Football and Wisconsin, like so many states, always have had a connection. Look no further than Green Bay, where one of the most-hallowed cathedrals in all of organized sports, Lambeau Field, serves as a shrine to the earliest days of professional football and the generations of passion for the sport that has trickled down to Camp Randall Stadium in Madison and the high school fields all over the state.
As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, USA TODAY Sports will celebrate the 250 greatest American sports figures of all time. Alongside that national recognition, the USA TODAY Network will spotlight the roots of the country’s sports culture: the high school athletes and sports figures who shaped communities and defined their states and regions.
What’s our rubric for determining the “defining” football players in Wisconsin history? We won’t lie to you; it’s not easy. Some players became local legends on the high school football field but didn’t translate that success to college or the pros. Some blossomed late, and their high school days offered only a hint of their eventual greatness. How do we compare or measure those things?
Our aim: Identifying trailblazers and trendsetters whose influence reaches beyond championships and statistics − and whose stories reflect a lasting impact on their state.
Our process is imperfect. Let us know at the bottom who should be on this list.
We’ll look for players who graduated from Wisconsin high schools, but preferably with a lasting impact at both the high school level and “beyond.” Pro Football Hall of Famer Dave Casper, who played one year of football at Chilton, doesn’t make the list … but J.J. Watt, whose full greatness was realized after his days at Pewaukee High School, does make the cut. Mike Webster played only two years of football at Rhinelander, but he’s here, and we’ll try to explain why. None of the five best passers, rushers or receivers in state history make the list, some because of recency that prevents a full picture of a player’s post-high school career.
Some of our work stems from our 2019 project looking at the 10 best high school athletes, regardless of sport, at the Journal Sentinel.
Alan Ameche, Kenosha, (graduated in) 1951
A three-year varsity player, the fullback really shined his final two seasons when he earned all-state distinction. The 1950 Kenosha team is considered one of the finest in state history and it was fueled by Ameche, who had 821 yards and 18 touchdowns in 102 carries as a senior. The Iron Horse, who won the 1954 Heisman Trophy at Wisconsin, was voted the all-time top player when the Milwaukee Journal revealed its Team of the Century in 1993. He was also a track standout who won a state title in the shot put in 1950.
Elroy Hirsch, Wausau, 1941
“Crazylegs” starred at Wausau in football, basketball and baseball. He was best known, however, for his work on the gridiron, where his play earned him a place as a first-team running back on the Journal’s Team of the Century in 1993. His skills eventually took him to the University of Wisconsin and then to Michigan and eventually to the Pro Football Hall of Fame after a 12-year career. His career in sports didn’t stop there. He became general manager of the Los Angeles Rams for a decade, then came back home as athletic director for the Badgers from 1969-1987.
Mike Webster, Rhinelander, 1970
What do you picture when you think of a Wisconsin football player? Probably an offensive lineman, maybe the archetypical “strong farm boy” who goes on and blocks for the University of Wisconsin. Here’s Exhibit A. Born in rural Tomahawk and growing up on a potato farm, Webster grew up a Packers fan and didn’t even start playing football until he was a junior. He became the best center in the Big Ten at Wisconsin, then went to Pittsburgh where he became the center of a dynasty, winning four Super Bowls, making the NFL All-Decade team in both the 1970s and 1980s and earning a spot in the Hall of Fame. He may be the greatest center in NFL history. His untimely death at age 50 in 2002 brought increased attention to the dangers of concussions and gave rise to notoriety around the brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
Robert ‘Rocky’ Bleier, Appleton Xavier, 1964
The two-time all-state selection didn’t lose a football game in his final three seasons. A future four-time Super Bowl champion with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Bleier was a first-team running back on the Journal’s Team of the Century. At Notre Dame, he played on the 1966 national championship team and became a team captain the following year After his rookie year with the Steelers, he was drafted into the U.S. Army where he was seriously wounded in Vietnam and received a Bronze Star and Purple Heart. His injuries sidetracked his NFL career, but he was back in the starting lineup with Pittsburgh by 1974 and went on to win four rings.
Pat Richter, Madison East, 1959
The Purgolders great was a high school All-American in football and basketball. He played those sports and baseball at Wisconsin, where he remains the school’s only nine-time letterman since 1927. After retiring from professional football, Richter earned a law degree from the University of Wisconsin, went into the business sphere and then became athletic director at Wisconsin, where he became the man who hired Barry Alvarez and help resurrect UW into a perennial Big Ten powerhouse. He was named a first-team offensive end on the Wisconsin Team of the Century selected by the Milwaukee Journal in 1993.
J.J. Watt, Pewaukee, 2007
The tradition of the walk-on who becomes a star has been a pillar of the Wisconsin football fabric. Watt left Pewaukee High School as a decorated athlete who was named the Journal Sentinel’s male athlete of the year, bound for Central Michigan as a tight end. But after a quiet first college season, he transferred to Wisconsin, redshirted, delivered pizzas to pay his tuition, then flipped to defensive end in a move that would alter the course of football history. He became an All-American, a first-round draft pick by the Houston Texans, a three-time NFL defensive player of the year, the Walter Payton Man of the Year in 2017 after he spearheaded Hurricane Harvey relief efforts and a five-time first-team All-Pro. His last NFL season came in 2022, meaning he’s first eligible for Pro Football Hall of Fame induction in the Class of 2028.
Joe Thomas, Brookfield Central, 2003
As much a force on the defensive side of the ball as offense in high school, Thomas was part of a state-finalist football team and named the state’s defensive player of the year. Of course, he wound up making his name on the other side of the ball, becoming an Outland Trophy-winning offensive lineman at Wisconsin, a perennial Pro Bowler with the Cleveland Browns and now a Pro Football Hall of Famer. Thomas, who also happened to be a standout track and field athlete and basketball player in high school, was named to the 2010s All-Decade Team in the NFL. His 10,363 consecutive snaps played marked an NFL record. Did we mention he also punted with Brookfield Central?
Jim Leonhard, Flambeau, 2001
Small-school rise to prominence? Check. Wisconsin football walk-on? Check again. He’s about as Wisconsin as it gets, an undersized player from tiny Tony, Wisconsin, and Flambeau High School who was twice named first-team All-State and then walked on with the Badgers, where he became an All-American safety even before UW offered him a scholarship. He also set a conference record for career punt-return yardage (and still sits in second). Though he went undrafted and had to prove himself again, Leonhard became an impactful safety and special-teams player in the NFL for over a decade. Then, he came back home to coach, first as a defensive backs coach at UW and as a defensive coordinator who rose to interim head coach in 2022. Though UW made the surprising move to hire Luke Fickell instead of retaining Leonhard, he moved to the NFL and was hired this offseason as the defensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills.
Michael Bennett, Milwaukee Tech, 1998
As a freshman, he won the 200 meters to help the Trojans win the Division 1 state track title. As a senior, he set an all-divisions state meet record of 10.33 seconds in the 100 that still stands, and he still holds the Division 1 record in the 200 at 20.68 seconds. And he brought all that speed to the football field. He was also an all-state football player who rushed for more than 4,200 yards and had 20 interceptions. He went on to play football at Wisconsin and in the NFL for 11 seasons after getting taken in the first round by Minnesota. In football at UW, where he succeeded Heisman Trophy-winner Ron Dayne as the primary ball carrier, Bennett rushed for 1,979 yards in two seasons. In 2000, he rushed for 1,681 yards in 11 games.
Harry ‘Bud’ Grant, Superior, 1945
Before he played in the NBA and NFL or coached the Minnesota Vikings, Grant was a four-year varsity football player for Superior at a time when it was extremely rare for a freshman to play at that level. He also starred in basketball, leading the school to the 1942 state tournament, and in baseball, where he was an American Legion standout at a time when the school didn’t have a team. He played all three sports at the University of Minnesota, earning nine letters, and then won the 1950 NBA championship as a member of the Minneapolis Lakers. He elected to switch sports, first playing for the Philadelphia Eagles and then in Canada before becoming the Winnipeg head coach at age 29. He won four Grey Cups over the next decade. The Vikings hired him and he led them to 11 division titles and four Super Bowl appearances. “His career, you’ll never see anything like it again,” said Grant’s son, Mike, a successful football coach at Eden Prairie High School in Minnesota.
Who else should be on this list? Some suggestions:
- Jerry Tagge, Green Bay West, 1968
- Melvin Gordon, Kenosha Bradford, 2011
- John Anderson, Waukesha South, 1974
- Tim Krumrie, Mondovi, 1979
- Jim Flanigan, Southern Door, 1990
- David Greenwood, Park Falls, 1979
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Vote for Wisconsin’s best-ever high school football players