If anyone had tried to write a sequel to UW-Eau Claire’s unbeaten 1963 football season, they could not have created a fictional account any better than the reality of the 1964 championship campaign.
This year is the 50th anniversary of the only back-to-back conference football championships in school history and the memories of that season are indelibly etched in the minds of many of those Blugold players.
While Jim Van Gorden is the one player most remembered from that team, the cast included innumerable role players without whose contributions the championship would not have occurred.
Sports are often called “a game of inches,” but it was the seconds that mattered to the 1964 Blugold football team. Sixteen seconds in particular. That was the time remaining in the two biggest contests against River Falls and Whitewater when the Blugolds scored the winning touchdown. And those were only two of four games in which the Blugolds trailed in the fourth quarter before pulling out a win.
Front: Brad Sherman, Jim Van Gorden, Pat Page, Ray Morse, Tom O’Connell, Don Betthauser, Ken Biegel, Marv Hietpas, George Bowman, Richard Olson, John Zesbaugh. 2nd Row: Jerry Kovacs, Loren Bauer, Ray Cheyka, Dave Linse, Chuck Emerson, Pat Fraley, Dennis Rivers, Mike Bell, Tom Omholt, Paul Klemm, Bill Kearns, Tom Brunner, Steve Sondreal, Mike Kalinke, Daryl Moen, Head coach Jim Rice, Frank Wrigglesworth. 3rd Row: Ade Olson, Gene Luoma, Mike Devine, George Dahlem, Ron Poquette, Wayne Martinko, Gene Golden, Chuck Looker, Gregg Zastrow, Barry Schultz, Larry Drott, Bob Rykal, Harry Neumann, Tom Perault, Phil Stickler, Gerald Gendron. 4th Row: Bob Toth, Sam Zier, Al Lamovec, John Ullsvik, Lee Buker, Kim Jarvis, Fred Johnston, John Gaustad, Dick Valle, Tom Hebert, Harry Duranceau, Bill Otto, Len Gilley, Dennis Wozniak. Absent: James Bray, Gary Lincoln, Tom Martlett, Ron Spreckles, Jim Trotzer.
It truly was a fairybook tale of a season.
Marv Hietpas, a linebacker who was named honorary captain of that squad, said recently, “Our success was not because we were ‘super players’ but rather, we had a unique ‘team-first attitude’ with great camaraderie. We enjoyed each other, had a lot of fun and maybe overachieved a little.”
Bob Rykal, who started on defense as a monster outside linebacker, called that season “an exciting time in my life.” He emphatically stated, “We definitely had a chemistry about us both on the field and off.”
Tom O’Connell, one of the biggest guys on the team at 6-foot-4, 230 pounds, said of his teammates, “We believed in each other and knew if we gave a total effort individually that the team would come out on top.” Center Chuck Emerson echoed the same idea when he said “The ’63 conference championship brought us together as a close knit team that knew we could win again. So we all carried out assignments as a team rather than individually.”
As evidence of the togetherness of this squad, they have had 10 reunions since that season as “Guys come from all over the country … California, New Hampshire, Arizona,” said Emerson. Van Gorden called their reunions “special.” He said “We were a close knit team. We liked each other and still do to this day.”
Attesting to the quality of that squad, six players and three coaches have been inducted into the Blugold Hall of Fame. Two had NFL tryouts back when there were only 14 teams in the league, providing considerably fewer opportunities to make a team as compared to the 32 teams that now fill rosters.
The 1964 team developed a large local following with the Eau Claire Daily Telegram giving considerable space and coverage to the team. A pep assembly honored the team following its championship and there was a banquet to honor the Blugolds at the Hotel Eau Claire with Green Bay Packer offensive captain Bob Skoronski as the special guest speaker. The podium also saw comments by Jim Derouin, the student senate president; Ken Biegel, a team member and the letter club president; Cy Berg, a representative of the university alumni association; Lou Kassera, a media representative; Dr. Don Brinkman from the chamber of commerce and Doug Weiford, the city manager. University President Leonard Haas accepted the championship trophy from Dr. Dwight Chinnock of Stout State University. Athletic Director Bill Zorn was also on hand to accept the trophy along with head coach Jim Rice.
Jim Pickett, who would later become the long-time sports editor of the La Crosse Tribune, was the Daily Telegram reporter who wrote most of the bylined stories about the team that season. Ron Buckli, who is still a columnist with the Leader-Telegram today, also wrote columns while also covering the team. The newspaper regularly ran a preview article and game story about the current opponent, whether home or on the road. Throughout the week, there were stories about the current team statistics (which were maintained by the Daily Telegram staff), where the Blugolds ranked in the conference statistics and how the Blugolds ranked in the state college football rankings which we done by the Wisconsin United Press International. Invariably, there were additional stories about records being assailed since 27 school records were set that season. Several records were broken and reset on a regular basis which elicited additional copy.
The 1960s were a period of transition for the university and the conference. When the Blugolds won the league title in 1963, the conference was called the Wisconsin State College Conference and had been since 1951 when the normal schools became state colleges. When the state legislature changed the names of the Chapter 37 schools to Wisconsin State Universities in 1964, the conference became the Wisconsin State University Conference (WSUC), a moniker it maintained until its merger with the women’s conference in 1995 to become the current Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC).
Prior to the 1964 season, the 10-team State College Conference became a nine-team league when UW-Milwaukee withdrew from the league. There also was no consistency among league teams in the number of conference games that were played to determine the champion. When the Blugolds won the title in 1963, they were 6-0 in the league play. Stevens Point was the runner-up with a 6-1 record but the two teams did not meet on the field that season.
The Blugolds were the first team in the nine-team conference to play a round robin schedule in 1964 but they were the only team to play eight league games that season. They also were the only team to play eight conference games the following year. It was not until the 1966 season that all nine teams were involved in a round robin football schedule.
Enrollment at the school also was growing by the thousands throughout the ‘60s. In the 1964-65 academic year, enrollment reached nearly 3600. But when the seniors on that Blugold team were freshmen in 1961-62, it had been just over 2200. By the time the 1964 freshmen were seniors, the burgeoning enrollment would stand at almost 6300.
In 1964, the campus had only begun to expand to what is now “Upper Campus” with Horan Hall and Governors Hall existing and Sutherland Hall under construction. The footbridge and campus buildings to the north of the Chippewa River would not begin to take shape until 1970. The central campus included Schofield Hall, Davies student center, the fieldhouse now known as Zorn Arena along with Kjer Theatre and the campus school, the old library and Putnam and Thomas residence halls. Phillips Science Hall was under construction as was an addition to Davies Center.
Leonard Haas was president, a title that was changed to Chancellor for the university CEO in 1971. Richard Hibbard,Ormsby Harry and Lester Hunt were the vice presidents. Among the faculty were the well-known names of Floyd Krause (chemistry), Mark Fay (biology), Henry Kolka (geography), Gil Tanner (geography), Bill Cochrane (history), Larry Wahlstrom (math), Karl Andresen (political science), Grace Walsh (forensics), Earl Kjer (theatre), Caldwell Johnson (choir) and John Gerberich (medical technology). Lester Emans was the Dean of Education and Bill Zorn was Dean of Men.
The world outside of the campus was one of turmoil and unrest, but entertainment and sports continued to be prominent in the lives of Americans much like life today. Less than a month after the Blugolds rolled through the 1963 campaign unbeaten, John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. Then the Beatles took the country by storm early in 1964, promoted initially by their appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. The New York World’s Fair opened in April. Just prior to the players reporting for fall camp in August of 1964, the infamous Gulf of Tonkin incident occurred and that led to America’s open involvement in the Vietnam War.
Much like today’s teams, the Blugolds practiced on campus and dressed for home games on campus. However, practice was on lower campus where the current Davies Center now sits and the locker room was in what is now Zorn Arena. The players sat quietly in the hallways of Zorn and were taken to Carson Park in a yellow school bus. Today’s players practice on Simpson Field behind the McPhee-Olson building and are bused to Carson Park.
With an all-veteran starting lineup returning, the Blugolds were favored to repeat as conference champions in 1964, but head coach Jim Rice did not share that optimism. In a preseason preview, Rice commiserated to Pickett: “We lost 11 players we were counting on and we just haven’t found replacements.” Also lost to the coaching staff in ’64 was Link Walker who left the school to work on his doctorate. The Hall of Fame coach returned as an assistant in 1966 and became the school’s all-time winningest coach once he became the head coach in 1968, spending 19 years in that position.
Despite 18 returning lettermen, including 10 of the 11 who had been All-Conference or received honorable mention in 1963, injuries and scholastic problems made a big dent in Rice’s plans. The biggest setback was a knee injury suffered by All-Conference fullback Ray Cheyka. That ailment would keep him out of the first two games. Veterans Bruce Emberson, Eddie Krcmar and Jim Trotzer suffered season-ending injuries and two other players were declared academically ineligible.
An overview of the 55-player roster would not provide any inkling that this group was anything out of the ordinary. There were 21 juniors and seniors of which 16 were lettermen. Two of the 16 sophs had lettered the previous year and there 18 freshmen on the squad.
Unlike the Blugold roster of 2014, the 1964 squad was more of a regional team. There were 10 hometown players from Eau Claire and five from Chippewa Falls plus 14 from surrounding towns like Mondovi, Cadott, Cornell, Independence, Withee, Greenwood, Dorchester, Amery and Bruce. It also included 13 from the Wisconsin Valley area. There was only one out-of-state player (from St. Paul) and only 12 hailed from towns more than 150 miles from Eau Claire.
Compare that to the current 98-player Blugold squad that includes 28 players from Minnesota and Illinois. With interstate travel, it’s also not surprising that the current roster includes 13 players from the Milwaukee area, five from the Madison area and another 11 from the Green Bay and Fox Valley area. Like 50 years ago, the 2014 team still includes a large number (19) of participants from the three major cities in the Chippewa Valley plus 14 from surrounding small towns.
There is also a significant difference in the size of the 1964 squad versus today’s lineup. Tight end Gerry Gendron was the biggest Blugold in 1964 at 6-foot-4 and 260 pounds. He was only of only seven players over 6-foot-1 and one of only five players over 230 pounds. The 2014 team includes 35 players over 6-foot-1 and 29 players at 230 or better including 13 that would have been bigger than Gendron.
When Rice announced his starting lineup for the season opener, a non-conference clash with Jim Malofsky’s Duluth Bulldogs at Duluth on Sept. 12, returning All-Conference performers Gerry Gendron, Gene Golden and Ken Biegel along with Tom O’Connell were listed as starters on both offense and defense. Rice would go to a two-platoon system following the 29-6 loss in which the Blugolds scored first and were tied 6-6 at the half. Tom O’Connell said the loss “made us realize that repeating as champions would be more difficult than winning the first one.”
The season-opening offensive unit included:
QB – Jim Van Gorden (6-0, 195, Sr., Eau Claire)
HB – Mike Devine (5-8, 170, Jr., Withee)
FB – Harry Newman (5-11, 185, Fr., Eau Claire)
TE – Gerry Gendron (6-4, 260, Jr., Appleton)
OT – Ken Biegel (6-1, 220, Sr., Greenfield)
OT – Tom O’Connell (6-4, 230, Sr., Chippewa Falls)
OG – Pat Page (5-8, 195,, Sr., Eau Claire)
OG – Dick Olson (5-11, 210, Sr., Menomonie)
C – Chuck Emerson (5-11, 190, Jr., Eau Claire)
SE – Gene Golden (6-2, 211, Jr., Eau Claire)
WB – George Bowman (5-10, 170, Sr., Eau Claire) &
Larry Drott (6-1, 205, Jr., Schofield)
The defensive unit included
E – Gene Golden (6-2, 211, Jr., Eau Claire)
E – Don Betthauser (6-1, 215, Sr., Independence)
T – Harry Duranceau (5-10, 255, So., Wausau)
T – Tom O’Connell (6-4, 230, Sr., Chippewa Falls)
MG – Gerry Gendron (6-4, 260, Jr., Appleton)
LB – Marv Hietpas (5-11, 180, Sr., Appleton)
LB – Ken Biegel (6-1, 220, Sr., Greenfield)
HB – Dennis “Muddy” Rivers (5-11, 170, Jr., Cornell)
HB – Pat Fraley (5-11, 171, Jr., Antigo)
S – Barry Schultz (6-1, 185, So., Schofield)
S – Ron Poquette (5-10, 165, So., Eau Claire)
Gendron and Van Gorden were expected to handle the punting with Bowman, Paul Toth (6-2, 190, Fr., St. Paul, MN) or Gregg Zastrow (6-2, 170, Jr., Wausau) doing the kickoffs and extra points.
Rice did some reshuffling for the conference opener against Oshkosh the second week of the season. Four new starters included
OT – Mike Kalinke (6-0, 215, Fr., Wausau)
DT – Wayne Martinko (6-2, 200, Fr., Oak Creek)
DT – Phil Stickler (6-1, 220, So., Cornell)
DHB – Bob Rykal (6-1, 185, So., Cadott)
If the Duluth loss had shaken their confidence, the Blugolds did not show it in the Oshkosh game on Sept. 19. They proved to be very opportunistic with a 26-7 road win. Mike Devine got the Blugolds off to a great start by returning the opening kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown. Only 13 plays were needed to score the other three TDs. A 36-yard punt return by Muddy Rivers set up another score and a 68-yard punt by Gregg Zastrow that was touched by Oshkosh for a fumble inside the 10 set up another. The Blugolds also picked off four Jim Jaeger passes in the game. Jaeger, who had been runner-up to Van Gorden in the 1963 conference passing stats, completed just 3 of 20 passes in the game.
Fullback Harry Newmann suffered a dislocated shoulder in the game but Ray Cheyka returned from his injury to take over that key spot in the lineup for the home opener against Stout on Sept. 26.
Pickett had this comment in his preview of the Stout game: “The game is rated a tossup with the experts giving the Blugolds a slight edge because of the home field advantage, the first time they’ve enjoyed the partisan atmosphere this season.” He was very forthright in comparing the rivals: “The teams are nearly identical in that both have strong passing attacks, a porous defense against running and mediocre rushing games.”
The game proved to be a very one-sided affair as the Blugolds scored the first five times they had the ball and led 32-0 at halftime en route to a 51-20 triumph which marked the most points scored by a Blugold team since the 1922 season.
Stout quarterback Mike Dunford, who would lead the Bluedevils to the 1965 conference title, was held to 30 yards passing and the Blugolds picked off three of his passes. The Blugolds piled up 484 yards total offense with Van Gorden passing for 242. In his first action of the season, fullback Ray Cheyka scored three touchdowns.
The Blugolds would be back home again the next weekend against UW-La Crosse which had failed to win a game in 1963. In the week prior to the Oct. 3 game against Bill Vickroy’s Indians, as they were called then, the Warren Commission came out with its report in which it said that Lee Harvey Oswald acted independently when he assassinated President Kennedy.
Injuries continued to plague the team as Mike Kalinke, Wayne Martinko, Pat Fraley and Tom Omholt were not expected to play against La Crosse. Also, Larry Thiel, who had looked good in the Stout game and was challenging for a starting position, dropped from the team for financial reasons.
Rice did regain the services of Dave Linse (5-11, 207, So., Mondovi) who had missed the Stout game because of a concussion suffered in the Oshkosh game.
The lineup reshuffling because of the injuries had Rice inserting Mike Bell (6-1, 215, Jr., Eau Claire) and Ray Morse ((6-4, 230, Jr., Wisconsin Rapids) into the starting defensive line.
The Blugolds scored in every quarter, with Ray Cheyka reaching paydirt three times, as the Blugolds posted a 25-14 triumph. In dominating play, the Blugolds also had three other scoring chances, ending the game at the La Crosse 5, intercepting at the La Crosse 15 and having a 36-yard TD run by Mike Devine called back by a holding penalty.
Gene Golden recalled a strange incident in the game when Gerry Gendron came off the bench and hit him as he was about to intercept a pass and return it for a score. Gendron had thought Golden did not see the “trick” play the Indians had called which involved a pitch one way and a throwback to a wingback on the opposite side. The officials did not notice the 12th man on the field breaking up the pass and no flag was thrown.
Devine become the only casualty of the game as he was lost indefinitely with what proved to be a slight ankle fracture. He was the team leader in rushing, punt returns and kickoff returns at the time of his injury.
In their first three victories, the Blugolds had scored more points (102) than they had during their entire six-game conference schedule in 1963. The defense had carried that team to its unbeaten record, never allowing more than 13 points in a game. Every victory in ’63 had been by 10 or fewer points—42 total in six games. The first three triumphs of ’64 had been by a total of 61 points.
If being a defending champion did not put enough of a target on their back, the Blugolds would now be the homecoming opponent in their final three road contests, starting with an Oct. 10 clash at Superior against veteran coach Mertz Mortorelli’s Yellowjackets.
During the week the Blugolds prepared for the Superior contest, the Games of the XVIII Olympiad began in Tokyo and Hurricane Hilda killed 38 people in Louisiana, Mississippi and Georgia.
In the game at Superior, fullback Jack Puglisi and All-American tackle Jerry Schweiger helped the home team take a 12-0 lead at halftime. But, after being kept on their own side of the 50 for all but the final drive of the first half, the Blugolds put together scoring drives of 73 and 68 yards in the second half. Ray Cheyka capped both drives with scoring runs. The Blugolds scored the winning TD with just over seven minutes left in the game. Gregg Zastrow kicked both extra points, which proved to be the winning margin, in addition to intercepting two Superior passes to stop scoring threats.
Riding their four-game win streak, the Blugolds would now return home for their homecoming contest against River Falls, which also came into the game unbeaten in conference play.
To say that the week prior to that Oct. 17 homecoming clash was a headliner would be an understatement. On campus, the freshmen were sabotaged twice in building the traditional homecoming bonfire but finally completed the task and it was lit Friday night before the game. The homecoming parade was a big affair with 15 area marching bands and 21 other units participating. The homecoming theme was “Fleece the Falcons.” The nationally renowned singing group ‘The Four Preps’ performed as part of the homecoming festivities. Karen Christopher was crowned as the homecoming queen and the football team selected Marv Hietpas as the king.
Globally, the Russians were in the news more than once as they first put a multi-person crew into orbit around the earth. Two days later, Nikita Kruschev was ousted and Leonid Brezhnev took over as premier and Leonid Brezhnev as general secretary of the communist party. That same day, Martin Luther King was announced as the winner of the Nobel Peace prize which he would receive on Dec. 10 in Oslo. China also became the world’s fifth nuclear power,exploding an atomic bomb.
The World Series ended this week with Bob Gibson pitching the St. Louis Cardinals to a 4-3 series win over the Yogi Berra-coached New York Yankees.
The Blugolds’ homecoming game itself would match the league’s most explosive offense against the stingiest defense. River Falls, under Gywnn Christianson, had always been troublesome for the Blugolds. The Falcons had spoiled Eau Claire championship bids in 1919, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1929, 1932 and 1954, according to Pickett, and had won 24 of 42 games in the series with five games ending in a tie. River Falls was led by All-Conference halfback Jim Baier.
A mist turned to rain as the game was played and “drenched fans began leaving” according to the Leader which estimated the initial homecoming crowd at 5,200. Those that stayed were witnesses to one of the most memorable Blugold games ever. Veteran Leader sports writer Ron Buckli described the game this way in his weekly column:
Jim Van Gorden has had better days as a passer—and some better running the ball. But his gallant performance Saturday has to go down as one of the greatest ever staged on Carson Park’s once green turf.
Taking command when all seemed lost, the battered Van Gorden led his weary and reeling mates from the brink of disaster to a stunning victory.
This was just not another game. Undisputed first place and a probable conference championship rested on the outcome. This was the “Game-of-the-Year” as far as the Wisconsin State University Conference was concerned.
And never before have hopes for such a championship rested so completely in one man’s hands. Van Gorden was Eau Claire’s weapon—and River Falls knew it. They cracked him with extra enthusiasm throughout in hopes of breaking his spirit. They could not.
After an off-form first half, in which the fired-up Falcons blazed to a 19-6 lead, Van Gorden started to click. He engineered two quick scoring drives and the Blugolds shot ahead. Another touchdown early in the fourth period gave the Minnie Creekers what everyone thought was an insurmountable eight-point lead.
But the Falcons were not about to give up. Taking full advantage of a costly Blugold miscue, the visitors suddenly shot back ahead, 28-27.
Just 2:30 remained on the scoreboard clock. River Falls fans were wild. They envisioned a conference title and even the possibility of an unbeaten season. Blugold fans were silent. But not for long. Let’s relive these final seconds again.
Bob Rykal gave his club good position by lugging the kickoff back to his own 41. Now, there was just 2:17 left. But it would prove to be the most exciting 2:17 of football all season.
On first down, Van Gorden threw short to end Larry Drott. It worked for seven yards. On second down, Van tossed another short one, this time it was dropped. However, worse than that, he was cracked hard by charging Falcon linemen and came up with a bad limp. Blugold hearts dropped. Without Van Gorden, forget it.
But the Dutchman hung in there. He rolled to his left on third down, still limping and fired in the left flat—but too short for Denny Rivers to get. Here it was—fourth-down-and-three at the Blugold 48—one play away from defeat.
Again he rolled left, this time hitting Drott in the flat good for five yards and the first down. The clock continued to tick. Less than a minute-and-a-half remained.
The burden of his painful leg, the fast-moving clock and the constantly harassing River Falls linemen didn’t seem to bother Van Gorden. He just kept on going.
Again he faded to throw, connecting with tight end George Bowman at the 33. Time was called. Now, only 33 yards separated the Blugolds from victory—however they had no more time outs.
When play resumed, Van Gorden rolled right on an option, could find not a receiver and sprinted toward the sideline for six yards. The Blugolds lined up in a hurry and ran what appeared to be the same play. Again he was forced to run. Again he gained six.
Now it was first down at the 21. The clock showed 1:05 to play. After an incomplete pass, Van found Drott open and hit him for a 10-yard gain at the 11. Lining up without a huddle, Van rolled right, kept the ball and headed for the sideline. He was met hard at the 10 by the Falcons before he could get out of bounds. But an over-anxious foe got to him as he lay on the ground—after the whistle. The officials’ red flag flew—stopping the clock. The personal foul penalty would put the ball at the five. But only 24 seconds were left.
Van Gorden, stunned by the battering, lay motionless on the ground for several seconds. Then he was up and ready to go. It was first down at the five.
His quick pass over the middle was on mark to big end Gerry Gendron at the one—but a defender helped bat it away.
It was second down at the five with 21 seconds to play. The partisan crowd, which encircled the entire playing area, held its breath. Van rolled left, running parallel with the 10-yard line for about 15 yards when he spotted Bowman going the same way in the end zone, all alone. He lofted an easy toss. It was on mark. Bowman hugged it like a newborn baby.
Never before, in the memory of this writer, has one man, facing such great odds with so much at stake, carried his club to victory at Carson Park like Van Gorden did Saturday. To say it was courageous would be the understatement of the year.
No one in the milling, breathless throng after the game, was surprised to see No. 12 hoisted to the shoulders of his teammates and carried from the field.
Saturday was a great day in Blugold history. Thanks to Jim Van Gorden & Co. A guy and a gang with a lot of heart.
Rice had plenty of praise for his charges in the Monday discussion with Pickett following the game. “We just didn’t quit. The veterans held us together. They’ve been through tight spots before and they weren’t about to throw in the sponge after River Falls went ahead.”
Asked about the final drive, Rice said. “We have a two-minute offense which backfield coach Frank Wrigglesworth set up for just such a situation and Van Gorden used it.”
He couldn’t say enough about his veterans. “Bowman and Drott made some fantastic catches and Van Gorden … well, he’s the frosting on the cake … he’s put us where we are today.” He also had a lot of praise for the offensive line which gave Van Gorden protection. “Page, Olson, O’Connell, Linse and Emerson, they really did the job.”
Asked about the Blugolds’ ability to score in the last 2:17, Rice said, “I figured we had time to score, but it sure gives a guy gray hair. That’s cutting it mighty thin.”
While the Blugolds were the last unbeaten team in the league, Rice wasn’t claiming a conference title just yet. “We’ve got three tough games to go and they’ll all be up for us. But we’ve come this far and the boys aren’t about to stop now. They’ll be up too.”
This is the way the standings shook out after the Blugold win over River Falls with three weeks of the conference campaign remaining:
Eau Claire 5-0
River Falls 3-1
Whitewater 2-1-1
La Crosse 2-2
Superior 2-2
Oshkosh 1-3
Stout 1-3
Stevens Point 1-3
Platteville 0-2-1
The Blugold ranks were thinned again with the loss of regulars Tom O’Connell and Mike Bell. Both suffered concussions in the River Falls win even though they played through to the end, according to the Telegram. Ray Cheyka was also injured and not expected to play the next week. Despite the losses, Rice was more optimistic than earlier in the season. “We’ve been thin all year. Someone will just have to put out a little more and we’ll have to get another new face in there.”
If anyone thought the homecoming contest was a heart-stopping event, they would need to return to Carson Park in two weeks for a showdown with Whitewater that also became a “game for the ages.”
In the meantime, the Blugolds would need to prepare for an Oct. 24 clash at Stevens Point.
Outside of Eau Claire, the nation mourned the death of former president Herbert Hoover and the Olympics ended in Toyko, marked by the resurgence of the United States as a world athletic power. The U.S. captured 36 gold medals compared to 30 for the U.S.S.R. during the 14 days of competition between nearly 8,000 athletes from 94 countries.
The game was shaping up as a perfect storm for Duaine Counsell’s Pointers. The Blugolds had hit an emotional high with their last-second win against River Falls but were thin because of injuries. It was the Pointer homecoming. The Pointers themselves were coming off a close loss to Whitewater. The Pointers had won the WSCC in 1961, were third at 5-2 in ’62 and runner-up at 6-1 in ’63. They had not played the champion Blugolds in ’63.
Before 6,000 fans, the Pointers scored in each of the first three quarters before Eau Claire hit the scoreboard in the final period of a 21-7 loss. The Blugolds were stopped four times inside the Pointer 25. George Rivers, the brother of Blugold Dennis Rivers, led the Pointer’s 285-yard ground attack with 127 yards. Another leading rusher for the Pointers was Phil Birkel who would later serve as head football coach at Eau Claire Memorial High School. The loss ended the Blugolds’ 11-game conference win streak, dating back to the final game of the 1962 season.
Despite the setback, the Blugolds’ title hopes were aided when La Crosse defeated River Falls that same weekend.
Carson Park once again would see a battle of the top two teams in the conference when the Blugolds hosted Whitewater in a Halloween Day showdown. The standings prior to the game were as follows:
Eau Claire 5-1
Whitewater 2-1-1
River Falls 3-2
La Crosse 3-2
Superior 2-3
Oshkosh 2-3
Stevens Point 2-3
Stout 2-3
Platteville 0-3-1
As the Blugolds prepared for the game, one inch of snow fell on the Eau Claire area. The Minneosta Vikings’ Jim Marshall also unwittingly garnered NFL notoriety for his 60-yard wrong-way run of a fumble by the San Francisco 49ers Billy Kilmer for a safety. While the San Francisco crowd shrieked in glee, Marshall and the Vikings had the last laugh with a 27-22 victory.
In the game that Rice called “For all the marbles,” the Blugolds would regain the services of fullback Ray Cheyka and offensive lineman Tom O’Connell. That would prove critical as the Blugolds ground game was virtually non-existent in the upset at Stevens Point.
The Blugolds rallied twice in the contest, down 19-6 in the first half and 33-19 with 8:56 left in the game for a 37-33 triumph. A full page banner headline blared “Gallant Blugolds Repeat as Champions.” The game story by Jim Pickett in the Monday Daily Telegram opened with two words: “Incredible! Fantastic!” Shortly thereafter, the writer would say: “THE COMEBACK was THE GREATEST ever witnessed at Carson Park as the Blugolds battled like champions, with the odds against them, to take all the marbles.”
In a duplicate performance, the winning TD was scored with just 16 ticks remaining just as the Blugolds had done two weeks earlier against River Falls. The winning combination also was a repeat of the previous two in the fourth quarter as Jim Van Gorden hooked up with wingback George Bowman on a 16-yard pass no less. The previous two to Bowman had been for 6 and 21 yards.
The fourth quarter was played at a frenetic pace after a scoreless third quarter ended with Whitewater holding a 19-12 lead. The two foes ran off 68 plays and scored 39 points in the final 15 minutes.
The Blugolds tied the score early in the fourth quarter on an 11-yard tackle eligible play from Van Gorden to Tom O’Connell. Rice credited defensive coach Ade Olson for adding the play to the Blugolds’ offensive repertoire for the game.
Whitewater came back with lightning-like quickness, scoring in four plays for a 26-19 lead. A little over two minutes later, a 30-yard strike put the Warhawks up by a 33-19 margin with 8:56 showing.
That’s when the Blugolds took over. Van Gorden, who had not practiced all week because of a knee injury and who played the entire game in tennis shoes under doctor’s orders, according to Pickett, directed an 83-yard march in six plays. The big play was a 47-yard aerial to Rivers.
On the ensuing kickoff, Ron Poquette recovered a live ball after it bounced off a Whitewater player at the 19. Chuck Emerson recalled that the kickoff was fumbled because the Whitewater receiver was distracted by the Phi Sig cannon going off late after the previous Blugold score. He said the Whitewater coach “went berserk with the refs but to no avail as the recorded fumble stood.” A running play lost two yards, but then Van Gorden found Bowman for a 21-yard score and it was 33-31 with 4:24 showing.
The Blugold defense forced a three and out and a Whitewater punt was downed at the Blugold 10. The Blugolds moved the ball out to the 31 but then failed to get a first down and Whitewater took over with just 2:00 left to play.
However, the Blugold defenders were not about to give up and pushed Whitewater back to the 46 in three plays and forced another punt. Barry Schultz took the kick on his own 12 and ran out of bounds on the 19.
Just 1:05 was showing on the clock and the Blugolds were 81 yards from paydirt.
Three straight passes failed. Because of his injury, Pickett reported that Van Gorden had trouble rolling out, so Rice inserted Gregg Zastrow for the fourth down play. The skinny kid from Wausau rolled right and gained 10 yards, making the first down by inches at the 29. But only 47 seconds remained.
After an incomplete pass, Zastrow rolled right and fired a long bomb to Rivers on the left side of the field. Rivers took the pass in stride at midfield and ran out of bounds at the 16 to stop the clock.
On the next play, Van Gorden hit Bowman on a lookin pass for the lead with 16 seconds remaining.
The game was not over yet. Whitewater returned the kickoff to its own 40. Then a 24-yard pass put the ball at the Eau Claire 36 with two seconds remaining. Ron Poquette knocked down the Warhawks’ final pass to preserve the remarkable victory.
The two teams had amassed nearly 1100 yards of total offense in the game with the Blugolds getting 601 and Whitewater 483. Despite his injury, Van Gorden had rushed for 100 yards on 20 carries and passed for 334 yards and five touchdowns. His 434 yards total offense is a single game record that still stands 50 years later. His record of five TD passes stood until 2005. He might have had some remarkable records had a 48-yard TD pass not been called back and a 57-yard TD run nullified by a penalty.
The outcome of the game could have been different had the officials not assessed Whitewater a personal foul penalty for a fight that was started by a Blugold player. Tom O’Connell recalls that a tackle eligible play was called on a fourth down play. Whitewater read the play and broke up the pass intended for him. In frustration, he hit a Warhawk play who retaliated against him. The officials only saw the retaliation and gave the Blugolds a first down on the penalty.
In defense of the officials, it must be pointed out that four-man crews worked the college game back then as opposed to the seven who don the stripes during current Blugold games.
Another incident in the Whitewater game involved assistant coach Frank Wrigglesworth. Gene Golden recalls that a Whitewater player grabbed him and spun him around out of bounds. He hit Wrigglesworth square in the chest with his helmet and knocked him out cold. “Wrig” regained consciousness in time to watch the Blugolds rally for the win in the final minutes.
Heading into the final weekend of conference play, the Blugolds were assured of a second straight championship. The standings looked like this:
Eau Claire 6-1
River Falls 4-2
La Crosse 3-2
Superior 3-3
Oshkosh 3-3
Whitewater 2-2-1
Stevens Point 2-4
Stout 2-4
Platteville 0-4-1
As the Blugolds relished their repeat title heading into the Platteville game Nov. 7, Lyndon Johnson defeated Barry Goldwater in the presidential election. Bill Proxmire was re-elected as a Wisconsin senator in the U.S. Congress and Warren Knowles won the gubernatorial race against incumbent John Reynolds to begin his first of two terms as Wisconsin’s governor.
The Blugolds were heavily favored in their game against John Barth’s winless Platteville team but it was the Pioneers’ homecoming game and they played inspired ball. The Blugolds trailed 7-6 when Ray Cheyka scored the winning TD with just five minutes left in the game. On the winning drive, the Blugolds converted on a 4-and-8 as Van Gorden hit Gendron on a pass. Cheyka, who scored both TDs in the game, rushed for 129 yards on 21 carries including the final four plays of the winning drive.
The Blugold defense, which had come up big when it needed to against Whitewater, limited the Pioneers to just 49 yards rushing and 72 yards passing. The Blugolds missed a scoring opportunity when Zastrow intercepted a pass on the final play of the first half and returned it to the 1-inch line where he was shoved out of bounds as time ran out, according to the Daily Telegram story.
The 14 victories in 1963 and 1964 would be the most in back-to-back seasons by a Blugold squad until Bob Nielson’s 1997 and 1998 teams went 7-3 and 10-3.
The Blugolds set 27 individual records during the 1964 season, most of them by Van Gorden. Gendron, Cheyka and Rivers also got into the record-smashing success.
Defense had been the trademark of the 1963 team, allowing just 8.8 points per game en route to an unbeaten record. The offense came to life during the 1964 season, averaging 25.8 points per outing, and dominated the conference in individual offensive totals. Van Gorden, not surprisingly, led the league in passing with Gendron, Bowman and Drott first, second and third in receiving. Cheyka and Van Gorden were the top two scorers in the league. Helping to set up the offense, Rivers led the league in kickoff returns and Zastrow tied for second in interceptions.
Van Gorden ended up leading the NAIA in total offense for the year, averaging 259.9 yards per game. He had a considerable lead over Jerry Bishop of Austin, Texas who averaged 233.7 yards per game as the runner-up. Van Gorden eventually was named to the NAIA All-American team and was the only player from Wisconsin to get mention on the Associated Press Little All-American team.
The Blugolds dominated post-season honors as Van Gorden (QB), Gendron (E), Page (G), Emerson (C) and Golden (DE) were accorded All-Conference recognition with Hietpas (LB), Betthauser (DE), Cheyka (FB) and Bowman (OE) getting honorable mention.
Van Gorden, Ken Biegel (LB), Golden and Gendron made the All-NAIA District 14 team with Drott, Cheyka and Hietpas (LB) getting honorable mention. Rice was tabbed as the district coach of the year.
Daily Telegram columnist Ron Buckli chided the voters of the All-Conference team when he wrote: “Between 220-pound Ken Biegel and 180-pound Marv Hietpas, the Blugolds had a linebacking duo second to none around the league. They hit like home-made bombs, covered more territory than the United Nations and turned in more key plays than JFK. Pound for pound, they called Hietpas the best in the conference. Biegel recently got a pro football feeler from the Chicago Bears. … This writer saw seven of the conference teams, and if it’s any consolation, our All-Conference team would start at linebacker—with Hietpas and Biegel.”
In the final UPI state college rankings, St. Norbert was first followed by the Blugolds and Ripon.
When members of the 1964 team reflect today on their team from a half century ago, almost to a man they identify Van Gorden as the leader on offense and Golden, Biegel and Hietpas as the leaders of the defense—not the rah, rah type leaders but by their actions.
Van Gorden and Golden were looked up to in part because of their maturity. Van Gorden was married as a Blugold and he and his wife Carolyn had two young daughters in 1964. Golden had returned to the university at age 28 after attending mortuary school and working in the family business for a time. He recalled that Ade Olson would usually ask him after a game, “How are you doing grandpa?”
In a tribute to Van Gorden, his No. 12 jersey was retired at the championship banquet. On Dec. 2, 1964, Van Gorden signed as a free agent with the Packers. He was slotted to be the No. 3 quarterback behind Bart Starr and Zeke Bratkowski. The Packers had drafted quarterbacks Dennis Claridge and Wally Mahle but both were expected to be used at other positions like running back and flanker.
The All-Pro team announced later in December included Johnny Unitas at quarterback, Jim Brown and Lenny Moore at the backs and Mike Ditka at tight end. The defense included Gino Marchetti and Merlin Olsen. The Packers’ All-Pro selections that year were tackle Forrest Gregg, defensive end Willie Davis and safety Willie Wood.
Final WSUC Standings
Eau Claire 7-1 7-2
La Crosse 4-2 5-4
River Falls 4-3 5-3
Whitewater 3-2-1 3-5-1
Superior 3-3
Oshkosh 3-4 5-4
Stevens Point 3-4 3-6
Stout 2-5 3-6
Platteville 0-5-1 1-5-2
Final Blugold Results
Sept. 12 Lost 6-29 at Duluth
Sept. 19 Won 26-7 at Oshkosh
Sept. 26 Won 51-20 Stout
Oct. 3 Won 25-14 La Crosse
Oct. 10 Won 14-12 at Superior
Oct. 17 Won 34-28 River Falls
Oct. 24 Lost 7-21 at Stevens Point
Oct. 31 Won 37-33 Whitewater
Nov. 7 Won 13-7 at Platteville
The players also had a lot of admiration for their coaching staff. Both Tom O’Connell and Jim Van Gorden recall that Ade Olson’s favorite saying was “give total effort without regard to your own personal safety.”
Chuck Emerson said Ade Olson was the offensive line coach and “always, always said a linemen’s job was to protect and open holes for all the ‘glory hounds’ in the backfield. If they were successful, then you did your job.” He said “toughness and teamwork were two things he harped about every day.”
George Bowman remembered that “Coach Olson was always quick to congratulate and praise players after games and equally quick to point out mistakes we all made in practices.” As his receiver coach, Bowman said Frank Wrigglesworth “always insisted we know the following: precise routes, the location of the first down marker, sideline location and time on the clock. All of those details paid off.”
Jim Van Gorden remembers Jim Rice as “a very gentle man. Someone I admired.” He called Ade Olson “one of a kind.” He added, “I admired him all my life whether in the classroom or on the football field.” He credited Frank Wrigglesworth with being “a great help to me. He brought the passing plays and sequence of reads from the University at Madison. This was very important because it gave us a sense of timing and the QB knew where people would be--an important part of the passing game that really helped.”
In describing the coaching staff, Van Gorden had lavish praise. “The coaches of the ’64 team were great men and I had the utmost respect for each of them, their discipline and what they contributed to our lives. They were honest hard working men. They were good coaches that turned us loose and let us play.”
And play they did. The 1964 season may remain one of the all-time discussed football campaigns in school history. Reality better than fiction!
This story was written by Sports Information Director emeritus Tim Petermann based largely on articles that appeared in The Daily Telegram. It also includes information from the UWEC and WIAC sports information historical online files. In addition, comments were solicited this fall from members of the 1964 squad. Other historical facts about happenings in 1964 were pulled from various sources including the 1964-65 Periscope.
