Feb. 5, 2010

Former Illinois running back Art Dufelmeier passed away in his hometown of Havana, Ill., on Thurs., Feb. 4 at the age of 86.

The team captain for the 1947 squad and a letterwinner in 1942 and '46, Dufelmeier graduated from Beardstown High School and originally attended Illinois on a basketball scholarship. He left school in 1943 to serve in WWII where he was a POW for 11 months. After being liberated in 1945, Dufelmeier returned to the U of I to play football and help take the Illini to the 1947 Rose Bowl.

After graduating from Illinois, Dufelmeier went on to be the head football coach at Western Illinois University for nine years and then 17 years as coach and teacher at Havana High School.

Dufelmeier in State Journal Register
Dufelmeier Obituary