[Southsider2k12]

http://www.thenewsdispatch.com/articles/20...e7333140422.txt

MCHS Football Hall of Fame Class of 2012 announced

By Drew White
Staff Writer
Published: Saturday, June 16, 2012 5:07 PM CDT
MICHIGAN CITY — The Michigan City High School Football Hall of Fame has announced its Class of 2012, as five inductees will bring the number of enshrined to 20.

Robert Ciolek, Warren Foster, Ron Lemon, Noel Schlegelmilch, and Vernon Slisher will all be honored at the MCHS Football Hall of Fame Golf Outing and Dinner at Pottawattomie Country Club on Monday, July 23.

This is the fourth class of inductees for the MCHS Football Hall of Fame, which was started by former Wolves head coach Craig Buzea in 2009.

Ciolek was a quarterback for Michigan City Elston, graduating in 1948. After his years of playing for the Red Devils, he went on to Michigan State where he played both football and baseball for the Spartans.

*
In 1952, he was drafted by Major League Baseball’s Philadelphia Phillies and spent a year playing in their minor league organization before entering the United States Army, where he would spend 20 years in the service.

Ciolek passed away in 2008 at the age of 77.

Foster played center for the Red Devils until his graduation in 1963. He spent time playing on the same offensive line as 2011 MCHS Football Hall of Fame inductee Oscar Lubke.

Since graduating, Foster has remained active with both high school football and basketball at both Elston and Michigan City High Schools. This season will mark the 48th year he has been a part of the chain gang on the sidelines of Red Devil and Wolves football home games.

Lemon spent 22 years as head coach of the Rogers High School football program, from 1973 to 1994. He joins two of his players in the MCHS Football Hall of Fame, receiver Tim Nowatzke who was inducted in 2010 and quarterback Matt Jones who was inducted in 2011.

Finishing with an overall record of 74-140, Lemon had winning records against the Raiders’ two biggest rivals. He was 14-9 in games against crosstown rival Elston and was 12-9 against county rival La Porte.

Schlegelmilch is a 1957 graduate of Michigan City Elston and played quarterback for the Red Devils. He went on to play quarterback at Valparaiso University, where he still ranks ninth all-time in passing yards for the Crusaders.

After college, he returned to Michigan City and spent time as an assistant coach at both Elston and Rogers before retiring from teaching in 1995.

Slisher was a right guard at Elston, graduating in 1950.

His senior season saw him earn Associated Press All-State and Prep All-American honors.

He passed away in 1970 at the young age of 37.

Previous inductees in the MCHS Football Hall of Fame include Tony Cline (2009), Abe Gibron (2009), Tom Nowatzke (2009), Donnie Thomas (2009), Dick Tomey (2009), Dick Buell (2010), Dave Ellison (2010), Andy Gill (2010), Newt Meer (2010), Tim Nowatzke (2010), Matt Jones (2011), Oscar Lubke (2011), Vic Overman (2011), David Parry (2011), and Ken Schreiber (2011).

This year’s Hall of Fame Golf Outing will begin with registration and lunch at 11 a.m. and be followed by a shotgun start at noon.

The cost is $100 per golfer or $400 for a foursome. The cost includes lunch, golf with cart, dinner, and complimentary golf gifts.

Former football players at Michigan City, Elston, or Rogers are eligible for a discounted rate of $75.

If you have questions or would like to register for the outing, contact Bruce Hirsch at 879-2901.

[Southsider2k12]

http://www.thenewsdispatch.com/articles/20...b4869144814.txt

Warren's way

By Drew White
Unwritten No More
Published: Monday, July 16, 2012 4:50 PM CDT
I have always appreciated Warren Foster.

After sitting down for a conversation with him last week as part of the Michigan City High School Football Hall of Fame series, I’ve discovered that there are few that I have more admiration for, yet sympathize for, more than the 1963 Elston High School graduate and 2012 Michigan City High School Football Hall of Fame inductee.

I’ve sometimes been accused of caring too much about Michigan City and high school athletics in our community.

Those people have obviously never talked to Foster.

For half of a century, Foster has been the most loyal parishoner of Red Devil and Wolves football and basketball there is. No one else is even close.

The most cherished item in his home is a Wheaties box sporting the 1966 state champion Red Devil basketball team. A VHS cassette of that game sits in his entertainment center.

Recovering from recent back surgery, his string of 48-straight years worth of holding the first down markers at Red Devil and Wolves football games could be in jeopardy next month. If he’s not on the sidelines, he’ll be somewhere within Ames Field on August 17.

While the doctors will have the final say, I think passion makes one heal just a little bit quicker.

Foster has endured some tough seasons — the post-consolidation years in particular — yet he’s been there every step of the way.

Knowing his love for Elston and his roots as a Red Devil, I figured he had more reason and justification for holding the animosity that remains relatively prevalent concerning the combining of Elston and Rogers in 1995. To many, the Wolves will never exist.

When I asked Foster about the consolidation, I was a little surprised by the response.

Not that I consider Foster irrational, but to hear a rational response come from someone who meets most all of the characteristics of those who loathe the Wolves made me admire Foster all the more.

“I bleed red and white, but it isn’t the idea of what colors the uniforms are,” Foster said. “It’s a Michigan City kid. That’s the most important thing — the kids.

“The colors could’ve been pink and white as far as I was concerned, as long as it says Michigan City.”

The truth be told, Foster is a high school sports junkie.

If Elston wasn’t playing, he was going to games involving Rogers or Marquette.

Foster has been appreciating Michigan City high school athletes longer than anyone.

I can remember talking to him in the days following the Wolves’ loss to Merrillville in the boys basketball sectional championship game back in March.

I doubt there were many that took that loss harder than he did.

Foster wants nothing more than to see Michigan City succeed — athletically and otherwise.

Maintaining optimism isn’t always the easiest of things to do.

Negativity has a way of catching up with you. I often find myself fighting off the negativity that many in this community insist on drowning in.

The fact that Foster has stayed afloat as long as he has gives me hope.

He’s experienced some big wins, but he’s had to endure a whole lot of losses.

Warren has remained present and faithful to the kids of Michigan City when others have left, been driven out, or disassociated themselves from the Wolves.

All the while, he’s remained as modest as they come.

Foster played football for the Red Devils, but the reason he is being honored a week from tonight has more to do with what he’s done since graduating.

He’ll be the first to insist on that.

The thing is, if we want to get Michigan City back to where it belongs, it’s going to take more Warren Fosters to get there.

Profiles for the 2012 Michigan City Football Hall of Fame Induction Class will begin in Tuesday’s issue of The News-Dispatch.

Contact sports writer Drew White at dwhite@thenewsdispatch.com or 874-7211, Ext. 447

[Southsider2k12]

http://www.thenewsdispatch.com/articles/20...6d554407285.txt

The quiet QB

Noel Schlegelmilch is shown during his junior year at Valparaiso University. Valparaiso University Archives photo

Soft-spoken Schlegelmilch said plenty with his play
By Drew White
Staff Writer
Published: Tuesday, July 17, 2012 4:12 PM CDT
Editors note: Today’s profile of Noel Schlegelmilch is the first in a series of five featuring the 2012 Michigan City High School Football Hall of Fame induction class. Schlegelmilch, along with Robert Ciolek, Warren Foster, Ron Lemon, and Vernon Slisher will be honored at a golf outing and banquet next Monday at Pottawattomie Country Club.

If you sit down and list the adjectives that describe a successful quarterback, quiet isn’t usually among them.

Noel Schlegelmilch admits that it sometimes took time to command his teammates’ attention.

“I was a quiet quarterback,” says Schlegelmilch. “Over a period of time, I gained everybody’s confidence. When I spoke, I had everybody’s attention.”

The 1957 Elston graduate was starting signal-caller his junior and senior years, earning a variety of honors including Northern Indiana High School Conference All-Conference recognition as well as an all-state honorable mention after his senior year.

That final season saw Schlegelmilch lead the Red Devils to a 7-2 record overall and a 4-2 record in conference in Vic Overman’s second year as head coach of the Red Devils. City had been 2-7 in Overman’s inaugural campaign.

It was the final play of that senior season that provided Schlegelmilch with the most memorable moment of his high school career.

Tied at 13-13 with time for only one more play on the road against Elkhart, Schlegelmilch hit reserve receiver Bruce LeRoy in the endzone to capture a 19-13 victory.

“Their strong safety and free safety both came over, Bruce was in the middle,” Schlegelmilch said. “I got the ball to hang right where I wanted it to, directly over Bruce.

“It was four, maybe five, yards deep in the endzone, Bruce comes down with it and the clock had expired.”

After graduating from Elston, Schlegelmilch would earn a scholarship to continue his football career at Valparaiso University.

Schlegelmilch would end up taking over as starting quarterback for the Crusaders in the third game of his sophomore season.

“Coach kind of surprised me and he put me in the game,” Schlegelmilch said. “He put me in there and we moved on them and we scored. He left me in there the rest of the time.”

Schlegelmilch earned Indiana Collegiate Conference All-Conference honors all three seasons and finished with 2,789 yards passing, which still ranks ninth in VU history. He graduated from Valpo with a Bachelors Degree in 1961 and eventually earned a Masters from Indiana University in 1963.

Schlegelmilch returned to Michigan City and became a teacher at both Elston and Rogers High Schools, retiring in 1995.

He spent 11 years coaching within the Michigan City Area Schools, starting at Barker and then serving under both Overman and Bill Karpinski.

Schlegelmilch and his wife Jan will be celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary this year. They have two children, Matt and Christine.

Matt, who was a standout athlete at Rogers, went on to play basketball at Tri-State University in Angola. While there, Noel said Matt adopted a familiar reputation.

“They called him the quiet leader,” Noel said.

Like father, like son, the elder Schlegelmilch said his success at quarterback came down to his ability calm his teammates in pressure situations.

“I’m certainly not the ‘rah rah’ type of guy,” Schlegelmilch said. “I think I came across with a, ‘Hey, we’re going to win this game, that’s all there is to it,’ type of attitude.

“‘Listen up to me now. I’m going to call the right plays and we’re going to move the ball.’”

[Southsider2k12]

http://www.thenewsdispatch.com/articles/20...3b223768760.txt

A love affair
Foster’s passion for Michigan City sports continues after five decades
By Drew White
Staff Writer
Published: Wednesday, July 18, 2012 9:09 PM CDT
Editors note: Today’s profile of Warren Foster is the second in a series of five featuring the 2012 Michigan City High School Football Hall of Fame induction class. Foster, along with Robert Ciolek, Ron Lemon, Noel Schlegelmilch, and Vernon Slisher will be honored at a golf outing and banquet next Monday at Pottawattomie Country Club.

By Drew White

Staff Writer

As the 2012 Michigan City High School football season approaches, Warren Foster is set on extending the streak.

*
Despite undergoing back surgery on July 6, the 1963 Elston grad has his hopes riding on being ready for his 48th season on the chains at Red Devil and Wolves football games.

The recovery has gone well so far, but only a doctor’s release will determine whether Foster will take in the Wolves’ opener against Gary Roosevelt on August 17 from the sidelines or from a safer location within Ames Field.

“Being hurt is secondary,” Foster said. “My thoughts are on getting back out there and helping the kids. I’ve never stopped and thought about the consequences of putting someone ahead of me.”

Foster has been about the only constant on the sidelines at Ames Field over the past five decades. During that time, he has seen 12 head coaches lead the Red Devils and the Wolves — including two stints by Ken Bye.

With an obsession for high school football that began as a player in seventh grade, Foster was a center for the Red Devils and played on the same line as Michigan City High School Football Hall of Fame Class of 2011 inductee Oscar Lubke.

“I was an excellent snapper,” Foster said. “I did all the snapping. I prided myself in that.”

Foster received postseason honors after his senior season and even received a letter that inquired about his interest in playing college football.

“I got something from Tennessee, but I just never followed up on it,” Foster said. “I wasn’t interested in going to school.”

Passing on the potential opportunity to become a Volunteer, Foster has made a career as one of Michigan City high school athletics’ most involved volunteers.

In addition to working the chains for every single Red Devil and Wolves football game since 1964, Foster has also served as official scorer for Red Devils and Wolves basketball for the better part of 35 years.

“I do it because I love to do it,” Foster said. “I love to be there on Friday and Saturday nights. I’ve probably seen more ballgames in this town than anybody.”

When asked to identify his most memorable moment in Michigan City football history, Foster is quick to identify Elston’s 1984 final-second, goalline stand against No. 1-ranked Penn, which solidified a 20-14 victory and gave the Red Devils a share of the Northern Indiana Conference title.

“The Penn people were all in the west endzone,” Foster recollected. “They were ready to drive in and score. Our kids did a hell of a job stopping them.”

Now 68, Foster has been married to wife Elaine for 47 years. Season after season, she has accepted her husband’s love affair with high school athletics — even joining him on many a road trip.

“We’ve probably been to every field and gym in northern Indiana,” Foster said. “She’s never had a problem because she knows how much it meant to me.”

These days, Foster’s son, Danny, can be seen alongside his father on the visiting sidelines at Ames Field.

Despite his dedication, Foster is quick to downplay the recognition his devotion to City athletics has afforded him. Being inducted into the Michigan City High School Football Hall of Fame is an honor that he cherishes, but does so modestly.

“I really appreciate being picked, but I want it to be from the standpoint of being a volunteer and not being an outstanding football player,” Foster said. “I played the game. I loved the game.

“All of these guys went on to make a name for themselves. I’m just a volunteer.”





Contact sports writer Drew White at dwhite@thenewsdispatch.com or 874-7211, Ext. 447.

[Southsider2k12]

http://www.thenewsdispatch.com/articles/20...a0883242213.txt

Leader of the Raiders

Ron Lemon (standing) and Virginia Martin watch as Ronnie Martin signs his letter-of-intent to play football at Butler in 1983. Ronnie Martin is now Michigan City Fire Chief. N-D photo
At 22 years, Lemon owns the longest tenure of any Michigan City football head coach
By Drew White
Staff Writer
Published: Friday, July 20, 2012 1:44 AM CDT
Editors note: Today’s profile of Ron Lemon is the third in a series of five featuring the 2012 Michigan City High School Football Hall of Fame induction class. Lemon, along with Robert Ciolek, Warren Foster, Noel Schlegelmilch, and Vernon Slisher will be honored at a golf outing and banquet next Monday at Pottawattomie Country Club.

Not knowing much about changes in Michigan City — specifically the two-year-old split that resulted in Rogers and Elston High Schools — former Raider football head coach Ron Lemon committed a major fashion faux pas upon meeting his team for the first time in 1973.

“I met my first team at Rogers wearing a red blazer,” Lemon said. “I didn’t know. (Former Rogers teacher) Max Glenn never let me forget it.”

Becoming the head coach of the blue and gold-clad Raiders, he never planned on staying for 22 years.

*
The East Chicago Roosevelt graduate had turned around a struggling program in Schleswig, Iowa, going 33-6-1 in four years.

“I came back to a Polish-Italian wedding in East Chicago,” Lemon said. “I didn’t want to leave (Iowa). I had 17 starters coming back off of a team that had played for a championship.

“Coach (Pete) Rucinski started talking to my mother-in-law and my wife.”

With a little coaxing, Lemon explored opportunities closer to home for both he and his wife.

It was a search that ended up with Lemon becoming head coach at Rogers.

The return to Indiana was actually Lemon’s second. Upon graduating from high school, he enlisted in the United States Army and was stationed at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri, but returned home after his father passed away from a heart attack.

During that time, Lemon took over his father’s barber shop — something his father had prepared him for.

“Perhaps it was a premonition,” Lemon said.

“During my junior and senior year in high school, my dad sent me to barber school. My dad was 47-years-old when he died.

“During that time, I got married, had twins, the whole bit.”

He eventually started college at the age of 24, attending Simpson College in Iowa, graduating in 1967.

His first teaching and coaching job was in Lake City, Iowa, where he served as freshman basketball, assistant track, and varsity football line coach for two years.

From there, he moved to Schleswig and then on to Michigan City, where he would end up being the longest tenured high school football coach in Michigan City history.

After winning a total of five games in his first two years with the Raiders, Lemon’s teams went 23-17 between 1975 and 1978.

“I told them I’d stay for three years, but I couldn’t leave because we played a bunch of sophomores that became juniors,” Lemon said. “It seemed like things were picking up in the late 70s, then you’d have a dry spell.”

Lemon remained in Michigan City throughout the existence of Rogers High School. At consolidation, he applied to become head coach of the Wolves but the position ultimately went to then-Elston head coach Brian Burkhart.

Lemon finished with a record of 74-140, but knew how to win the games against the Raiders’ top two rivals — Elston and La Porte. He was 14-9 in games against the crosstown Red Devils and was 12-9 against the Slicers.

“We felt we had to protect our boundaries,” Lemon said. “Our kids knew the La Porte kids pretty well and the Elston kids we loved and hated at the same time.”

Lemon’s greatest contribution to high school football in Michigan City came in the number of scholarships his players went on to receive.

“I think we were around 160 players that played football in 28 states,” Lemon said. “In the class of 1979, academically, 13 of the 19 were National Honor Society members.”

Two of his players have already been inducted into the Michigan City High School Football Hall of Fame — Class of 2010 inductee Tim Nowatzke and Class of 2011 inductee Matt Jones. Also among the list of former players under Lemon are current Michigan City Mayor Ron Meer and Michigan City Fire Chief Ronnie Martin.

Close to two decades removed from coaching in Michigan City, Lemon can occasionally be found in the stands watching his grandsons — incoming senior Daniel Lemon and junior Anthony Lemon both play for the Wolves.

“The one thing I miss is the relationship with the kids,” said Lemon. “We had a lot of good kids and they worked really hard.”



Contact sports writer Drew White at dwhite@thenewsdispatch.com or 874-7211, Ext. 447.