OT- Marquette Stadium

[MarqGold17]

Can anyone who is an MUScoop member enter info on the Wiki? If so, I'd add this stuff regarding Marquette Stadium.

yes

I just updated the wiki to include all the information I found earlier today--I'll be adding some more stuff on Monday when I get a chance.

[augoman]

I remember going to MU football games there when I was in grade school, and playing there-Marquette High, and MU intramurals.  Lots of great memories- the local drug store, on 35th street, was called 'stadium view pharmacy'.

[Murffieus]

As I recall the MU Stadium seated 24,000 fans (including bleachers set up behind each end zone)-----anyway I was a regular attendee at MU football games starting in about 1945 (climbing over the wood fence)-----I remember when Bear Bryant brought in his Univ Kentucky team to play MU---also remember that MU/Pitt game vividly I believe in 1960. MU was beating #6 Pitt 13-7 with two minutes to go when a drive stalled around mid field. We went back to punt and who came roaring in from his DE position to block it----non other than Mike Ditka----he also recovered the ball and went into score. They beat us 14-13----that killed MU football as the program was dropped right after the 1960 season. It was recovering from a disasterous period in the mid/late 1950s when we won only one game in 3 seasons0000the Coach was an ex ND coach under Frank Leahy (Johnny Druze)-----Druze ran a boot camp in Spring and literally half the team quit (wouldn't even let them wear face masks as he and his coaches were just brutal on the players)-----Druze was one of Fordham's legendary "7 blocks of granite"-----also included as one of those "blocks" at Forham was Vince Lombardi------Speaking of Lombardi, he had applied for the MU job back in the early 1950s and was turned down-----they ended up giving the job to a Green Bay HS coach (Green Bay West I believe) by the name of Frosty Ferzacca------Ferzacca for Lombardi-----hmmmmmm!

I worked there cutting grass and maintenance during the summers when I was at MU for the minimum wage which was then $1.00/hour. Also spent many hours out there practicing with the track team (was my second home in the spring & summer).

[The Lens]

Thanks for the notes Murf.

As always, good stuff.

[ForstK]

     The "Ditka game" had to be in '59 as I was there and graduated and gone in '60. 

[Murffieus]

Could be as a lot of water has gone under thedamn since.

Several more MU Stadium stories----in 1952 after his famous "old soldiers never die, they just fade away" speech to Congress (I believe in 1952) Gen Douglas McArthur (the great World War II general, who had just been fired by Harry Truman for insisting on taking the fight to the Communist Chinese on their homeland during the Korean War-----came back home-----he was raised in Milwaukee and went to the old West Division HS on 20th & Wells or so. He was honored at MU stadium in front of a full house (20,000 +) and was given an honorary degree by Fr O'Donnell the then President of MU.

Also the Stadium was the host facility for many years to the annual Marquette "M" Club picnic on the 3rd Saturday in June-----up until about 1977 or 78 (two lamb and two pig were roasted on the spit). Was a great time (a real blast)----had about 150  letter winners come back each year. Started about 11:00 AM and went to about 11:00 pm! After that the picnic was move to the campus and was held in the grassy square just south of the old student union for about 10 years. Since about 1990, the annual picnic has been held in Mequon, but IMO it's not the same!

[Pardner]

My memories (which are hazy--and maybe not quite 100% accurate)....

MU Men's Soccer played there in the 80's...they were actually ranked in the Top 20 then led by Hayden Knight who played pro.  Club Football played there as well and broke their 10+ year winless streak in a rain storm when someone fell on a fumble in the endzone.  This led to an all-university party (any excuse).  I vaguely remember a portion of the west side permanent stands still up freshman year ('77)--that were then torn down soon after. 

The FB team used to have a half barrel on the sidelines instead of Gatorade (this was the team Oliver Lee, who was a hs qb in Florida, was on for a couple of days until Hank found out and pointed to the 5'6" lineman and told him this is the guy you are counting to protect you and your $1mm NBA contract).  I had friends at Stanford who told me they used to read the MU club FB scores at halftime.  We used to lose to schools like Pillsbury Bible College by 63-0.  It became a running joke--and I guess that Palo Alto went berserk too when we actually won that rain game--or so the story goes.

I remember our team winning the all MU IM flag football championship there.  The Miller factory could be seen when facing the north endzone--we called it Six Pack Jesus instead of Touchdown Jesus at ND.  IM football was a great excuse to hit some new bars with the other team after.  Rugby played some games there too, if I remember.

[Avenue Commons]

I worked there cutting grass and maintenance during the summers when I was at MU for the minimum wage which was then $1.00/hour. Also spent many hours out there practicing with the track team (was my second home in the spring & summer).

Murf, were you on track as well as basketball when you were at MU?

[Murffieus]

Yes, shot put, discus, and javelin.

[ecompt]

chip off the old block, huh, Murff?

[ForstK]

Among the few memories I still have of late 50's MU football are of the weird placekicks of Jessie Lee in which he used the same long runups as in his kickoffs.

[Murffieus]

From memory----some of the guys who went onto the NFL from that last couple of years of MU football were Pete Hall (3rd team QB behind Y A Tittle----NYG)-----Frank Mestnick FB------Carl Kassulke an all pro DB for the Vikings-----Dave Kopay a very good TE for Seattle (I believe)  (might have been a pro bowler)-----George Andre, an all pro DE for the Dallas Cowboys, Tom Braatz (don't remember with whom----but later became Packer GM prior to Ron Wolf)----also Bob Harlan, class of 1958, current Packer President for the last 19 years-----Lisle Blackbourn was the coach in 1960----and former coach/GM of the GB Packers and who is generally credited with drafting the nucleus of those great Lombardi teams!

There are other NFL connections from that group, but a lot of water has gone over the damn since.

[mviale]

A high school football game between Milwaukee Pulaski and Milwaukee Bay View drew a crowd of 19,500 at Marquette Stadium in 1949. The crowd is believed to be the largest ever to watch a high school football game in Wisconsin.

The Packers played an exhibition game against the Western Army All-Stars in 1942, during World War II, to raise money for the Army Emergency Relief Fund. The game was played at Marquette Stadium and raised $41,918 for the fund.

[Ahoya06]

Updated the Wiki with all the info that's come in in the past couple of days about the stadium. 

http://wiki.muscoop.com/doku.php/facilities/marquette_stadium

[DanceHallPlayer]

Dave Kopay was a running back and played freshman football at Marquette, then tranferred to the University of Washington when the Marquette program was discontinued. He played at the University of Washington and in the NFL with the 49ers, Lions, Packers and a couple of other teams. He retired in 1974 before Seattle joined the NFL. He is best-known for being the first U.S. pro athlete to come out of the closet and admit he was gay. His middle name is Marquette.

Other players who from Marquette's final football years who played some pro bowl were Herb Roedel (Oakland Raiders) John Sisk (Bears) and Joe Young (Broncos).

[NYWarrior]

Other players who from Marquette's final football years who played some pro bowl were Herb Roedel (Oakland Raiders) John Sisk (Bears) and Joe Young (Broncos).

the best of that bunch was George Andrie, he of five all-pro seasons........a great Cowboy, made it to their Ring of Honor. I believe he was a junior when MU shut down football.

[DanceHallPlayer]

Andrie was by far the best of the bunch. I have corrected my above post. Dave Kopay did play one year at Marquette before the program was cancelled.

[Avenue Commons]

Dave Kopay was a running back and played freshman football at Marquette, then tranferred to the University of Washington when the Marquette program was discontinued. He played at the University of Washington and in the NFL with the 49ers, Lions, Packers and a couple of other teams. He retired in 1974 before Seattle joined the NFL. He is best-known for being the first U.S. pro athlete to come out of the closet and admit he was gay. His middle name is Marquette.

Other players who from Marquette's final football years who played some pro bowl were Herb Roedel (Oakland Raiders) John Sisk (Bears) and Joe Young (Broncos).

Interestingly Kopay was one of the few names mentioned that I recognized because of all the publicity he got for being the first major pro athlete to admit that he was gay. His name came up a lot in the John Ameichi story a few months back. Didn't know there was an MU connection. Interesting.

[rocky_warrior]

Updated the Wiki with all the info that's come in in the past couple of days about the stadium. 

http://wiki.muscoop.com/doku.php/facilities/marquette_stadium

Cool - I'd have to nominate this as one of the greatest threads of all time too.  Good info!

[Ahoya06]

It's very cool. Someone should forward this to the BoT with a wink and a nudge... 

[Murffieus]

John Sisk (I knew him well) was called the "big train" at MU in the early 1930s----played in the same Chicago Bear backfield for years together with Bronco Nagurski and Red Grange. His son John played with the Bears briefly in the early 1960s-----were the first father/son combination in the history of the Bears.

John loved the Bears and each year he went to their annual alumni get together except one time when he had a conflict with an MU HOF dinner (he was already a member). John was very upset when MU dropped football in 1960.

John was an outstanding insurance salesman-----would make cold calls and sit outside the exec's office until the guy was ready to leave if necessary-----of course more often than not, if John Sisk called on you back then, you at least gave him some time and not wait too long!

[hewhois]

-After Marquette Football ceased playing there a plethora of outside organizations and institutions began utilizing the stadium including Marquette High School Football, Northern Michigan College, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Southern Illinois University, Pius XI High School, various intramural clubs of Marquette including the soccer and track clubs, as well as professional football teams like the San Francisco 49ers, and the Los Angeles Rams (used it as a practice facility.)

I remember seeing a UW-M football game there when I was about 10- against Southern Illinois, I think.

[harryp]

I was at that game with Pitt.  Don't remember seeing Murph<G>.  If we had won that game we'd still have a football team today.
Also Frosty Ferzacca was, I think, the coach at Northern Michigan b/4 he came to MU.  He had a record winning streak there, but wasn't up to the "big time".  Ron Drzwecki (sp?) starred for the Hilltopers in the early 50's and was a first round pick of the Bears.  Played for a couple of years, mostly on punt and kickoff returns.
Also successfull Marquette High coach, John McGee was an assistant to Druze.  My vague recollection is that they got into a fight.  McGee ended up in Chicago, at Mt Carmel (I think), before moving to the west coast.  Died recently.