He has evolved into the winningest coach in the history of WIAA high school volleyball. With over 800 career match victories, his teams have amassed an amazing 82% winning percentage in his career at Waupun. Waupun Girls Volleyball teams have been ranked in the top 10 in the state for 20 straight years. During his tenure his teams have appeared in 14 state tournaments, winning 11 state titles and finishing second twice. From 2001-2005 his teams won a record five straight titles. In addition, his teams have won 14 Sectional championships, 17 Regional championships, 9 conference championships and 55 invitational tides.
His excellence in coaching can be easily highlighted in the fact that he has coached 11 High School All-Americans, 52 All-State Players, 84 All-Conference, and over 50 players that have gone on to play college volleyball. His players have earned college volleyball scholarships worth over 2 million dollars during his coaching tenure. Waupun volleyball teams are known as disciplined, intelligent teams and Keith's influence has gone well beyond the volleyball court. This can be shown by the fact that a number of his former players have gone onto successful high school and college coaching careers. Keith is currently serving as Activities Director at the Waupun Area Junior Senior High School.
Martha Meyer
Athlete
Martha was a 4 year letter winner in volleyball, 3 year in basketball and 4 year track letter winner. She was the captain of Waupun's first state volleyball championship. In volleyball, Martha received 1st team All-Conference in the WLT 3 times and was Conference Player of the Year twice. She was Waupun's first all-state volleyball player being named to the 4th team in 1992 and 2nd team in 1993. While on the track team, she qualified for the state track meet three times in the high jump. She still holds the record for the women's high jump with a height of 5'4. Martha was nominated 3 times by Women's Sports Advocates of Wisconsin for achievement in athletics and academics.
Martha attended Marquette University on a full volleyball scholarship. While at Marquette she made the All Freshmen Team, was team MVP 3 times and made 2nd team All-Conference in Conference USA. She was also a 1st Team Academic All-American. After graduation she received the McCahill Award given to one Marquette alumni student athlete per year who excels in academics, athletics, leadership and service to others.
Martha graduated suma cum laude from Marquette University in 1998 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting. She is presently employed at the Deloitte Accounting firm in Los Angeles, California.
Bob Hendricks
Athlete
Bob graduated from Waupun High School in 1961. He was one of the few athletes to earn 10 varsity letters during his four year career. Bob excelled in football, by winning 3 letters as starting quarterback.
He was named MVP and Captain as he led Waupun to the WLT championship in 1960. In basketball, he won 3 letters as a starting forward and was also named Captain. He earned 4 letters in baseball, being selected as team MVP for two years leading the team in hitting and pitching to the 1961 WLT championship. After high school, Bob attended UW-Madison on a baseball scholarship, and earned his MBA in 1966.
He spent the first I0 years of his business career with the Continental Bank in Chicago where he served on the Stock Selection Committee responsible for managing over $3.0 billion dollars. He then founded and directed HOLT Value Associates where he and his partners developed a unique way to measure corporate profitability and value common stocks throughout the world. In 2002, Bob sold his company to Credit Suisse, a global investment bank located in Zurich, Switzerland.
With Waupun still on his mind, he purchased land near the golf course to develop Fairway Estates and Woodland Hills subdivisions. Bob was involved in the design and funding of the entrance to the Rock River Country Club. This was his way "to return something to the people of Waupun".
Bob was not only an outstanding athlete, he was an incredibly successful business person that displayed leadership, discipline, and courage both on and off the field.
Dave Hash
Athlete, Coach
Dave Hash attended Waupun High School and lettered four years in baseball, three years in basketball, and two years in football before graduating in 1949. Dave was captain of both the baseball and basketball team in his senior year and participated before MVP and area/state recognition was implemented.
Following high school, Dave was invited to attend a tryout with the New York Yankees and was offered a minor league contract. Dave turned down the Yankee contract to attend the University of Wisconsin and play baseball.
While at UW, Dave participated in baseball four years, winning two varsity letters as a third baseman alongside the great Harvey Kuehn and finished second in hitting to Kuehn with a .340 average.
Dave coached Kaukauna's baseball team to two Fox River Valley championships. He was the very first men's volleyball coach, continuing for 25 years. During that time, Kaukauna qualified for the Wisconsin State Volleyball Tournament 13 times and returned with state championships 8 times. In addition, he directed the Kaukauna women's adult volleyball league for 42 years.
Among the awards honoring Dave, are the Fox Cities Sports Award for Wisconsin's Volleyball Coach of the Year, induction into the Kaukauna's High School Hall of Fame, and induction into the Rock River Baseball Hall of Fame.
Dave Hash was not only a terrific athlete, but he was also an incredibly successful coach. He was an inspiration to many generations of youth.
Robert Garcia
At 5 foot 7 inches and 157 pounds, Bob Garcia was one of the toughest linemen ever to play football for Waupun. During his senior season, he was part of an under-sized line that gave up 40 pounds per man in a game with Watertown, a Warrior victory in which the Waupun line dominated the much larger Goslings. The winner of 11 varsity letters, this 1963 graduate also starred in wrestling, earning 4 letters in a career that saw him win four conference championships, while qualifying for the State Tournament twice. He also earned 4 letters in track and ran on one of the top medley relay teams in the state his senior year. After graduation, Bob went on to UW-Platteville, earning letters in football his first two years. During his sophomore year, he became a starter in the offensive line, as well as the team's field goal kicker. He also earned two letters in wrestling during his first two years of college athletics. Bob's stay at Platteville was interrupted by three years of military duty; but when he returned to school he continued wrestling, winning the conference championship in 1971.
After graduation, Bob stayed on at Platteville, as the school's baseball coach for three years, and also as the Pioneers' wrestling coach from 1972-79. His wrestling teams were ranked in the top 5 nationally for five consecutive seasons. After retiring from coaching, he spent more than 30 years as an NCAA wrestling referee, officiating some of the top collegiate tournaments in the country.
Bob also carved out a successful career in the Army Reserve for 23 years, where he achieved the rank of colonel and was honored with the Meritorious Service Medal for his service to his country. He is now retired and living in Texas.
Waupun Area High SchoolAcquisition
Accession
2010.0400Source or Donor
Found in the collection or mailed to us.Acquisition Method
Found in Collection
