On May 4, we debuted the first in a series of reader polls asking who you consider the best high school football player in Wisconsin history, with 10 primary suggestions. We received well over 1,000 votes, and here’s how people voted:
Joe Thomas was voted as the most impactful player in Wisconsin high school football history
As we said, trying to compare eras and arrive at a true list of Wisconsin’s greats is a difficult undertaking. Our aim: Identifying trailblazers and trendsetters whose influence reaches beyond championships and statistics − and whose stories reflect a lasting impact on their state.
Naturally, that means the players in question weren’t just high school standouts, though that part of the equation rates as highly important. They also went on to have success in college and the pros.
We know recency bias is a thing, so we’re not surprised that the top two choices in the voting among our 10 primary suggestions both came from the current century. Of course, a pair of first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Fame locks make the call a good one. Here’s how you voted:
- Joe Thomas, Brookfield Central: 231 votes
- J.J. Watt, Pewaukee: 189 votes
- Alan Ameche, Kenosha: 109 votes
- Rocky Bleier, Appleton Xavier: 81 votes
- Mike Webster, Rhinelander: 64 votes
- Elroy Hirsch, Wausau: 61 votes
- Jim Leonhard, Flambeau: 47 votes
- Pat Richter, Madison East: 44 votes
- Bud Grant, Superior: 32 votes
- Michael Bennett, Milwaukee Tech: 23 votes
Here are the other names suggested as the most impactful in Wisconsin history
With the option to select someone other than our group of 10, we received more than 150 submissions, and those we could verify are listed below.
These players received multiple votes
- John Anderson, Waukesha South
- Jim Bertelsen, Hudson
- Terry Brennan, Marquette
- Dave Casper, Chilton
- John Clay, Racine Park
- Jim Flanigan, Southern Door
- Melvin Gordon, Kenosha Bradford
- Steve Hougum, Westby
- Mike Jirschele, Clintonville
- Tony Kaboord, Sheboygan South
- Tim Krumrie, Mondovi
- Wagner Lester, Racine St. Catherine’s
- John Matuszak, Oak Creek
- Jim Melka, West Allis Central
- Brent Moss, Racine Park
- Jim Otto, Wausau
- Carl Silvestri, Shorewood
- Aaron Stecker, Ashwaubenon
- Jerry Tagge, Green Bay West
- Mark Tauscher, Auburndale
- Matt Vanden Boom, Kimberly
- Stu Voigt, Madison West
- Don Voss, Milwaukee Washington
- Jack Wallisch, Port Washington
- T.J. Watt, Pewaukee
- Hunter Wohler, Muskego
That’s a list with some impressive names, including two Pro Football Hall of Famers (Otto and Casper), a future Hall of Famer (Watt), a University of Wisconsin rushing legend and first-round NFL draft pick (Gordon), a former Packers player on the NFL 1980s All-Decade Team and first-round pick (Anderson), a former No. 1 overall NFL pick (Matuszak) and a number of familiar UW standouts (Clay, Moss, Wohler, Krumrie, Vanden Boom, Tauscher).
Tagge led Nebraska to two national championships and was a first-round draft pick. Brennan won two national titles at Notre Dame and later became the Fighting Irish head coach. Jirschele made our 2019 list of best overall Wisconsin high school athletes of all time. Voigt appeared in three Super Bowls with the Vikings.
These players were all mentioned once
- Jared Abbrederis, Wautoma
- Jim Bakken, Madison West
- Pete Banaszak, Crivitz
- Casey Barnes, Homestead
- Kevin Barry, Racine Park
- Zack Baun, Brown Deer
- Wayland Becker, Green Bay East
- Gregg Bohlig, Eau Claire Memorial
- Jim Bond, Fond du Lac
- Mark Bortz, Pardeeville
- Ben Bredeson, Arrowhead
- Eric Brunner, Greendale
- Terry Buss, Marshfield
- Don Davey, Manitowoc
- Dick Diener, Fond du Lac
- Steve Duval, Wisconsin Rapids
- Bruce Erickson, Oshkosh
- Jug Girard, Marinette
- David Greenwood, Park Falls
- Garrett Groshek, Amherst
- Paul Gruber, Sauk Prairie
- Phil Hagen, Eau Claire Memorial
- Jim Haluska, Racine St. Catherine’s
- Pat Harder, Milwaukee Washington
- Mark Harlow, Burlington
- Edward Hart, Kenosha Bradford
- Morrie Haukereid, Oregon
- Greg Hermsen, Bloomington
- Louis Holland, Union Grove
- Alec Ingold, Bay Port
- Tony Jones, Racine Case
- Larry Krause, Greenwood
- Keith Krepfle, Potosi
- Dave Krieg, D.C. Everest
- Dean Kruger, Westfield
- Alan Kuehl, Wausau
- Curly Lambeau, Green Bay East
- Bob Lowe, Milwaukee Rufus King
- Pug Lund, Rice Lake
- Bill Maselter, Madison East
- Chris McIntosh, Pewaukee
- Jeff Messenger, Marinette
- John Navarre, Cudahy
- Ernie Nevers, Superior Central
- Bobby Olson, Superior
- Rick Reichardt, Stevens Point
- Tony Romo, Burlington
- Joe Schobert, Waukesha West
- Tony Spaeth, West Bend
- Tim Stracka, Madison West
- Ron Vander Kelen, Green Bay Preble
- Jamie Vanderveldt, Catholic Memorial
- John Van Wassenhoven, Abbot Pennings
- Trae Waynes, Kenosha Bradford
- Bob Weber, Manitowoc
- Neil Worden, Pulaski
- Tom Zagrodnik, St. John Cathedral
- Mark Zalewski, Wausau East
- Kevin Zeitler, Wisconsin Lutheran
- Joe Zuba, Wauwatosa East
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Joe Thomas voted most-impactful Wisconsin high school football player
