Leitl's former players turn out in force for UWP field dedication

PLATTEVILLE - The stories were plentiful and the memories were clear as former University of Wisconsin-Platteville players from the 1930s through the 1960s gathered on Nov. 15 to remember their former coach, Lester "Butch" Leitl, and dedicate the Pioneers' football field in his honor.

It had been decades since any of these men had taken the football or baseball field or basketball court, but all still spoke glowingly of the no-nonsense coach who helped shape them as athletes, students and young adults.

Approximately 20 alumni who played for Leitl during his 37-year run as a coach on campus turned out for a brunch and program in the UWP Pioneer Student Center that preceded a formal naming of the football field just prior to the Pioneers' kickoff against UW-Whitewater. Leitl's former players came from Arizona, Florida and all over Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin.

"If it wasn't for the football program and Butch Leitl - because of the desire I had to play football and his coaching - I wouldn't have stayed here to get my degree," said Bob Baetz, who played football from 1959 to 1963 and graduated in 1966.

"He loved his players and he would do anything for them," Baetz added. "And, he did a lot behind the scenes that we didn't know at the time."

Although Leitl died in 1980, his presence definitely was felt in the room as ex-player after ex-player rose to praise and remember him.

Jim Piquette, who played from 1955 to 1958, recalled Leitl teaching golf to physical education students by taking them outside the old gym and having them hit walnuts with golf clubs.

"He was a wonderful person. He was a great leader and a very compassionate person," Piquette added. "This was a long-time coming and it's a high honor."

Gregory Smith, who was Leitl's last quarterback in 1963, said he remembers Leitl best for how well he knew his athletes.

"He would know every kid who was on our team before we did," he said. "He knew where they came from and who their high school coach was - on their first day out."

Leitl's son, Jim, who is now 80, attended the program. Virtually all of the former players took a few moments to chat with him and share individual memories. Jim Leitl said afterward that the day brought back a lot of memories and he was very happy to see many people he hadn't seen in a long time.

"It was very nice," he said. "It was appreciated and very well run."

The room full of former players and their spouses were welcomed by Chancellor David Markee and Dennis Cooley, the assistant chancellor for university advancement and executive director of the UWP Foundation.

Markee, who said he had Leitl as a physical education teacher prior to his graduation in 1964, provided an update of UW-Platteville today and offered his praise for Leitl.

"It is very fitting that we honor this man by naming our football field in his honor," Markee said. "He is, by many years, our football coach with the longest tenure. Coach Leitl and his teams represented this university in fine fashion. Twenty percent of his teams won conference championships and three of his teams had undefeated seasons."

The chancellor noted that this is not the first time Leitl has been honored. A granite stone near the stadium was installed in 1986. Former players also have established a scholarship in his name that has resulted in the awarding of more than 130 scholarships totaling over $62,000.

Cooley said he was born a generation too late to benefit from Leitl's coaching.

"The coaches I had in my life were very demanding. They rode me a lot to get better, but I would run through a wall for them out of respect and admiration," he said. "Butch Leitl, from all accounts, was one of these guys - a no-nonsense coach, a disciplinarian and someone who strove for perfection on every snap from center.

"Butch's legacy is secure on this campus and only will be enhanced by today's special ceremony to name our field for him," Cooley added.

In conjunction with the field naming, the UWP Foundation is working to raise $1 million to expand locker rooms and renovate other facilities at the stadium, which now is used by UWP football and soccer teams as well as club sports and for high school tournaments.

For more information on the fund-raising project, contact Holly Kaiser at the UW-Platteville Foundation at (608) 342-1879 or email kaiserh@uwplatt.edu.

The players of the past got a link to the future as the brunch got under way as Mike Emendorfer, the current Pioneer football coach, and Morgan May, a senior safety on this year's team, spoke.

As the tributes to Coach Leitl continued, Baetz asked all of Leitl's former athletes to stand as he offered a toast to their former coach for everything he had done for all of them.

A final former athlete also came to the front of the room to offer his tribute. Gil Lindloff, whose football career spanned both sides of his service in World War II, said Leitl and his wife always would make sure that his players were taken care of and often would invite them into their home for meals.

"It's a fine opportunity to come back here and honor Butch," he said. "I would say, 'Win one for Butch today.'"

Then, the players all gathered together for a group photo before they moved on to the football stadium. Some moved slowly or with the help of walkers, but they took to the football field one final time on a chilly November afternoon to honor their beloved coach.

Written by Gary Achterberg, UWP Public Relations