University of Wisconsin-Stout Athletics

Won nine letters in four sports at Stout during a distinguished career that saw him selected captain in three sports: football, 1959 and 1960; basketball, 1960 and 1961; and track, 1961. He won all-conference honors three straight years in football and once in basketball. The Minnesota Vikings signed him to free agent contracts twice, but in both cases, his tryouts ended with the exhibition season. The former United Football League named him to their all-star team twice. Records point to Harke as Stout's second best ball carrier ever. He once returned a kickoff 102 yards. Harke, who received a bachelor's degree in 1961 and his master's in 1965, is a junior high school teacher and athletic director in Anoka, Minn.

The following additional material added to bio, July 13, 2011

Harke wasted little time establishing himself with the Blue Devils. In his first game as a Blue Devil in 1957, Harke scored two second half touchdowns (45 and 17 yards) to lead Stout to a 20-13 comeback win over Winona State.

In 1959, Harke took the season’s opening kickoff and returned it 102 yards against Winona State to set a school and WSUC record that still stands. In a 23-13 win over Stevens Point in 1960, Harke scored three touchdowns, one for each unit. He rushed for a 4-yard score, returned a punt 73 yards and topped off the game on defense by returning an interception 35 yards for a score.

Harke closed out his career as the school’s all-time leading rusher with 1566 yards and all-time leading scorer with 131 points on 21 touchdowns and five extra points.

An all-around football player, Harke was also a member of the Blue Devil basketball, baseball and track teams. Harke was a two-time first team all-conference recipient in football, and was team captain twice for football, twice for basketball and once for track.