Oldest Illini Letterwinner John Wrenn Passes Away
October 5, 2021 | Football, Varsity I
NEWS
John "Jocko" Wrenn, who was the University of Illinois's oldest living letterwinner, passed away this week at the age of 99. Wrenn lettered twice as a guard for Coach Ray Eliot in 1946 and 1947, helping the '46 squad to a Big Nine Conference title and the school's first Rose Bowl appearance and victory over UCLA.
After graduating from Illinois, he began his football coaching career as an assistant at East Moline High School in 1948. His teams never posted a losing season in 12 years as East Moline's head coach. A World War II U.S. Army veteran, Wrenn went on to a Hall of Fame coaching career at Northern Illinois University, where he coached football, wrestling and men's tennis. He was enshrined into the NIU Hall of Fame as an assistant coach on the unbeaten 1963 NIU College Division National Championship football team in 1995 and as an individual in 2004.
A memorial service celebrating his life will be held in January, 2022, on or around the date of what would have been his 100th birthday. Sympathy cards can be directed to Bette Wrenn, 7722 Fairway Woods Drive, Sarasota, Florida, 34238-2864.
The following story from ILLINI LEGENDS, LISTS & LORE: 1947 Illinois-Army Game, was written by former Illinois Sports Information Director Mike Pearson and published in October, 2020, following an interview with Mr. Wrenn.
ILLINI LEGENDS, LISTS & LORE: 1947 Illinois-Army Game
Playing on a Yankee Stadium field that just five days before had hosted Game 7 of the World Series and facing a team that hadn't lost a game in nearly four years, Coach Ray Eliot's sixth-ranked Fighting Illini football team were in in New York City 73 years ago today—Oct. 11, 1947—battling No. 5 Army.
Coach Red Blaik's Cadets, the reigning three-time national champs, were in the midst of an unbeaten streak that dated all the way back to their 1943 season finale when they lost to Navy. During that span of 1,413 days, Army had amassed a nearly perfect record of 29-0-1. The tie had also been at Yankee Stadium, a 0-0 draw against Notre Dame.
The Illini were a formidable team at that time, riding an eight-game winning streak that had included a 45-14 victory over UCLA in the 1946 Rose Bowl.
John "Jocko" Wrenn, now 98 years old and residing in Sarasota, Fla., was Illinois's 25-year-old starting left guard that day. After beginning his collegiate career at Shurtleff College, then serving for three years during World War II with the 80th Infantry Division as an Army medic, he ultimately transferred to Illinois. Wrenn said the veteran-laded Illini weren't at all star-struck by the legendary stadium, the massive crowd of 65,000 fans that was in attendance, or their illustrious opponent.
"We were just concentrating on winning the game," Wrenn said. "Army had a really good team in those days. They had all of those great recruits who, instead of going into service, went to the military academy."
On this crisp October afternoon, Wrenn lined up across from Army All-American and future College Football Hall of Famer Joe Steffy.
"He was a tough opponent," Wrenn remembered. "Neither one of us ever came out of the game that day. I recall being totally whipped when it was over."
Illinois had a chance to break the defensive struggle with just 10 seconds left in the first half, having driven 51 yards from its own 27 to the Army 22 in 14 plays. The key efforts during the advance were a nine-yard run by Dike Eddleman and an 18-yard scramble by Ruck Steger that took the ball from the Army 24 to the six-yard line. However, the Cadet defense stiffened, forcing Eliot to send in Don Maechtle to try a field goal. Unfortunately, Lou Levanti's pass from center to holder Tommy Gallagher wasn't on target. Maechtle was able to get the kick in the air, but it was low and to the left of the uprights. It would turn out to be the Illini's best chance to score all day.
Army's foremost opportunity to score came when it returned an Eddleman punt 18 yards to the Illinois 24-yard line. However, UI's defensive line of Wrenn, Al Mastrangeli and Levanti stiffened and the Illini were able to recapture the ball on downs.
A bad break nullified one final Illini attempt to score late in the game when Eddleman evaded four tacklers to return a punt 39 yards to the Army 16. But officials called clipping on the play and the ball was brought back to mid field.
When the final gun sounded, the scoreboard showed a 0-0 draw. It extended Army's unbeaten streak to 31 games, though the Cadets would finally lose two weeks later at Columbia, 21-20. The Illini split their last six games of 1947 and ended with a 5-3-1 record.
Wrenn went on to a 12-year high school coaching career at East Moline and then a college stint as an assistant under Howard Fletcher at Northern Illinois. He also coached the Huskies wrestling and tennis teams and was inducted into the NIU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2004. Wrenn lives with his wife of 46 years, Betty. His son, John Wrenn Jr., served as Mike White's wide receivers coach at Illinois from 1985-86.
