The following is part of a 10-week series on the history of UW-Stout football. The series, which will run every Wednesday in The Dunn County News, is a collaboration with the The News, the Dunn County Historical Society and UW-Stout Athletics. The Stout football program will mark the centennial with a reunion celebration on Homecoming, Saturday, Oct. 1.
By Chuck Backus
Dunn County Historical Society Executive Director
On March 31, 1931, a Fokker Tri-Motor crashed into a frozen corner of a desolate Kansas wheat field.
Among the eight bodies removed from the wreckage of the plane was that of Notre Dame's 43-year-old football coach, the legendary Knute Rockne. College football in the 1930s was off to an ominous start.
As Stout football entered its third decade, the nations' economy was mired in the Great Depression and its agricultural heartland enduring a drought of nearly biblical proportion. While Stout's effort to build its football program during the 1930s was laudable and several of the actions had lasting impact, they did not translate into victories on the field. Declining enrollment was a key factor. Perhaps bad luck was another. Whatever the reasons, Stout's football teams would not produce a winning season during the 1930s. Yet, the decade was not without importance.
It is during the 1931 season that we first find historical reference to Stout's football team as the “Blue Devils” (following the lead of the basketball team who had used the moniker since 1928). This would make the 2011 season the 80th year of Blue Devil football.
Whereas previous home games had been played at the County Fairgrounds, October 12, 1935 witnessed the dedication of Burton E. Nelson Field. Honoring Stout's President, the 10-acre tract of land had been vigorously pursued by Nelson, cleared and leveled with assistance from Federal WPA programs and would provide an on-campus home for Stout football until the 2001 season.
In 1935, the Blue Devils took the field under coach, Walter “Mush” Crawford. During the 1920s, Crawford, an imposing physical presence, played tackle at the University of Illinois, blocking for star running back, “Red” Grange—“the Galloping Ghost”. Following his collegiate career, Crawford joined the fledgling National Football League and spent three years in the professional ranks. He then turned to coaching, first as an assistant at the University of Miami, then as head coach at San Jose State. However, Crawford was unable to turn the tide for Stout. He left the school after his third season, his overall record, a disappointing 1-17-2.
Unlike Crawford, Menomonie-born Bud Micheels did not cut an impressive figure on the gridiron. Virtually every account of the young quarterback's on-field performance contains a caveat on his small stature. Bud's pinpoint passing and determined play provided ample evidence of his commitment to the game and his school. But the young field general only rarely led his Stout team to victory. In spite of his best efforts, when he graduated in 1932, Bud had been unable to build Stout into a winner.
Almost 30 years would pass, but Bud ultimately returned to his hometown and to Stout. In 1961, Dr. William J. “Bud” Micheels accepted the presidency of Stout State Teachers College. For the next 11 years, Micheels would serve with distinction. During his tenure, Stout's enrollment grew from 1,600 to 5,200. The school would create the department of Art and Design and the nine-building campus he inherited would grow with 14 additional new major facilities constructed under his leadership. It had taken the under-sized quarterback more than 40 years to fully accomplish his goal, but when Bud Micheels retired from Stout in 1972, he had built his alma mater into a winner.
