Mayville Stories

Over the years, many great stories come and go. This small town is much like any other in that we love to support our team. We relish every victory and hurt from every loss. We remember what it was like to be a 5th grader who looked up to those guys in the red football uniforms, thinking, "that will be me someday". We remember that first practice in the summertime heat, and the last practice in the chilly autumn air. We remember putting on that game jersey for the very first time, eyes wide with optimism of what was to come, and taking off that jersey for the last time, with a tear in our eye. Our time had come and gone. Often we gather at places like Budahn's - or Strook's tavern for you old timers - in downtown Mayville to enjoy some cold ones with the guys and start talking about those days. The days when coach worked us so hard we almost passed out. Those practices in the snow or the 6am practice. The homecoming game in the rain. The game when everything went right. The night we brought the Marsh Bowl back home. And the game when everything didn't go right. The one that just slipped away. The one we'd like to do all over again, if we could.

Touchdown! Beep, beep.

• For 60 years, Firemen's Field was the home of Mayville football. Like many dual-purpose athletic fields, the baseball infield made up part of the gridiron, which made things interesting in wet weather games and on-side kicks. We also had the hill. Along the northern edge of the field rose a slope on which the parking lot sat. If you got there early enough on a cold night, it was a great view to sit in your warm car & watch the game. And of course, when the Cardinals scored, fans beeped their horns in celebration. Folks all over town knew how the game was going without the luxury of a radio, simply by how often the car horns broke through the night air.

Onward, March!

• For years, the Friday night games took on more of a festive event when the MHS marching band would march from the old high school (or old middle school) to Firemens' Field. The march began at John and Dayton Streets, and progress South on Main Street to the footbridge at the park. The march included some songs that, of course, drew some fans along the way, and announced to the town that the big game was about to begin.

A Town full of Katies

• The Mayville Athletic Booster Club rewards the efforts of people who do the behind-the-scenes work that makes Mayville a special place to grow up and play football, basketball or baseball. One of those people was Katie Schwichtenberg, who with her husband, Otto, attended many, many games over the years and cheered loudly for all the Mayville teams. Katie was honored in 1982 as Mayville's #1 fan, a greatly deserved honor, shortly after being diagnosed with cancer. Katie died from her illness in 1983, and the booster of the year award has been presented in her honor ever since. Katie Award Recipients:
  1983 - Jimmy "Peanuts" Becker
  1984 - Betty Anding
  1985 - Sue Tighe
  1986 - Jim Adams
  1987 - Amy Krieser
  1988 - Dr. Mike Bachhuber & Bill Bachhuber
  1989 - Lynn Cundy & Robert "Bumpy" Schaefer
  1990 - Ken & Elaine Brockhaus
  1991 - Bill Lee
  1992 - Dave Kern
  1993 - Dee Washa
  1994 - Ken Franke
  1995 - Connie Hilber
  1996 - Glenn Schraufnagel
  1997 - Terry & Diane Opgenorth
  1998 - Jim & Ellie Sokoly
  1999 - Lloyd & Bonnie Kamrath
  2000 - Mary Krapfl & Rudy Rackow
  2001 - Mike Kurutz
  2002 - Gene Gassner
  2003 - Chuck Brockhaus
  2004 - Dale Gourlie
  2005 - Hank & Jane Kern
  2006 -
  2007 -
  2008 -
  2009 - Michael "Mousey" Schaefer

The coach with the towel around his neck

• Many players, students and fans remember Jack Omer as a colorful personality. He was an intense man with an imposing glare. He was a gifted teacher with a wealth of knowledge and a knack for providing guidance to his young students. He was also, at times, a prankster. But one thing that stood out with Coach Omer was his trademark towel around his neck. During games and practices, Coach simply had a towel draped around his neck that he often clutched as he paced the sidelines and barked out orders or comments.

...or a Straw in his Mouth

• A common site on the Mayville gridiron from 1985 to 2001 was straws. Straws? Yes straws. Head coach Alex Hilber chewed straws during games, practices, and even in his classroom. He did so as a tension reliever and went through many straws in a day. In fact, he had straws cut down to size and had a cigar box full of them! Whenever he was "instructing" a player or teaching in the classroom, he would take his straw out and use it as a little pointer. Even in 2004, 3 years after he retired from coaching, players would still find straws lying on the ground of the practice field with regularlity. This just goes to show how many straws he actually went through in his time, and it may have been the key to his success.