 Vohaska from 1950 Illio | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born: | May 17, 1929 Riverside, Illinois |
| Died: | December 24, 2004 (aged 75) Venice, Florida |
| Weight: | 180 lb (82 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Cicero (IL) Morton |
| College: | Illinois |
| Position: | Center, linebacker |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
William John Vohaska (May 17, 1929 – December 24, 2004) was an American football player.
Vohaska was born in 1929 in Riverside, Illinois. He attended Morton High School in Cicero.[1]
He played college football for the Illinois Fighting Illini football team at the center position from 1948 to 1950.[1] He was selected as captain of the 1950 Illinois Fighting Illini football team that was ranked No. 11 in the final UPI poll.[2] He was selected by the Associated Press as the first-team center on its 1950 College Football All-America Team.[3][4] Illinois head coach Ray Eliot called Vohaska a "hustler and a perfectionist" and "the finest player I have ever worked with".[5] Vohaska also competed for the Illinois wrestling team, but he forfeited his senior year of wrestling eligibility to participate in an all-star bowl game in Hawaii.[6]
Vohaska later worked as a coach and teacher. He taught at Morton High School beginning in 1954 and later at Morton College.[7] He also founded and operated the Riverside Day Camp in Riverside, Illinois.[8]
Vohaska died in 2000 at a hospice home in Venice, Florida.[7]
- ^ a b "Vohaska Captained Gridders: AOY Candidate Named All-American Pivot". Daily Illini. May 16, 1951.
- ^ "Vohaska Elected Captain Of Rose-Hued Illini Team". The Life. Berwyn, Illinois. November 25, 1949. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ ESPN College Football Encyclopedia. ESPN Books. 2005. p. 1220. ISBN 1401337031.
- ^ "Two Platoons Selected for All-American Team". Janesville Daily Gazette. December 6, 1950.
- ^ "Eliot Claims Vohaska As Perfectionist On Gridiron". The Life. Berwyn, Illinois. October 5, 1949. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Ed Smason (December 13, 1950). "Vohaska Takes Hawaiian Bowl Bids". The Daily Illini. p. 5.
- ^ a b "William J. Vohaska". The Life. Berwyn, Illinois. December 31, 2004. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Vikki Ortiz Healy (September 18, 2009). "Hazy, crazy camp days: For decades, Riverside Day Camp gave kids a place to romp all summer -- until insurance concerns rained on the parade". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on July 17, 2014.