Schreiner's No. 80 Unveiled Saturday
October 05, 2006 | Football
Dave Schreiner, an All-Big Ten and All-American selection in both 1941 and 1942, was a three-time letterwinner for the Badgers. Saturday, he will accompany the greatest Wisconsin football legends as his retired number 80 will be unveiled on the north end of the stadium facade.
In the fall of 1939, Schreiner, the Lancaster, Wis. native, came to Madison to play football for the Badgers. Initially unsure he wanted to be on the team, he stuck with the program. Badger fans are grateful he did as Schreiner is considered one of the finest ends in Badger football history.
By the 1941 season, Schreiner already was regarded as the team's leader. A talented two-way player, his prowess as a defensive end made attacking his side of the field a futile exercise for opponents. As an offensive end, his talents gave the Badgers a receiving weapon few teams in college football could match. Following the 1941 season, he earned his first All-American honor.
With World War II capturing the attention of the nation and the campus in 1942, Schreiner began his senior year. It was his finest season as a Badger. In the opening game Schreiner was the greatest single defensive factor in holding Notre Dame to a 7-7 tie. Late in the first quarter, after the Irish had driven 40 yards to cross the Badger 20-yard line, Notre Dame quarterback Angelo Bertelli dropped back to pass and had a receiver wide open at the goal line. The unrelenting Schreiner, however, came crashing in from the right side, storming past a blocker and saved the Badgers by sacking Bertelli.
In the home opener against Marquette he caught three touchdown passes in the second quarter, a school record that still stands. That season he had 18 receptions for 386 yards and five touchdowns as the nation's third leading receiver. He earned the conference MVP award and All-American honors, making Schreiner Wisconsin's first two-time All-American.
As the season progressed, Schreiner's legend continued to grow. When undefeated Ohio State, the eventual Big Ten and National Champion, came to Camp Randall Stadium on the last day of October that year it was Schreiner who helped quell Ohio State's potent running attack. The first time the Buckeyes attempted to run a sweep out wide, Schreiner stopped them at the line of scrimmage. Later in the game, future Heisman Trophy winner Les Horvath attempted the exact play, but the result was the same as he failed to get past the scrimmage. Looking back to the play-by-play record of that fine battle which the Badgers won 17-7, it is still notable that not another play was thrown toward the Wisconsin right flank.
Following the 1942 season, he was selected in the NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions. However, like many others of his generation, Schreiner enlisted in the Marine Corps to fight for his country in World War II. As a marine lieutenant he commanded a company of the Sixth Marine Division and earned a Purple Heart. Tragically though, made the ultimate sacrifice for his country. Serving in Okinawa on June 21, 1945, Dave Schreiner was killed in action at the age of 24. Posthumously, Schreiner became the first Badger enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame. A charter member of the UW Athletic Hall of Fame, Schreiner earned the highest honor UW can bestow upon one of its athletes as his number 80 was retired in 1945.
