In the fall of 1951, my senior year as a defensive lineman I grabbed the
ball out of the hands of the Albion quarterback as he was about to pass. I
ran with it to the Albion five yard line and was pushed out of bounds. Coach
and my teammates said "Why didn't you run it in?" I think we did several plays
later. What a hoot!Fred Yonkman '48, '49, '50, '51 OT, DL
It was a very hot and humid September day in 1950. Hope College was playing Carroll
College in Waukesha, Wisconsin in football for the first time. The initial
few minutes of the game were very memorable as Hope scored the first three
times it had the ball on either the kickoff or the first play from the line
of scrimmage. Carroll did the same things the first two times they had the
ball. As a result, many of the players, especially those who played both ways
were "done in" after the beginning five minutes of the first quarter.
In those days we were told not to drink too much water because we would get leg
cramps and feel sick to our stomachs. The fast-paced game continued, but ultimately
Hope came out on top 37 to 26. The players were very tired and washed out
after the game. Some even needed help getting back on the bus. We stayed over
Saturday night in the Hotel Schroeder in Milwaukee. The next morning, the entire
team and coaches got back on the bus and went to a suburban RCA church to represent
Hope College and to hear the Rev. Charles Wissink preach. It rained all day.
Everyone was wet through and through from coming and going to the hotel and
church.
In the early afternoon, we got back on the bus to head back to Holland. Coach
Vanderbush accepted the suggestion that we go to a special restaurant in Hammond
Indiana to eat. Consequently, no one had lunch and some players had missed
breakfast. It continued to be hot, humid, and rainy for the long four hour
ride through Chicago to Hammond on a bus with no air conditioning. Some of
the players undressed down to their "skivvies" to get comfortable. There was
a lot of complaining because everyone was so hungry and thirsty, and so hot
and sweaty in wet clothes. You can imagine the odor! We finally arrived at
Phil Schmidt's Restaurant which was a great choice for one very simple reason.
Their family style dinner consisted of all the fried chicken, frog legs, mashed
potatoes, and gravy that you could eat. The two assigned waitresses, running
back and forth to the kitchen carrying out three platters of food at a time,
could not keep up with the famished football players who had enormous appetites
to begin with. It had to be a losing proposition for the restaurant owner.
After many rounds, the team finally reached its limit and got back on the bus.
There were many "happy campers" for the rest of that unforgettable trip back
to Holland.
Robert Visscher '48, '49, '50
I really enjoyed the opportunity to play football at Hope College 1947-51. In addition to the wonderful relationships I had with other players and coaches, I will always remember an axiom I learned from coach Al Vandenbush. I primarily played on defense and he would say always take the hard way when rushing against another player. I found that advice to be very appropriate through out life. That is, when ever you reach a fork in the road, or have a decision to make, you will ultimately be better off if you take the more difficult path. Harrison C. Visscher, MD '47, '48, '49, '50
A special moment for me is trouncing Hillsdale to win the MIAA championship in
the fall of 1951. Hillsdale was a great power in the league then. It was a
game we needed to win. There was so much snow in the two weeks leading up to
that game, that we were forced to practice in Carnegie Gym. It was blizzard
weather with snow blowing and drifting, but the Saturday of the game, the sun
came out. City plows cleared the field at Riverview Park, leaving huge snow
banks all around. We won 47-0. I was a running back, but my specialty was defense,
where I played linebacker and defensive back. I am proud that I entered the
first game of the season in my freshman year early in the first quarter and
started every game thereafter for four years.
Bill Bocks, '48, '49, '50, '51 LB & DB
As a freshman on the 1949 team I got hurt in a game that required knee surgery
the day after school adjourned for summer break. I spent the summer months getting
ready for fall and started the season with a full-fledged knee brace. You know
the kind with two oversized metal hinges on each side of the knee. Early in
the season we were at a light practice at Riverview before a game and the ends
were running downfield covering punts. I must admit that I was dogging it downfield
and Al Vanderbush noticed this and called me back to the line of scrimmage. He
commented on my less than acceptable effort. He suggested I should do it again,
only this time he would run alongside me and we were to race downfield
together. He further suggested that if he was to beat me down field I was to
keep on running back to the gym. Either way to win the race or not would give
me something to think about. At this time Big Al was in very good shape and the
outcome of the race was certainly a question. I know it sure was a question in
my mind. Most all the activity on the field stopped so that all could witness
the "Race". When the ball snapped we both took off about even. Those four steel
hinges never worked harder. After the first ten yards or so I started to pull
ahead and indeed won the race but Big Al won my making his point. To this day
I will never know if he let me win. Don Miller '49, '50
Imagine! 100 years of Hope football. The MIAA provided me with a
lifetime of friendships plus great coaches. These leaders were special and we
learned a great deal. I am recalling Al Vanderbush, Ken Weller, Gord Brewer,
Russ DeVette, and our trainers Jack Schouten and Dr. Green. Football at Hope
College left me with Great Memories. Ken Bauman '49, '50, '51, '52 End
In early summer, 1950, shortly after my graduation from a Grand Rapids, MI high
school, coach Al Vanderbush made a recruiting visit at my home to encourage
me to play football at Hope and to offer financial assistance through the college's
work-study program-free room for securing and cleaning the long-since demolished
Walsh music house, and free lunch (plus 55 cents) for working the noon shift
at the old student snack bar. Coach couldn't have known it at the time of his
visit, but he "had me when he said hello". My brother Gordon had been part
of the famed "cabinet makers" line, and I had already decided to follow him
at Hope. But his offer made possible my financing a college education: during
four years I rarely ate breakfast, lunched at the snack bar, and 55 cents was
then the price of the evening "special" at Holland's City Kitchen. Tuition
I recall was $375.00 a semester, paid for with earnings from summer work, plus
a little help from my parents and friends. Four years and two football championships
later, I graduated debt-free from Hope College! But beyond football and a debt-free
education, this recruiting story enabled two other developments in my life
that are worth noting here. First, what coach didn't tell me on his visit was
that my room at the Walsh house was adjacent to a practice studio, and that
music majors would be using it each morning between 6 and 7:00 am! "Annoying" would
be a polite way to describe what I felt about the early morning noise. But
somehow I learned to live with it, and on occasion I opened my door to converse
with the noise makers. One such conversation early in my freshman year was
with an upper-class co-ed who later introduced me to her sister, then a senior
in a nearby high school. That high school senior enrolled at Hope the next
year and four years later she became my wife of 52 years and still counting!
The second development from that recruiting visit was that it began a life-long
relationship with coach Vanderbush. During college and beyond we talked often
and corresponded, sometimes about football, but mostly about values, religion
and politics (both of us were/are Democrats). He was the first to encourage
me to read John Calvin, and especially Calvin's progressive views on social
and economic justice, noting how these values found form in progressive movements
in the American experience. Antiques from his garage and letters from his hand
remain some of my most prized possessions. Most important, he influenced me
to pursue graduate studies (Western Seminary, Oberlin, Vanderbilt University),
which made possible a twenty year teaching career at Central College, Iowa
(and coaching football!), and then later directing the Justice, Peace, Creation
program of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches in Geneva, Switzerland.
Coach Vanderbush was my primary mentor and model while at Hope College, and
his influence still echoes in my faith, life and politics, an influence that
began with a recruiting visit at my home in the summer of 1950.
Jim Van Hoeven '50, '51, '52, '53 Captain
This past Saturday's (September 12, 2009) Hope- Carthage football game was filled with lots of memories and much gratitude for all the ways Hope football has been part of my life.
For the past six years we have been able to watch our grandsons play football at Hope. Jacob Droppers graduated one year ago after playing right tackle and was recognized with an MIAA selection on the 2007 conference championship team. And this day we were watching his brother, Josh Droppers, who stepped into the first team right tackle position after Jake graduated. I have been fortunate to have had six years of watching Hope football alongside of Josh and Jake's father, and our son-in law, Kurt Droppers (Hope football, 75-78 and two MIAA Championships). Hope football is like that: it can go back generations.
The Hope program on that Saturday celebrated our "Century of Gridiron Glory." But the big surprise was on page 18. There we were in a photo; the 1953 MIAA Championship team! If a picture is worth a thousand words, this one certainly is. That was a great year with many memories.
For me it was the Albion game of 1953; that was the game I carried with me for the rest of my life.
As I remember it, it was a decisive game in our run for the championship. But my time at defensive end came to a painful end on that day. I was wearing mud cleats and when I turned the halfback inside, my knee went almost outside. Soon there was the fateful walk some of us had to take. For me it was hobbling on crutches up the steps to see Dr. Vande Velde, the team physician, whose office was above Model Drug store (amazingly, Model Drug store is still there). Later, it was knee surgery, a full leg cast and my determination to play football the next year. I hated being injured, but even that came to be a time of much learning. Football has taught us all what it means to get beyond such disappointments.
But there was one man who made it possible for me to play two more years of Hope football; Jack Schouten, who was more than a trainer for us. I could never have played again without his skills and care. Every practice, every game he was there to tape up that knee with a "T" brace he had constructed from some things he had in that training room in the back of Carnegie Gym. He was a magician when it came to healing. I played the next two years, due to his skillful ways, a no nonsense presence, and his being a man who confidently cared about me and always helped us to be our best on and off the gridiron.
There is a flood of memories when I look at the faces on that photo, and the other reminders we still have of football at Hope. There were lessons to be learned, like getting two major penalties for throwing an elbow two times in a row at a secondary in the "K" game. Coach Russ DeVette had me think about that one for a few plays. The competition at practice was always intense. I remember how Paul Wiegerink and I pushed each other in getting to the cut off for down field blocking. Lots of fun, but tough football.
There were many pictures behind that team photo. One was watching Coach Al VanderBush stomp his hat as Wabash fell on the ball in our end zone after a kick off and no time expiring on the clock. The halftimes were always motivating, but this one was more so as Coach looked at us and told us, "You look like dog meat out there; chewed up!" I don't remember the score, but I will never forget the halftime.
Coach Al remained a friend and mentor after my years at Hope. He was a scholar and a committed Christian; a man whose political commitments and strongly held personal convictions made him an advocate for peace and justice (He may have been the only Democrat in Holland!). Coach Al helped me to claim those priorities in how I live. I value that influence, that way of life, more than any season or accomplishment while playing football at Hope. It all began with my football coach at Hope College.
Coach Al and the other coaches we have come to know at Hope have had a profound impact on all of us who shared in these 100 years of football at Hope. And as I watched Coach Smith, and now Coach Kreps and their staffs over these last decades, it is clear to me that this impact on the total person of the players continues to be the focus, and it is validated each season of football at Hope.
We learned to take care of each other. With teams of 30 some players, many of us played on both side of the ball. We didn't have weight training, so my cousin, Jim Van Hoeven (MIAA '51, '52, '53), and I worked at a cement block factory every summer. The weight rooms of today would have looked pretty good to us.
The rewards of Hope Football come in many ways. Ours was a traditional experience. After winning at Riverview, we would all jump up on the bed of the old stake-rack Hope truck and then ride back to campus through the crowds. It also made losing a lot harder to take.
Sharing the story and the impact of Hope football remains one of my joys even now. During these last six years I have been at many Hope football practices and have come to meet and know a lot our players. We talk about football, but I know they can't imagine what football was like in the 50's. But what I really try to tell them is how important it is to be coached by the kind of men who represent were in this fine legacy of Hope football. They need to know that the men they meet in this program will be people who will help shape their lives in ways they can be proud of, even as I do after all these years. These new recruits could play football at other schools, but by coming to Hope, they will allow their lives to be influenced by men like my coaches were for me, men who took care of me as though I were their son.
The future of Hope football will reflect this legacy, a legacy that seeks to build on the best of what we have been. I am honored to have played at Hope, and I will be there to cheer on our grandsons and all these other great young men who join us on the gridiron.
Go Hope!
Doc (Don) Van Hoeven '52-'56 OT, DT, DE
It was 1950 and Hope was on a roll, beating G.R. JC 34-0, Monmouth 7-0, Alma
20-0, Adman 27-14, but then the roof caved in as Hillsdale jumped out to a 13-0
lead in the first quarter. But the driving force of Hope came back with a vengeance
in the second quarter to score its ninepoints with Nick Yonker's aerial attack
and deMull's slamming Hillsdale's Bill Young to the turf in the end zone for
a safety which ended the first half. The second half saw the Orange and Blue
roll successfully to the Bearcat's 10, 8, and finally 4-yard line only to be
stopped by a superb defensive play by Hillsdale. When the final gun sounded a
dismayed Hope squad found that the final scoreboard still read Hillsdale 13,
Hope 9. After this defeat at Riverview Park the fighting Dutchmen came storming
back, defeating Michigan Normal 16-6, Albion 21-6, and finally Kalamazoo 35-13.
Hope ended the season with a respectable record of 7-1. Alex Ebneth (Wanted
to play all four years, but injuries kept him from playing at all. In practice
was a right or left halfback.)
As a freshman QB out of Muskegon in the fall of '53, I took over at the position
after Don York was injured in pre-season practice. John Adams and Frank Talarico,
both premier halfbacks, were part of a stellar line up under Coach Al Vanderbush.
Rooming at the old OKE Fraternity House, where Gilmore Hall is now located,
I bunked on a cot in the dormitory attic on a cot next to Talarico. In those
days,
the QB's called most of the plays on the field without much input from the sidelines.
A late night topic was occasionally whose number I would call when we were close
to the opponent's goal line. I always considered it a bit of an accomplishment
that John and Tally ended up tied for most TD's in the league that season. We
won the MIAA championship that year. In the end, Jim "Grinny" Van Hoeven, was
the leagues MVP, and both Adams and Talarico were First Team All MIAA halfbacks.
Harry Voss '53, '55, '56 Quarterback
My favorite memory was a 47-7 victory over Albion in 1957 on a snow covered Riverview
Park. Albion had a number of fumbles while we kept running the inside reverse
from the winged T. It was always fun to beat the Britons. Ron Wetherbee '53, '54, '55, '56
LB/HB/FB
I have so many fond memories of my experience playing football at Hope College. It is difficult to put into words how much influence the people associated with the program had on my professional and personal life.
I recall the day Coach DeVette stopped by my house on his way back from Muskegon where he had been visiting his parents. He talked to me regarding the football program at Hope College and invited me to the Fall banquet in Holland where I met some of my future teammates.
The next Fall I was introduced to one of the finest men and a positive influence, Coach Gordon Brewer, who was in his first year and became my line coach for the next four years.
During my first week of practice Tiger DeWitt and I hit "head on" in a drill caving my plastic helmet in. I showed it to coach, he punched the indentation out, gave it back and deemed it fit to continue. Welcome to college football.
I look back at some humorous situations and two stand out. While practicing at fairbanks one sunny afternoon Dr. Eva VonSchaak, my science instructor (she was 5 foot two wearing hip boots and carrying a net) asked Coach DeVette if I could help her
catch a few frogs from the creek that ran parallel to the practice field. As I (in full practice gear) walked to the creek with her I could hear the uncalled for cackels from my teammates.
Another situation occured on our way to Beloit. One of our teammates had scratched his forehead to which he applied a bandaid. When the team came down from our hotel in Chicago every member of the team had a bandaid on their forehead.
I have many fine memories from games, too many to write, but some stand out. My kick-off at Hillsdale that Jim Mohr raced down under to tackle the receiver causing a fumble leading to a score, centering the ball that Bill Huibregtse kicked for the winning fieldgoal at Hillsdale, stripping the ball from the Northern Michigan halfback in the last minutes of a 13-6 score to set up the winning touchdown, blocking a punt against Alma which was recovered by Ron Bronson for the win, and in general having fun playing football with some of the finest people one could know.
As I later taught and coached in Grand Rapids much of the success I encountered was a reflection of my experiences as a Hope athlete being tutored by outstanding people, participating with goal oriented teammates, and learning the value and rewards of hard work.
I will always be humbled by the election of my teammates to co-captain and MVP of the '59 team.
Gene VanDongen Hope football 1956-1959
"My favorite football memory is the time Coach Al Vanderbush came to Ottawa Hills
and talked to Dick Gantos., Mert Vanderlind, John Defouw and myself. Coach Al
was probably the main reason the entire right side of our offensive and defensive
line, plus our tailback and safety at Ottawa Hills all played four years at Hope
College. Al convinced us that playing football for Hope College would be an exciting
and rewarding part of our lives. It most definitely was.Paul Wiegerink '54, '55, '56, '57 OE, DE
In thinking through my football years at Hope, I would have to state that I
am indeed fortunate to have many wonderful memories, especially of the 1957 and
1958 seasons, which were very special indeed. The memory that is my favorite,
as you can probably imagine, is the last second victory over Hillsdale in 1958.
As the Grand Rapids Press noted prior to the game, "..the Hillsdale football
tide that has swept aside MIAA foes 28 straight times dating back to 1953".
Bill Huibregtse's kick withtwo seconds remaining was definitely an extraordinary
event and will always be one of those cherished memories. We finally beat them!!
I would be remiss if I didn't mention that an almost equal and particularly wonderful
memory is one that relates to the former Chairman of the Board at Hope, Ek Buys.
He was the real reason that I attended Hope. Ek took me to visit the college
and really convinced me that I would find Hope to be simply the best place for
me. He was right, and I will be forever grateful.
Larry Ter Molen '55, '56, '57, '58
I played from 1956 to 1959. Obviously this was a very long time ago and it is
difficult to remember specifics. What I do recall the most was the great Christian
example set by the coaching staff. The coaching staff consisted of Russ DeVette,
Al Vanderbush, Gord Brewer, and Ken Weller.Chuck Coulson '56, '57, '58, '59 End
I have memories of two wonderful people while playing for Hope college in 1956,
57, and 58. Doc Green, the team trainer, and Stu Post, the student manager,
were both friendly, funny, and loved their jobs! I miss them both."
Don Paarlberg '56, '57, '58 G, LB
My favorite moment as a team was beating Hillsdale. I personally enjoyed the time during practice when I lined up where Russ wanted the halfbacks, but I would get thru the line on a direct dive before the quarterback could get the ball to me, so I was told I had to line up a half step further back to give the quarterback time to hand off to me. My worst time was getting tackled from the side at the knee while my right (punting) leg was planted on the ground. I was taped up and punted the rest of the game, but X-rays later showed a huge depression where the tendons where ripped out. I was out for the rest of the season.
Duane Voskuil '57, '58, '59 Punter
Small college football recruiting was much different in 1957 than it is today. At least it was for me. After being accepted at Hope, I received a letter from Coach Russ DeVette with a form enclosed to fill out and return if I was interested in playing football at Hope. I was interested so I returned the form. My next contact with Hope College football was a letter that informed me I was to report for practice at Carnegie gymnasium on a date late in August. On the appropriate date I drove myself from Caledonia to Holland. Never having been to Hope College, the first thing I had to do was find it. I stopped at a gas station and asked for directions. When I got to the campus, I had to find Carnegie Gymnasium so I asked a man who was working in a flower garden in what I later learned was the Pine Grove for directions. He pointed me to the door. When I entered the door, there was a stairway going up and a stairway going down. As I stood there trying to decide which stairway to take, Coach Al Vanderbush came up the stairs from the locker rooms and asked, "What do you want?" I replied, "I'm here to play football." He said, "You came to the right place." He was right.
Mike Blough '57, '58, '59, '60
I transferred to Hope the fall, 1957, after graduating from Grand Rapids Junior
College where we had played Coffeyville, Kansas, 12/56 for the National Junior
College Championship. Hope was a great school for academics and football. As
I recall we lost one or two games in the Fall of 1957, one of them being Hillsdale
College. It was either that year or the season of 1958 that Hope scored a touchdown
before the official clock had started at the beginning of the game. It occurred
when one of our players rushed down the field on the kickoff and pounced on
the ball in the end zone when our opponents failed to touch the ball as it
went into the end zone. But the most memorable game was when we played Hillsdale
in 1958. The score was tied 13-13 with only 20 seconds left to play. Bill Hubregs
was asked to kick a field goal which he did as the gun sounded and we won.
It was the last game that Hillsdale played in the MIAA. Unfortunately, the
following week, we played Albion and they beat us. Hillsdale beat them and
we had a three-way tie for the MIAA Championship. I had injured my leg playing
against Northern Michigan University and coach kept me out for two games before
the Hillsdale game. It was worth it as I got to play in that game where I had
been the regular starting left guard my senior year. I couldn't say enough
good things about the coaches and my teammates. Al Vanderbush encouraged me
to attend Hope. God rest his soul in Heaven. I taught and coached football
for six years after Hope, then had a career with the FBI for over 20 years,
then ran a state law enforcement training facility for ten years in Nebraska,
then returned to Michigan where I still do contract work for the federal government.
Tom Miller '57, '58
I would have to say the 1958 season. We were ranked in the top 10 in the nation
a couple of times and that was when we had only two divisions. Our defense was
so good we elected to kick off when we won the flip. Two times we scored on the
kickoff or first play after it. I remember scoring before the clock started against
Alma and getting the ball on the one yard line against Hillsdale. Several of
our players had scholarships to the Big Ten and came to Hope.Jim Mohr '57, '58, '59 HB, S
My football moment at Hope College is more like a life-changing experience rather
than a single event. I came to Hope College as a sophomore after experiencing
a disastrous two years at Northwestern University in Evanston Illinois. I received
a full football athletic scholarship to Northwestern in 1956 to play under
coaches Ara Parseghian and Bo Schembechler. My hope was to be a premed major.
To my surprise I was totally unprepared for the task and within a short period
of time I was on and off of probation with no one to help or to turn to for
guidance. It was a waste of two years. Growing up in South Holland, Illinois
I knew many students who went to Hope directly from high school and a number
of jocks, like me, who left bigger schools to attend Hope. I shared my disappointment,
frustration and experience at Northwestern with my friends and a Reformed Church
minister. They and my good friend from high school, Don Paarlberg, unanimously
recommended I give Hope a try. The minister called Dean Hinga with me present
to review my situation. Dean Hinga indicated he would give me a try but scholastics
would come first and football second. I transferred to Hope in the fall of
1958. Thanks to the examples of many students and fellow football players,
especially Jim Fox, I observed what was required to be a successful college
student. I learned how to study. There was plenty of assistance and guidance
from many including biology teacher Dr. Crook and coaches Russ DeVette and
Gordon Brewer. It was a family. I not only learned how to learn but I was able
to play football for three great years. I played offensive guard and defensive
linebacker learning a lot from fellow player, Gene Van Dongen. My senior year
I made the MIAA all-conference team while at the same time making the Dean's
List. Like I said earlier, it was a life changing experience. Thanks to the
experience at Hope, I went on to obtain a M.S. and Ph.D. in biochemistry and
microbiology.
Chuck Truby, '58, '59, 60 OG, DL
One of my favorite memories is of our championship game against Hillsdale in
1958. Bill Huibregtse kicked a field goal on the last play of the game -- it
hit the crossbar. Coach Al Vander Bush, whom we all loved as a person and coach,
was too excitable he said to be at the game, but he made Russ DeVette promise
to call him the results. Russ called him from the lockerroom with the astounding
news that we had won, and he had to hold the telephone away from his ear because
Coach Vanderushes' voice was so loud and using some very colorful language.
We all got a real hoot out of that, and it added to the luster of being one
of the very few teams in the MIAA to beat Hillsdale in those years.
Rowland Van Es '58, '59 DE, OE
In October, 1958 with both teams undefeated, Hope traveled to Hillsdale with
great anticipation. As memory serves me, on the opening kickoff, sprinter James
Mohr
raced down the sideline and recovered the loose ball before Hillsdale could
react. This led to an early and unexpected Hope lead. However, with time running
out and the score tied 13-13 (I missed a point-after) we had a chance for a
26-yard field goal. The kick sailed through the upright and avenged the earlier
missed extra point. I was greatly relieved. As I turned to the sideline I heard
Coach Brewer shout "Swede" and Swede Olsen responding "Gord" as they embraced
in a victory hug. Unfortunately, two weeks later on a rainy and muddy Albion
field, we lost our only game of the season and were obliged to share the championship
with both Hillsdale and Albion. A bittersweet outcome. P.S., A few weeks ago
(June, 2008) Judy and I were paired on a couples golf scramble in Mansfield,
Texas with Mike Stone and his wife, Ellen. Until then we had not been introduced
although our wives new each other. After a few holes it emerged that we had
been on opposite sides in that fateful Albion game. Mike Stone was a standout
running back for the victorious Britons. He did want to know the name of "that
speedy little running back". That, of course, would be Jimmie Mohr.
Bill Hubregs '60
