Harold Shudlick
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Rice Lake Sports Hall of Fame Foundation Candidates for Induction – 2016 Mike Bearman Nominated for Officiating Mike graduated from RLHS in 1962 earning letters in baseball and football. Mike tried out for the football team in his senior year and by sheer determination and total commitment cracked the starting line-up as a defensive tackle for the final 4 games of the season. He was very proud to wear the Warrior colors on his letter sweater and letter jacket. He was also the school sports editor for the “Northern Light” for 4 years. In 1966 Mike graduated from UW-Eau Claire with a teaching degree. While at Eau Claire, he was sports editor of the campus newspaper and an accomplished bowler for the Blugolds school team. After working in the insurance industry in New York and then as a teacher in Illinois and Arizona, Bearman settled in Reno and made a living with his two passions, sports and poker playing. He was an umpire, and as a poker player, loved strategy and crossing wits with his opponents. Mike began his umpiring career in Rice Lake in the 1970’s. After moving to Reno in the late 70’s it is estimated that he worked 17,000 athletic contests in the 25 years he called Reno his home. He also umpired in Lake Tahoe. He combined a tireless work ethic with a hard line on integrity in a career as a baseball/softball umpire and basketball official. Mike loved the rules and abiding by them was his mission. He was a colorful character who had a flair for controlling a game. He prided himself on knowing how to run a game, using common sense and a sense of humor to manage players, coaches and fellow umpires. Student-athletes, coaches and school administrators became part of Bearman’s extended family, not adversaries in a contest. Mike died in June of 2004 and was posthumously inducted into the Nevada Interscholastic Assoc. Hall of Fame in February of 2005. His induction biography described “Bear”, as he was affectionately known, as one of the most dedicated and talented high school officials with which the Silver State has ever been blessed. Bob Buergi Nominated for Hockey A 1951 graduate of Rice Lake High School, Bob was one of the original founders of the Rice Lake Hockey Association. In 1969, he served on the first board of directors, held several office positions on the board and was an officer of the Wisconsin Amateur Hockey Association. Bob helped plan and personally supervised the actual construction of the Rice Lake hockey arena; erected the existing bleachers, the concession area and, along with his father Adolph and others, built the foundation of the inside hockey rink. In addition, Bob spent many enjoyable hours coaching several youth hockey teams, including assisting the 1980 State Champion Rice Lake “A” Bantam team. Bob loved baseball and coached many amateur teams including the 1962 Barron County League Champion Rice Lake Robins, also finalists of the W.B.A. State Tournament. Rachel (Roberg) Engel Nominated for Girls Golf Rachel graduated from Rice Lake High School in 2004. She competed for the Warriors in golf. She was a 4-year letter winner, named 2nd Team All-Conference as a sophomore, and as a junior, named 1st Team All-Conference, Big Rivers Conference Individual Championship, Regional and Sectional winner and placed 29th at State. As a senior, Rachel repeated as Big Rivers Conference Individual Champion, 1st Team All-Conference, Regional and Sectional winner, and finished 13th at State. She also was named 2nd Team All-State. In addition, Rachel was named to the Wisconsin High School Coaches Association Academic All-State Team all four years. Rachel was recruited to play college golf at Gustavus-Adolphus in St. Peter, MN, in the MIAC conference. Her accomplishments there included Academic All- American all four years, 4-year letter winner, was named the Minnesota Women’s Collegiate Golf Assoc. “Player of the Year” for the 2006-07 season, NCAA 2nd Team All-American in 2007, Female Athlete of the Month at Gustavus in September of 2007, was elected captain of the 2007-08 team, named MIAC 1st Team All-Conference for two years, NCAA All-Region Team in 2007 and 2008, and in 2008 was named NCAA 1st Team All-American. After graduation, Rachel entered dental school at Marquette University and has now returned to Rice Lake as a dentist. Rachel and her husband Josh live in the Brill area with their two children. Bud Epp Nominated for Horse Racing In the 1950’s, Bud started working with harness horses in Rice Lake. He was an owner, trainer, driver and advisor to anyone that needed his help. During this time he had “hundreds” of winners. His first horse was named Monte Ota, which brings back many memories, as well as the rest: Whiz By, Little Joker, John Allen, Bret’s Blaze, Dorset, Little Alice, Billy Brooks, Minnesota Fats, Jenna Direct, Keyed Up, Steady Bo, Little Fiddler, Bestrow, Happy Wish, and many more. Bud did it all, including shoeing, both for himself and numerous others until his health would no longer allow him to do so. He continued to give advice, and check the angles and toe lengths before the farrier finished the job. This man thought like a horse at times and seemed to know what the horse needed or wanted. Earlier in his career, he drove as well as trained. Bud’s last drive was in Rice Lake with Dorset. This horse “went down” near the front of the grandstand. Among other disappointments was the most devastating – the fire in Elkhorn that burned his stable of horses. In that fire he lost Bestrow, Happy Wish and several other beloved horses. Like other horsemen, Bud picked up the pieces and continued in his beloved sport. Bud worked extremely hard to promote harness racing at the Barron County Fair. He did radio work, poster advertisements, obtained donations for the purse money and donations for the grandstand for between races, secured bedding for the horsemen and worked closely with the fair board. Bud tried in every way to make it enjoyable for the horsemen as well as providing a great show for the people viewing the races from the grandstand, and many “railbirds” around the track. Bud was a retired Rice Lake cattle dealer who came out of Nebraska as a teenager to join the Navy during World War II. Following the war he raised his family in Rice Lake. Bud Epp was inducted into the Wisconsin Harness Racing Association Hall of Fame in 2008. He passed away in November of 2013. Bonnie Faber Nominated for Girls Softball Coaching When Bonnie coached her final game for the Rice Lake Girls Softball Team in 2000, she became the winningest coach in the history of Rice Lake High School sports. It is a distinction she held from 1999 to 2012. She was the first coach of the Warrior girls softball team beginning in 1983. In her 18 years as coach, her teams won 215 games against 112 losses; a winning percentage of 65.7. In her first 7 years of coaching, her teams won 6 Ho’N conference championships. All told she won 7 conference championships, 5 regional championships and gained the sectional finals once in 1998, all against Division I schools. Bonnie graduated from Granton, WI high school in 1968 when there were no girls sports. She received her B.A. from UW-Eau Claire in 1973 and her Masters from UW-La Crosse in 1976. After 5 years in Medford, she began her career in Rice Lake in 1981 as a learning disabilities teacher. She retired from teaching in 2006. In addition to coaching the Warriors girls softball team, she helped the Warrior girls volleyball team for 25 years, either as head coach or as an assistant. Bonnie was also an accomplished softball player in the Rice Lake Slowpitch Association. Guest Star Nominated for Horse Racing Guest Star was purchased in 1943 as a yearling in Lexington, Kentucky for $200 by Albert Friess of Rice Lake. The bay colt came cheap, as a pair of splints were enough to scare most buyers off. Friess, a cattle dealer and avid horseman, took the colt back “up north” to prep him for what was to become a history-making career. Guest Star began racing as a three- year old pacer at the fairs in Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota. He won six starts and showed enough pace to prompt Albert Friess to ship him to California for his four-year old season in 1946. Guest Star came back north to compete on the Grand Circuit in Milwaukee and set a track record for three consecutive heats. Race secretaries around the country all wanted Guest Star at their tracks and he became the first horse to “fly” across the country while others were shipped by van or railroad. Guest Star raced from coast to coast, setting track records for the mile, 1 1/8 mile handicapped, and the 1 1/16 mile. He also set a world mark at Arcadia, California for 1 1/16 mile. This iron horse would make 325 lifetime starts, winning 62 and finishing second or third 52 times. He would win over $70,000 in the days when that was real money. Guest Star became the equine ambassador for the Badger State. He was inducted into the Wisconsin Harness Racing Hall of Fame in 1994. Dean Harrington Nominated for Stock Car Racing Dean is one of the original founders of the Rice Lake Speedway, which was founded in 1952.