Illini Athletics

The Omicron's Most Accomplished Athletes

Charles Carney '22
Member of the U of I’s “All Century” basketball team
Member – College Football Hall of Fame
Varsity "I" Man of the Year, 1979

Chuck Carney became the first Big Ten athlete to be named a football (1920) and basketball (1920 & 1922) All-American. Carney was a two-time All-American in basketball and was named Helms Foundation National Player of the Year in 1922. He set the Western Conference basketball scoring record that stood for 22 years. The following article by Loren Tate attests to Brother Carney's athletic legacy.

“Only Grange was Worth More than ‘I-Man’ Carney”
By Loren Tate – The News-Gazette, Friday, August 24, 1979

How good was Chuck Carney? That's a tough question after 58 years. But Chuck will be here to explain that he “did pretty good in my day” when he is the honored guest at the Varsity-I banquet September 14 [1979].

Carney, who’ll be 79 tomorrow, stands as the only Fighting Illini athlete in history to make consensus All-America in both football and basketball.

Since he enrolled in the war year 1918, he earned four football letters and played on two Big Ten champions. He helped to popularize the forward pass from his end position and was named to Walter Camp’s A-A team in 1920. According to former I-Man of the Year George Halas (who offered him $300 per game to play in Chicago), only the immortal Red Grange was worth more during that period.

At 6-1½ and 190, Carney was one of the Big Ten’s tallest basketball performers and earned first-team A-A honors with the Helms Foundation in 1920 and 1922. According to the Big Ten record book, the UI's only other consensus All-Americans were Pick Dehner (1938-39), Bill Hapac (1940), Andy Phillip (1943), Walt Kirk (1945), Bill Erickson (1949), Don Sunderlage (1951) and Rod Fletcher (1952).

Carney was clearly ahead of his time in basketball. The record of Illini scoring in the first half-century, from Edward Ryan's 8.5 average in 1907 to Wally Osterkorn's 15.1 in 1950, shows only one superior point producer — Whiz Kid Andy Phillip with 16.9 in 1943. Carney averaged 16.5 in 1920, doubling such successors as the late Wally Roetger (8.6 in 1923) and Dr. Leland Stilwell (7.6 in 1924). Years later, when Lou Boudreau and Harry Combes were leading the Illini in 1936-37, they did not attain double figures.

“It was a different school, a different game then,” said Carney Thursday from his Manchester, Massachusette home. “The university only had about 5,000 students, and the stadium wasn’t even built yet. There were no scholarships and no one was paid to play, although, Walter Cragle worked in the gym for $1 an hour. I didn’t need a scholarship because my dad could support me and did.”

Hailing from Evanston, Carney never intended to make athletics more than an avocation. He helped coach at Northwestern and Wisconsin and later at Harvard, and he played some post-college basketball, but his interest was in stock brokerage and he never deviated.

“If I knew professional football was out when I injured my knee” (midway in the 1921 season),” he said. “I could have played with the pros. Our quarterback, Larry Walquist, only weighed about 160 and he stuck with the Bears for 10 years.”

Walquist and Carney were the central figures in 1919 of what George Huff called “the greatest series of football plays I’ve ever seen.”

It was against Ohio State in the final game, with Illinois seeking its second straight Big Ten title. Behind 7-6 with five minutes left, Illinois moved the ball from the Illini 20 to the Buckeye 20 on three Carney pass receptions.

“Our regular kicker, Ralph Fletcher, was hurt,” recalled Carney. “So his younger brother, Bobby, who had never kicked a field goal, said he could do it. His kick hit the crossbar and bounced over, and we won 9-7. It was the only game Chick Harley (Ohio State All-American) ever lost.”

A check of the records shows Carney’s memory is keen, and he reports his health good. “I’ve had some surgeries — the knee and a double hernia — but I’m doing fine. Nothing seriously wrong. My older brother is 83, and going strong.

“But I’m not kidding myself. I want to get back one more time to see the university. It’s been 10 or 12 years since I was there. I can remember it before Memorial Stadium was built. I returned as an alum to see Red Grange run wild in the dedication game against Michigan. I knew how good he was from scrimmaging against him when he was a freshman (Carney was a senior).

Honored with Carney in three weeks will be 16 teams enjoying reunions, from the 1919 championship football team to the 1974 championship fencing team. They will be feted September 14 at the Ramada Inn and again with a luncheon at 11 a.m. September 15 in the Varsity Room prior to the UI-Missouri contest.

John L. "Laddy" McKeown ‘15
Illini & Olympian hurdler

Famous Olympic hurdler, "Laddy" McKeown was 1914 conference champion in the 120 yard hurdles with a time of 15.8 seconds. He won three varsity letters as a member of the track team. Brother McKeown was a veteran of World War I, returning as a casualty after an airplane accident abroad.

His Illio entry from that era reports the following:
"Laddy" McKeown is destined to become one of the most talked-about athletes who ever wore an Orange and Blue track suit. For when ardent admirers of Coach Gill seek to drive home his efficacy, they point to McKeown as a tangible example. The art of high hurdling is perhaps the most difficult track event to master, yet Gill took "Laddy", who never before had leaped a high stick, and in one season developed him into the undisputed champion of the Middle West.
 
 
 
 
 

John C. Depler '21
All-American center on the football team
Coach at Illinois and Columbia
Pioneer in the pro game

Part of the Illini's National Championship football team in 1919, Brother Depler was a three-time All American at center and team captain in 1920. Brother Depler was an assistant coach at Illinois for two seasons and was on the coaching staff at Columbia from 1922-1929.

He was a pioneer in professional football, having founded the Brooklyn Dodgers and served as a player or coach for several teams. Later he became head of the New York Illini Club for 1931 & 1932 and headed the same club from 1959-1963. Later in his career, Brother Depler turned his professional attention to writing, authoring a column in the Lewistown newspaper and composing a book entitled The Years that Were, which was a collection of his columns about the Lewistown, Fulton County and Spoon River Areas.

Eugene S. Kwas (a.k.a. Kwasniewski) '46
Football – Letterwinner at halfback in 1945 and 1946
Played in the Illini's 1947 Rose Bowl victory over UCLA

As it states on fightingillini.com, "In the first Rose Bowl under the Big Ten-Pac 10 agreement, unheralded Illinois routed highly ranked UCLA, 45-14. Illinois running backs Julius Rykovich and Claude "Buddy" Young rushed for 103 yards apiece. During the course of the game, six different Illinois players scored touchdowns as the Fighting Illini racked up their first Bowl victory." Psi U was represented on the field that day by Brother Eugene S. Kwas (a.k.a. Kwasniewski) '46. Brother Kwas writes though his contribution on the field was minor, "it was a great experience and a memory I still treasure."

The Omicron Arrow of February 1946 reported the following about Brother "Kwas":
"When Illinois played Northwestern in football last fall, it was homecoming for Gene Kwasniewski, Illini right halfback and Omicron member.

Playing against the Wildcats in Evanston had long been an ambition of this grinning sophomore, a dream that was delayed for three years while Kwasniewski was over in England and continental Europe dropping bombs on Axis nations for the U. S. army air forces.

Gene was a brilliant athlete at Evanston township high school. He competed in four sports and had a total of 10 letters when he was graduated in June, 1942, three in football, three in basketball, two in track, and two in baseball.

He entered Illinois that fall and was a member of one of the finest Illini freshman grid teams in history. With him in the backfield were Lou Levanti, Dike Eddleman, Julie Rykovich, and other top-notch collegiate prospects.

The 1943 game with Northwestern at Evanston was to be a great one for "Kwas." But a war call came and Gene was off to become a bombardier.

Kwasniewski returned in October and began to bid for a job on the football team. He was slow rounding into shape. 'Sitting in an airplane for years doesn't help your legs,' he said. But he began to perform in collegiate fashion within a few weeks and was a consistent ground gainer for the Illini during the season."

Brother Kwas served in the US Air Force during the years 1943-45. He writes, "I completed my training while in Big Spring, Texas and received my commission as a Bombardier in 1944. I was assigned to the European Theater of operation and stationed in Foggia, Italy. I was assigned to a B-17 Bombing Group and completed 25 bombing missions. I was awarded an Air Medal with two oak leaf clusters."

After his military and undergraduate days were over, Brother Kwas turned his attention to law school and beyond:
"To bring you up to date, after graduating fro Law School in 1950, I joined the FBI as an agent for a period of five years. My next career move was to join Allstate Insurance where I worked for 28 years. I retired in 1984 as Vice President and Director of Security. My wife, Lillian, to whom I have been married for 56 years, and I chose to retire in Austin, Texas. While I attempted to practice law, I quickly succumbed to a life of leisure and devoted most of my time to playing golf, travel, some charity work, etc."

Richard S. “Dick Kewpie” Barrett '28
Professional baseball player for the Chicago Cubs, Boston Braves, Philadelphia A’s and Phillies, and the PCL's Seattle Indians and Seattle Rainiers
Three sport Illini athlete
Strikeout king of the PCL

One of the chapter's most colorful members and accomplished athletes is Richard S. Barrett '28, better known by the pseudonym under which he played professional ball, "Dick Kewpie". According to baseballlibrary.com, "This [Brother Barrett] roly-poly wartime big leaguer was a Pacific Coast League standout, with seven 20-win seasons, 234 wins, and the league's most career strikeouts. After an 0-4 start with the Cubs in 1943, he was sold to the Phillies and responded with a 14-inning, 1-0 blanking of Cincinnati. His 20 losses led the NL in 1945." Brother Barrett played baseball well into his 40s and Seattle's fans affectionately called him their "Little Round Man".

Brother Barrett was a three sport athlete for Illinois, playing football, basketball, and baseball, but baseball was his love. He chose to leave school in the first semester of his senior year to pursue a pro baseball career under the assumed name "Dick Oliver". When word of his summer pro ball exploits got out, he was stripped of his varsity letters and never returned to Champaign, though he always thought fondly of his time as an Illini and maintained his love for the Orange and Blue.

His most successful years were clearly in Seattle, and according to HistoryLink, the online Washington State history website, was a legendary pitcher for Seattle's PCL teams. The following is excerpted from Ron Richardson's article Seattle Indians: A Forgotten Chapter in Seattle Baseball on the HistoryLink website:
"…Perhaps the most memorable performance of the day was not second baseman Eddie Fernandes, “Wee” Coyle, or assorted law officers. The man of the day was roly poly “Kewpie” Dick Barrett (1906-1966), Seattle Indians' pitcher. His contract included a $250 dollar bonus if he won 20 games in the 1937 season. He had 18 wins when he took the mound for the first game of the season ending doubleheader. Barrett shut down Sacramento on four hits and won his 19th game, 4 to 1.

Leo Lassen reported the clubhouse drama for the P-I. Indians' owner Bill Klepper appeared in the clubhouse between games and ordered the Indians manager, Johnny Bassler (1895-1979) to pitch Marion Oppelt in the second game. Klepper wanted assurance that he would not have to pay Barrett the $250 bonus. Bassler’s answer was “I’m running this ball club and Barrett is going to pitch!”

“This will cost you plenty” was Klepper’s reply. The team held a short meeting and assured Barrett that they would win number 20 for him (Lassen).

Barrett had been injured in the first game when a line drive cracked off his foot, yet he took the mound for the second game. Barrett held Sacramento to two hits and won 11 to 2. “Kewpie Dick” had become an Iron Man that day earning his bonus. If anyone was deserving of a bonus it was “Kewpie” Dick Barrett. Starting in 1935 Barrett was a 20-game winner in seven of the next eight seasons. He was often the Pacific Coast League leader in wins, strikeouts, and innings pitched. He also set the minor league career record for walks at 2,096. As legendary Seattle broadcaster Leo Lassen put it, 'Roses are red, violets are blue. Barrett is pitching, it’s three and two.'"

Information from the University of Illinois Biographical Archives, http://www.historylink.org/ and http://www.baseballlibrary.com/

Park Brown '41
Cross Country and Track – Team Captain and Five-Time Letterwinner

Brother Brown was a five-time letterwinner for track in '39-'40-'41 and cross country in '38 and '40. He was team captain and record holder in the half mile. Brother Brown was awarded the Big 10 conference medal for athletics and scholarship and was president of the Tribe of Illini for the spring term of 1941.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Norman Lewis '38
Swimming – All American

Two-time letterwinner in 1936 and '37, Brother Lewis was an All-American and team captain during his time in Champaign. He held the Big 10 record in the 220 yard freestyle in his day and also was team captain of the water polo team.
 
 
 
 
 

Herschel G. "Bucky" Benson '44
Hockey – Starter at left wing for two Big 10 Championship Teams

Herschel, or "Bucky" as he was better known, played left wing for the Illini hockey team from 1942-43. He lettered each of those two years and was a starter on two Big Ten championship teams. Herschel had 24 goals and 18 assists throughout his Illini career. He also had one career "hat trick" in which he scored three goals all in one period.

Information adapted from http://fightingillini.cstv.com/sports/varsity/spec-rel/081000aao.html

George O. Hoffman '27
Baseball – Three time letterwinner

Three-time letterwinner 1925, 26, and 27, Brother Hoffman led the Illini in hitting in '26 batting fifth in the lineup. He played first base, right field, and was also a pitcher at times.

George T. Webster '30
Swimming and Water Polo – Team Captain

Captain of the water polo team, Brother Webster was a three-time letterwinner for the Illini swimming program.

Jason Van Swol '04
Track – All American and Five-time Big 10 Champ at 800 meters

Brother Van Swol's profile at fightingillini.com reads like a walk through of the U. of I. track record book. He was Big 10 champ at 800 meters a total of five times and garnered All American honors at that distance. He competed at the Olympic Trials, the Drake Relays, and at the NCAA Championships, where he finished 8th in 2001. Brother Van Swol was Big 10 Freshman of the Year and still holds some of the fastest times in Illini track history.

According to Brother Tom Fox '00, "[Jason] used to work at White Horse and was friends with a couple guys in the chapter house who got him to join his senior year. He graduated in '02 I think and was a part of our 2004 class. He now teaches high school and coaches track and/or cross country."

Information adapted from http://fightingillini.cstv.com/sports/m-track/mtt/vanswol_jason01.html

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