Alumni
10 Sports Highlights in Forester History
A storied athletic tradition is captured in a list of 150 interesting facts, significant events, and defining moments. We picked 10 of our favorites.
By Mike Wajerski
As the sesquicentennial inspired many opportunities to reflect on the College’s past, the Athletic Department assembled a committee of more than a dozen members to come up with a list of 150 historical sports highlights. The committee reached deep into its institutional memory, canvassed the archives, and crunched the statistics. The result is a wide-ranging compilation of spectacular streaks, unforgettable personalities, entertaining trivia, and those sweet victories that many athletes and fans will remember. While Spectrum only features a small selection here, we invite you to visit www.lakeforest.edu/athletics to read the entire list.
1. Come Hell or High Water
The 1991 Forester men’s soccer team would not be denied a conference title despite their home field being completely submerged under water in the league title game. Greg Boltz ’93 headed in the winning goal in the fourth overtime against South Division rival Grinnell College.
2. Uhh…Mr. President…You Missed a Spot
College President David Spadafora drove the Zamboni between periods at Lake Forest’s first varsity women’s hockey game (a 10–2 Forester victory over UW-Whitewater) on November 3, 2000. Women’s ice hockey had been one of the College’s strongest club sports the previous 12 years.
3. Man in Motion
Ralph Jones, athletic director and head football, basketball, and baseball coach at the College from 1933 until 1949, is credited with introducing the innovative “man in motion” offense to professional football (with Red Grange as his man) when he coached the Chicago Bears to their first ever football championship in 1932.
4. If You Know Anything, Please Contact…
While the stories of its cause vary and include radical theories such as “weathermen” involvement, a 1969 fire in the North Gym (now Hotchkiss Hall) destroyed the interior of the building. A more likely explanation is that it resulted from a candle used in some late night studying, but the actual cause is still unknown. The facility hosted many sporting events in its nearly 80 years as a gymnasium.
5. The Newly Renovated
Under the leadership of President Stephen D. Schutt, Farwell Field, home to Forester Football since 1903, was renovated prior to the 2004 season. New bleachers and a modern press box were constructed and artificial grass was installed on the field itself. It became the permanent home of the ollege’s soccer teams as well, and the three sports have combined for a 38–17–3 record on the new Farwell Field in its first three years.
6. All Aboard!
A special train transported both the team and large contingents of fans from Lake Forest College to Carroll College, and vice versa, for the annual football game between the two intense rivals. The tradition was strong in the late 1920s and throughout the 1930s. It was canceled in the early 1940s due to student behavior which, rumor has it, may have included a few too many police exchanges. In 1931, the Waukesha, Wisconsin, police confiscated the prized pigskin and hung it up in the police captain’s office after it had been painted red, black, and orange and inscribed with: “Annual Triangular Meet, Lake Forest 0 – Carroll 0 – Waukesha Police 1.”
7. Go Cubs Go!
Chicago Cubs fans are familiar with “Go Cubs Go,” the song played after victories at Wrigley Field. What they may not know is that the song’s writer, legendary American Folk singer-songwriter Steve Goodman, was at one time a Lake Forest College student. Goodman was diagnosed with leukemia in 1969, close to the time of his withdrawal from the College. He lost his battle with the disease in 1984 after an extremely successful music career.
8. Pioneer of Forester Women’s Athletics
Harriett Morgan Jauch ’40 was heavily involved in athletics all her life and returned to her alma mater in 1962 to serve as the women’s athletic director and physical education instructor. She also coached field hockey, basketball, and tennis, and her contributions were instrumental in the development of women’s athletics at the College. She and her husband Richard Jauch ’39 are the only husband-and-wife tandem in the Forester Athletic Hall of Fame.
9. Handball Program Highlighted by N.Y. Times
The 2007 Valentine’s Day edition of the New York Times ran a story about Lake Forest College handball. The piece highlighted the program’s ability to not only compete with, but also defeat teams from much larger schools such as Texas A&M, Arizona, Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, California, Tennessee, and Missouri State.
10. He’s Earned It
It’s not easy to get a room named after you, but the Dau Room in Halas Hall, which overlooks beautiful Farwell Field, honors someone that has been an integral part of Forester Athletics for more than 50 years. Mike Dau ’58 was the MVP of the 1957 (the College’s centennial) conference championship football team and is now in his 42nd year as a coach in that program, including 24 years as head coach. He is still the head coach of the handball team, which he started in 1968, and has led the squad to 30 national championships. The Forester Athletic Hall of Famer also spent time as the head baseball and junior varsity basketball coach and was the College’s Athletic Director from 1975-92.
