Football History

Born March 18, 1905, in Aurora, Illinois, was the Navy two-way tackle from the mid 1920’s, Frank Wickhorst. The NFF shares a great story also from the 1926 season. Late in the game. Army led, 21-14, and threatened to destroy Navy's bid for an unbeaten season. Navy had the ball on its own 30 and time was running out on the Middies. Frank Wickhorst, the Navy captain, huddled his team and spoke: "Do you guys see that goal line down there?" he said, pointing beyond the Army defense. "We are going to cross it - and we're not going to lose the ball until we put it across." Moments later, Alan Shapley scored for the Midshipmen and Hall of Famer Tom Hamilton kicked the conversion point to provide a 21-21 tie and preserve Navy's undefeated status. The Inspirational Wickhurst was honored as an All-American that season. It could have played out differently for Navy and Frank though because as a freshman he played on the line of Illinois with Red Grange in the backfield! An appointment to the Naval Academy was the catalyst for the change of teams. After his military service, Wickhorst served as the Head Coach of Football at California.