Iowa at Wisconsin.  Saturday, October 16, 1937

Eddie Gillette, Robert "Butts" Butler, Ray "Tubby" Keeler.  This was the Homecoming game of 1937 that celebrated the return of the gridiron stars of a quarter century prior who attended the game and the weekend's festivities in what was a reunion of the 1912 Western Conference Championship team.  The 1912 team was the last Badger squad to go undefeated at 7-0.  They were witnessing a Badger team of 1937 that went into the Iowa game with an undefeated mark of 3-0 and hopes of a return to championship form.

While greats like Gillette, Butler, and Keeler revisited old haunts on State Street and reveled in their rekindled stardom, others were remembered posthumously after having made the ultimate sacrifice in The Great War.  Alvin Tandberg and John Van Riper were two Badgers who lost their lives in World War I. 

Excitement ran high the night before the game.  The Badgers were nationally recognized as a top 10 team based on their lossless ledger and the rival Hawkeyes were the next day's opponent.    A crowd of approximately 2000 students made its way from the bonfire on Library Mall up to the top of State Street where a booze induced melee ensued with approximately 60 police in front of the Orpheum and Capitol theaters.  With the exception of a few scrapes and bruises, most of those gathered dispersed without major injury or infraction.  Shades of Dow Day nearly 30 years later to the day with a far less significant catalyst to be sure. 

36,000 attended the game at Camp Randall the following day.  Iowa's band was there as well.  The Hawkeyes stayed in Milwaukee the night before the game and worked out at Marquette's stadium before hopping the train to Madison for the 2:00 p.m. kickoff. Nile Kinnick was Iowa's one-man show, this coming two years before he was voted college football's top player in his Heisman Trophy year of 1939.  Kinnick scored a TD (the first TD scored on Wisconsin that season), intercepted a pass, and punted the ball 62 yards from his own goal line late in the game to keep the Hawkeyes alive.  It was all for naught.  The Badgers, led by Vince Garve and and Fort Atkinson's Howie Weiss prevailed, 13-6, giving the Badgers a 4-0 record for the first time since the Boys of '12 celebrated their 10 year reunion in 1922.

           The Boys of '12

Marquette at Wisconsin.  Saturday, October 2, 1937

The Answer:  Howard Hansen.  The Question:  Name the Avalanche player who was a member of the Badger squad that defeated Marquette in 1934?  Turncoat.

Freshmen teams were common in the 1930s and 40s.  In the days before the redshirt, these youngsters could not suit up and play for the varsity.  They could, however, scrimmage the varsity as was the case in the week prior to the Marquette game when freshmen ran the plays of their opponent to help the big team prepare for the weekend.  Freshmen games were played at Camp Randall when the varsity was on the road.  To keep fans informed of the action, the varsity games were broadcast over the loud speakers at Camp Randall at intervals of the freshmen game.  How's that for added value at 40 cents a ticket?

30,942 were in attendance when the Badgers ran their record to 2-0 in a 12-0 win vs Marquette.  Vince Garve and Tony Gradisnik scored TDs with the PAT missed after each tally.  Coach Harry Stuhldreher was concerned about the passing game after witnessing a 3-8, 31 yard  performance.  In spite of this, Marquette managed to be worse.  3-21, 31 yards with 4 interceptions and 6 rushing yards left former Northwestern All-American and new head coach John "Paddy" Driscoll with his first loss in a 8-24-1 career spanning 4 seasons at Marquette.  Harry addressed his concerns at his weekly Uptown Coaches Association meeting held at the Park Hotel on Tuesday nights during the season.  Dinner, a game review, and comments by Harry were part of the routine.