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A sloppy and rainy night didn’t dampen the spirits or enthusiasm of the alums who attended “Alumni Night” at the Lisle-Westmont football game, October 6 at Benedictine University. This was the third Alumni Night sponsored by the Carlin Nalley Foundation and Lisle High School. Every other year, the Lions have five home games instead of four, so the extra game has been set aside for alumni celebrations.
As has been the case the previous two, this year’s Alumni Night festivities began with a rousing tribute to our military alums. In conjunction with Scott Gumina and his Marching Lions, the military alums marched into the stadium to a rousing rendition of their branches’ theme song. Then after the two teams warmed up and the band performed “On Ye Lions” the mood turned somber. One by one, the names, ranks, and details of their loss was read for the five Lions we’ve lost while in service to our country. Then after a protracted moment of silence, one of the Marching Lions spun around faced, the crowd, and played “Taps”. Military in attendance saluted, many others in attendance wiped a tear or two. Almost as if on cue, the bells of a nearby church tolled somberly at the seven o’clock hour. A vital and moving tribute. The mood turned to celebration at halftime of the varsity game as football team members of “The Streak”, the 59-game conference undefeated steak gathered on the track in front of the crowd. First the program’s leader and Illinois Hall of Famer coach Carlin Nalley was introduced and acknowledged by the crowd. Then the year by year the accomplishments of the teams, staring with the 1972-73 team were read as the crowd cheered each season’s accomplishments. An impressive roll call followed as the entire rest of the decade of the 70’s illustrated the dominance of Lisle football. After the final championship season was recapped and the crowd applauded the group, the team gathered around their coach as hugs and high fives capped the tribute to a terrific era in our school’s history. |
Coach Carlin Nalley at alumni night football game surrounded by his legendary teams from the 1970s
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Players, coaches, cheerleaders recognized
for accomplishing 59 Consecutive Conference Wins &
SIX Straight Northeast Conference Championships
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Left:
Bobby Jenkins (not Opie Taylor) trying on brother Roland's Letterman's jacket. Roland was a standout player on Lisle's first Conference Champions the 1963 Lisle Football Lions. Bobby was the starting quarterback for the Lisle Football Lions in 1972 when the streak began. |
Lisle teams and individual athletes have enjoyed some wonderful success over the school’s 60 years of existence. But nothing captured the imagination of the school and the Lisle community in general than the incredible accomplishments of the teams that achieved what is simply known as “The Streak”
From the 2nd conference game of the 1972 season through the 2nd one in 1980 the Lisle Lions did not lose a regular season conference contest. Fifty-nine consecutive conference games, spanning parts of these nine seasons, saw Lisle football emerge as a state and regional powerhouse along with the six straight Northeast Conference championships and therefore a berth in the first six years of the IHSA State Playoffs. Wilde Field was the place to be as the parking lots and local streets were full of cars, the booster club grills were cranking out sandwiches and Affy Tapples were consumed by the crate.
The Carlin Nalley Foundation will be regognizing the athletes, coaches, and operations people who were such a big part of this decade-long story during the festivities surrounding the All-Years Reunion “Rockin’ the Foundation” October 7, 2017.
First, the Carlin Nalley Foundation has been releasing excerpts from a compilation of articles from the half dozen newspapers that covered football in the 1970s. These excerpts can be found in the “Alumni Blog” http://www.carlinnalleyfoundation.org/lisle-alumni-blog Foundation President and compilation editor John Bartels (’85) and his board gave the first draft of the entire document to Coach Nalley at his 80th birthday party in February. More and more of the excerpts will be released over the next few weeks and the final document will be presented The Coach and available on line after the All-Years reunion.
On Friday night, October 6 at Benedictine University, the teams and team members from The Streak will be honored between games and at halftime as part of Alumni Night. All participants are asked to be there by 6 pm for badges, instructions, and timeframes. The teams from The Streak will be recognized on the field in a special ceremony between games and at halftime of the Varsity contest. So bring your family and friends, take in some Lions football, join your former coaches and teammates, and help us make this a special night for all.
The following morning, 11 am at Wilde Field, the Carlin Nalley Foundation is gathering the alums from The Streak along with anyone who played football under Coach Nalley to join in a team photo in the bleachers as an 80th birthday gift to The Coach. The photo will take place rain or shine (we can move indoors if needed) PROJECT 200 is the name for this event as the Foundation Board is targeting at least 200 former team members be there to help celebrate The Coach’s birthday. A number of footballers will then be asked to stay for a second picture as our Hall of Fame track coach will sit for a second photo with those who participated in Track and Field during his storied career.
Please spread the word to all of those you know who were part of The Streak. Plan on attending Friday on the field at Benedictine University and Saturday morning in the bleachers at Wilde Field to celebrate The Streak and The Coach’s 80th. It’ll be great to see you, it’ll be great for you to see everyone, make sure you say hello to The Coach, and we’ll see you for the rest of the All-Years Reunion activities that afternoon and evening. Full details are available and will be updated until the big weekend at www.carlinnalleyfoundation.org
From the 2nd conference game of the 1972 season through the 2nd one in 1980 the Lisle Lions did not lose a regular season conference contest. Fifty-nine consecutive conference games, spanning parts of these nine seasons, saw Lisle football emerge as a state and regional powerhouse along with the six straight Northeast Conference championships and therefore a berth in the first six years of the IHSA State Playoffs. Wilde Field was the place to be as the parking lots and local streets were full of cars, the booster club grills were cranking out sandwiches and Affy Tapples were consumed by the crate.
The Carlin Nalley Foundation will be regognizing the athletes, coaches, and operations people who were such a big part of this decade-long story during the festivities surrounding the All-Years Reunion “Rockin’ the Foundation” October 7, 2017.
First, the Carlin Nalley Foundation has been releasing excerpts from a compilation of articles from the half dozen newspapers that covered football in the 1970s. These excerpts can be found in the “Alumni Blog” http://www.carlinnalleyfoundation.org/lisle-alumni-blog Foundation President and compilation editor John Bartels (’85) and his board gave the first draft of the entire document to Coach Nalley at his 80th birthday party in February. More and more of the excerpts will be released over the next few weeks and the final document will be presented The Coach and available on line after the All-Years reunion.
On Friday night, October 6 at Benedictine University, the teams and team members from The Streak will be honored between games and at halftime as part of Alumni Night. All participants are asked to be there by 6 pm for badges, instructions, and timeframes. The teams from The Streak will be recognized on the field in a special ceremony between games and at halftime of the Varsity contest. So bring your family and friends, take in some Lions football, join your former coaches and teammates, and help us make this a special night for all.
The following morning, 11 am at Wilde Field, the Carlin Nalley Foundation is gathering the alums from The Streak along with anyone who played football under Coach Nalley to join in a team photo in the bleachers as an 80th birthday gift to The Coach. The photo will take place rain or shine (we can move indoors if needed) PROJECT 200 is the name for this event as the Foundation Board is targeting at least 200 former team members be there to help celebrate The Coach’s birthday. A number of footballers will then be asked to stay for a second picture as our Hall of Fame track coach will sit for a second photo with those who participated in Track and Field during his storied career.
Please spread the word to all of those you know who were part of The Streak. Plan on attending Friday on the field at Benedictine University and Saturday morning in the bleachers at Wilde Field to celebrate The Streak and The Coach’s 80th. It’ll be great to see you, it’ll be great for you to see everyone, make sure you say hello to The Coach, and we’ll see you for the rest of the All-Years Reunion activities that afternoon and evening. Full details are available and will be updated until the big weekend at www.carlinnalleyfoundation.org
Lisle Lions football was a "happening" for most of the decade of the 1970s.
In 1972, Lisle lost at Plano on a last minute turnover. The Lions wouldn't lose another conference football game until 1980. Fifty-nine consecutive games without a conference loss followed that heart-breaker in Plano. Lisle was a powerhouse and Wilde Field was an electric place to be on those autumn Saturday afternoons. The Carlin Nalley Foundation will celebrate those fantastic teams and years during the weekend festivities surrounding the All-Years Reunion weekend, October 6 and 7, 2017.
On this, the sixtieth anniversary of Lisle Senior High School, and coach Carlin Nalley's 80th birthday, the Carlin Nalley Foundation is editing and producing a compilation of stories, articles, and photos from that magical 59-game streak. We are pleased to present one story from each of the 1972 through 1979 seasons. We want you to get a feel for what our project will look like when completed as we recap each entire season, game by game, through the stories written by the state and local media.. The entire finished project will make its debut at the All Years Reunion in October. In the mean time, please enjoy these single snippets from each season. Just a snapshot of what each season's recap will look like.
See you at the All Years Reunion......"Rockin' the Foundation"
John Bartels
Editor of The Streak
LSHS Class of 1984
President, Carlin Nalley Foundation
In 1972, Lisle lost at Plano on a last minute turnover. The Lions wouldn't lose another conference football game until 1980. Fifty-nine consecutive games without a conference loss followed that heart-breaker in Plano. Lisle was a powerhouse and Wilde Field was an electric place to be on those autumn Saturday afternoons. The Carlin Nalley Foundation will celebrate those fantastic teams and years during the weekend festivities surrounding the All-Years Reunion weekend, October 6 and 7, 2017.
On this, the sixtieth anniversary of Lisle Senior High School, and coach Carlin Nalley's 80th birthday, the Carlin Nalley Foundation is editing and producing a compilation of stories, articles, and photos from that magical 59-game streak. We are pleased to present one story from each of the 1972 through 1979 seasons. We want you to get a feel for what our project will look like when completed as we recap each entire season, game by game, through the stories written by the state and local media.. The entire finished project will make its debut at the All Years Reunion in October. In the mean time, please enjoy these single snippets from each season. Just a snapshot of what each season's recap will look like.
See you at the All Years Reunion......"Rockin' the Foundation"
John Bartels
Editor of The Streak
LSHS Class of 1984
President, Carlin Nalley Foundation
Announcing a Special Recap of "The Streak"
Greetings to All- I am pleased to present this recap of a wonderful and exciting time in the 60 year history of Lisle Senior High School. For most of the decade the Lions fielded dominant football teams, year after year, resulting in a 59 game streak where the Lions did not lose a regular season conference game. Autumn Saturday's during that period seemed to be made for football at Wilde Field. Large and enthusiastic crowds showed up for each and every home game. Grade schoolers in 1972 came to the games dreaming of the day they'd be wearing the Navy and White, only to be the athletes that continued the streak in 1979. This year the Carlin Nalley Foundation honors the players, coaches, and cheerleaders from that amazing period and what better way than a commemorative recap of the seasons involved. Taken from the pages of local papers such as the Lisle Sun, Suburban Life, Aurora Beacon-News, The Suburban Trib, and even the Tribune and Sun-Times out of Chicago, I invite you to read about the seasons that comprised this special time in our school's sixty year history. Editing this compilation of past articles brought back terrific memories of growing up in Lisle in the 1970s.
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......The Homecoming win, 22-12 against Yorkville bumped the Lions conference record to 4-1-1. Dick Dooley, Bob Jenkins and Eric Wills scored the three Lions touchdowns. Bruce Janovsky picked off a pass to thwart a Yorkville drive, and Pete Mastandrea sealed the win by intercepting a fake punt pass late in the fourth quarter. Again the Lions defense stuffed an opponent and the offense produced more than enough to win. Next up was Lemont, who clinched the outright NEC crown while the Lions were battling Yorkville. So the following Saturday’s game would simply be an opportunity for the Lions to show who the conference’s best team was at the end of the season
NEC champion Lemont rolled into Wilde Field and jumped off to a 2-0 lead by tackling the punter in the end zone. It looked like it might be a long day for the Lions. But the defense did what it had all season. Harassing the opposition quarterback on passing plays and stuffing running backs sideline to sideline, the offense was given a chance to rebound and in the second quarter they did just that. Bobby Jenkins to Eric Wills became the scoring combination that made the difference on this day. Once in the second quarter, the duo connected for 20 yards and Lisle went to the locker room leading 6-2. After Lemont regained the lead in the middle of the third quarter, Lisle finished the quarter with the second Jenkins to Wills strike, this time a 23 yarder. The Navy and White ran for 157 yards on the afternoon and that worked to control the clock, keeping the Injuns quick-strike offense off the field. But the play of the game fittingly belonged to the defense and underscored the fact that Lisle had numerous play-makers when it came to keeping the opponent off the scoreboard. Late in the game, facing a fourth and goal, Lemont fired a pass into the end zone, but safety Frank Spokas batted the ball away, preserving the Lions victory and sending the crowd pouring onto the field after the final horn. Lisle 13, Lemont 8. After going winless the previous season and finishing at the bottom of the NEC, Lisle came within one goal line call and a subsequent nullified TD from winning the whole thing............. |
