All about Coach Haege and Football |
If Coach Haege could choose one football player to play on his team, it would be Dick Butkus. |
Coach Haege's coaching style would be called by some as "old school." He believes in the basic fundamentals of blocking, tackling, and giving 110% on every play. He believes in teaching technique, but not over teaching it as many of the coaches of today do. "Putting your right toe here, and planting your left toe there is not going to get the job done on the football field" Coach Haege would say. Back in the 1960's and 1970's Coach Haege was considered way ahead of his time with the offense schemes that he ran. He used the pro-set offense with the deep I back formation, and 2 and 3 backs in motion with a lot of passing. Coach Haege was a very hard working football coach who strived for perfection and he demanded discipline and hard work from his players. He was often controversial because he was very outspoken and he never minced words. If you were not a good enough player to play for his team or were not giving 110% effort on the field then Coach Haege would tell that to you in no uncertain terms. If you played for Coach Haege, it was either his way or the highway. But if you were a hard working football player who showed up for practice on time and you did not make excuses, then you would earn Coach Haege's respect. I have had numerous emails written to me after Coach Haege passed away from players who played for him, and all of the players told me basically the same thing. They said that playing football for Coach Haege made them learn discipline, hard work, and dedication and playing football for Coach Haege made them in to better human beings. Time after time in emails to me from his former players they have all told me that playing football for Coach Haege had a very positive impact on their lives that lasted though out their entire lives, and long after they were done playing football. Coach Haege was always the most popular teacher and coach in school. The players and students really liked coach Haege for his often colorful and outspoken ways, and for his great sense of humor that he had that was often hidden underneath his disciplined style of coaching. Above all Coach Haege was a very fair minded coach who always played the best football players regardless of their social or economic status or who their parents were. You would never win a popularity contest with Coach Haege unless you were a hard working football player that gave 110% every time that you stepped on to the football field. Coach Haege loved telling stories from days gone by, and he had many of them to tell from his long career as a football coach and I thought that I would share some of them here. The Dentist's Chair In the summer of 1967 Coach Haege moved to Two Rivers Wisconsin to become their new head football coach. Coach Haege had a dentist appointment and the dentist's son had been the starting quarterback at Two Rivers the previous season. During the entire time the dentist was working on Coach Haege he was talking about his son, and how he could not wait for the season to start because he thought his son was going to be the starting QB for Two Rivers again. As Coach Haege got out of the dentist chair after the dentist was done working on him, Coach Haege tells him "Your son is not going to be our starting QB, Jeff Peterson is going to be our starting QB." Jeff Peterson was known as a hell raiser in school, but he was a good football player. Good thing Coach Haege was smart enough to wait until the end of the dentist appointment to tell him! Back in the 1960's one of Coach Haege's high school teams was playing the #1 ranked offense in the state. The other team was averaging over 40 points a game, so Coach Haege flooded the football field the night before the game. He left the water hoses running on the football field all night long, and the field was 2 feet deep with water when he got to the field 5 hours before the game the next day. Now that is what I call home field advantage! Is this story true? We will never know for sure. Coach Haege's team won 6 to 0. Let's just call it legend. In his first season ever as a head high school football coach at St. Ignace Michigan in 1964 Coach Haege's team lost their first two games of the season. They lost to two high schools from Sault St. Marie Michigan. One big public school, and a private school. After the loss to the private school Coach Haege had his players stay on the football field after the game that night and do one on one tackling in the end zone for 2 hours, and by that time the lights were turned off on the football field. He then had his players crawl off the field in what Coach Haege called the worm drill. Coach Haege's team then won 6 straight games, finishing the season 6 and 2 and winning the conference championship. . When Coach Haege was the head football coach at Traverse City St. Francis High School in Traverse City Michigan his starting halfback, Randy Ogden, fumbled the ball 3 times in a loss to Alpena Catholic the week before. The following week in practice Coach Haege ran 1 play over and over again, and that play was the I-right 24 power with Randy Ogden carrying the football. Coach Haege would say "run that play 1 more time" until we get it right, and then Coach Haege would say "run that play again, dam it." With about 20 minutes left in practice with the starting Traverse City Varsity offense on the field playing against the defense, Coach Haege called over the entire JV defense on to the practice field to play on the defensive side of the ball against the Varsity's starting offense. "I right 24 power" Coach Haege would holler as the starting offense worked their way the length of the field against 22 defensive players. When the varsity's starting offense got to the 5 yard line, Coach Haege then called over the entire freshman team on to the varsity practice field to join the varsity defense, and the JV defense. Coach Haege called the play again "I right, 24 power." There was a big barbed wire fence near the end of the practice field that lined a cherry orchard. They have cherry trees in Michigan. But when game day that Saturday against Charlevox Michigan came, Randy Ogden was ready to play. The very first play of the game Coach Haege called the I-right, 24 power play to Randy Ogden. The hole opened up like sive, and he ran the football 80 yards for a touchdown. Coach Haege;s team won that day. By the way, Randy Ogden made Coach Haege's all time high school team as his starting halfback. . When he got much older Coach Haege would often laugh at some of the stories from the days gone by and some of the crazy stuff that he did, but he says that he was trying to instill discipline in his team. Coach Haege's dream was to coach football in the NFL, and he was always striving too reach that goal. There is no doubt that Coach Haege would have been a very good football coach in the NFL. He worked his way up from the high school ranks to coaching in the Big 10 and eventually the Arena Football League. But his ultimate dream was always to coach in the NFL. Coach Haege's hard work, dedication, and discipline are what made him a winning football coach. |
Butkus would have probably been an even more dominate player if he were playing today because of the strength and conditioning programs, and the advances in knee surgery and sports medicine. Butkus played his last few years with a severely damaged knee. He made the pro bowl 7 times, and he was inducted in to the pro football hall of fame in 1979. Dick Butkus is without a doubt the best middle linebacker to ever play football. |
Coach Haege would always say that " Butkus is the definition of what a hard hitting, aggressive football player should be and he is the greatest middle linebacker to ever play football." |
O O O O O OOXOOO E N T T LB C C LB M SS FS |
Here is Art Haege when he played linebacker for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the CFL in 1963. |
In rememberence of Coach Haege and stories from days gone by. |
When he was the offensive line coach at the University of Wisconsin in 1969 Coach Haege had the idea, and he brought the entire team to church the night before the Iowa game to try to instill in them a sense of unity and to help them focus on the game. Coach Haege was not an overly religious man, but he was a great motivator. Wisconsin won and got an upset victory over Iowa the next day. |
In 1969 the University of Wisconsin finished the season with a 3 and 7 record. They beat Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana. Despite having a brutal non-conference schedule playing #1 ranked Oklahoma, and top 10 ranked UCLA and Syracuse, most of the coaching staff at Wisconsn got fired by Wisconsin's new athletic director, former NFL player crazy legs Hirsch. Coach Haege was one of the only coaches at the University of Wisconsin who got offered a position to stay on the staff by Wisconsin's newly hired head football coach. Back in those days a position coach only got paid 6,000 dollars a year in Division 1 football. Coach Haege was debating rather to stay, or to go back to high school where he would make more money as a head high school coach and teacher because he had a family too support, and out of loyalty towards the other members of the coaching staff who got fired. Coach Haege decided to stay at the University of Wisconsin, but when he went in to the new head coaches office too accept the position, Wisconsin's new head football coach told Coach Haege that they had hired someone else, Coach Haege then trashed his entire office because he was so furious. |
Here is Dick Butkus getting ready to pursue his prey. |
Here is Coach Haege's old 4-3 defense with a cover 3 alignment. Coach Haege had great success playing this defense back in his high school coaching days. Most of the NFL teams of the 1960's and 1970's played this defense. |
Here is Coach Art Haege at home in Iowa in the fall of 2004. Coach Haege passed away on March 5th, 2007. Coach Haege will be remembered for his love and dedication to the game of football, and he will be missed and always remembered by many. |
Updated March 1st, 2008 |
What kind of football player was Coach Haege? Direct quotes below this picture from the Leader-Post Newspaper in Canada from when Coach Haege played for the Saskatchwan Rougriders of the CFL in 1963 will give you a good idea. |
These are all quotes from the Leader-Post Newspaper: (Courtesy of Curt Phillia, who does research on players who played in the Canadian Football League). June 27,1963- Riders also announced the signing of guard/linebacker Art Haege. A mere 6-2 235 who played last year with the Chicago Bulldogs of the United Football League. Considered a rugged and hard-hitting LB, he was the heart of the Bulldogs' defence last year. July 2,1963 (training camp)- Veteran Al Benecick and rookie guardliner Art Haege had the railbirds buzzing with their spirited play on the weekend. July 6,l963 (training camp)- You would have had a hard time faulting the efforts of backer Art Haege, whom many of the railbirds consider the hungriest newcomer in camp. If they chose the club on desire alone, the burly guard-linebacker would be a cinch. July 8,1963(training camp)- Haege continued to impress everyone with his versatility. " He's the kind of ball player who catches a coach's eye," said Shaw. " We've looked at him as a LB, an OG and even as an end, and he hasn't looked out of place in any of these positions". (End of quotes from the newspaper.) |
Coach Haege then tore his shoulder on an arm tackle a couple of games in to the regular season and it ended his pro football playing career. Coach Haege made it through two pre-seasons with the Boston Patriots (now New England Patriots) in 1960 and 1961 when the head coach of the Patriots was the legendary Lou Saban. In the 1961 season Coach Haege was the last player to get cut with the Patriots when they only kept 35 players and 3 linebackers on their roster. Coach Haege then went on to play football for the Chicago Bulls of the United Football League in 1962, where he started every game at linebacker. Head Coach of the Bulls was the legendary NFL defensive end Ed Sprinkle. The United Football League would be considered on the same level of play as the Arena 1 Football League of today, but it was regular 11 on 11 man football. The Arena League is 8 on 8. |
Coach Haege then signed and played for the Saskatchwan Roughriders of the Candian Football League in 1963 as is stated in the information above. Coach Haege was not one to exagerate about how good of football player he was. But he was a very good football player. Coach Haege was not blessed with great speed. but he would out work and out hit anyone on the football field, and he was a very smart, hard working, and disciplined football player. These same traits that made Coach Haege a good football player are what made him a very good football coach. |
Now it was the starting offense against about 50 defensive players on the 2 yard line. "I right, 24 power" Coach Haege hollered again. Randy Ogden got the football, and he ran the ball in to the end zone. But as he was trying to jump over a pile of players he hit his arm on the barbed wire fence at the back of the end zone and he needed 22 stitches. |
Home Field Advantage |
I-Right 24 Power |
The Worm Drill |
The Master of Psychology |
The University of Wisconsin after the 1969 season |
