The 2019 class of the UW Athletic Hall of Fame has been selected and one new member will be announced each day from June 25 - July 6.
Visit UWBadgers.com each day to celebrate each new member of this distinguished and historic class of Badgers!
BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — Jim Kalscheur has always been comfortable in the shadows.
"It's a lot easier that way," he said. "I don't like the limelight or whatever you want to call it."
Toiling selflessly in the background has been a way of life for the 90-year-old Kalscheur who founded UW Provision, one of the largest meat distributors in the Midwest.
"But," Barry Alvarez stressed, "he has always been there when anyone needed something."
Kalscheur's commitment has meant a lot to Alvarez, the Wisconsin director of athletics.
"You certainly appreciate people like Jimmy," Alvarez said. "A lot of us have relied on him."
As a trustworthy Badgers fundraiser, Kalscheur's generosity has spanned generations.
"He appreciated doing it," said Pat Richter, the former AD. "More so, we appreciated him."
To this end, in appreciation of his special service, Kalscheur is going into the UW Athletic Hall of Fame.
"Barry told me and I was really surprised," Kalscheur said. "It'll be the thing I'm most proud of."
Gallery: (7/4/2019) Hall of Fame 2019: Jim Kalscheur
Upon hearing the good news of his induction, who did he tell?
"I didn't tell anybody," he said before conceding, "Maybe a few people, a couple of friends."
"I found out from everyone else," admitted his son Steve Kalscheur. "He didn't tell me."
Staying in character, he has always avoided making it about him.
Confirmed Steve, "He's pretty humble. He doesn't want to be in the spotlight."
Added Richter, "It would be perfect for Jimmy to accept the award and not have to say a word."
Reaffirmed Alvarez, "He's very low key. He doesn't want any attention.
Others didn't hesitate to speak up on Kalscheur's behalf — volunteering testimonials.
"Jimmy has got a backbone of kindness," said Keith May, a UW director of development. "He has done things that go under the radar and he has done it his whole life.
"He's a big giver and he has meant so much to so many people. There are so many stories that I know about Jimmy that brings tears to your eyes. But he doesn't want any recognition."
Father Michael Burke first met Kalscheur in 1977.
"When I came here to Holy Name Seminary, he tracked me down and took me out to dinner," Burke said. "He's just so generous. I've never met anybody like this in my whole life.
"Family and friends are sacred to him. He just takes care of people. He loves doing things out there for others. And he doesn't want credit at all. He doesn't want any of that."
Shortly after Alvarez was hired to resuscitate football, he was introduced to Kalscheur.
"From the very first week I was here, Jimmy has been one of the guys who has hosted functions for the athletic department and for individual teams," Alvarez said. "For the longest time, he had the big fundraiser at his barn raising six figures for varsity sports."
Kalscheur's steak fry on his Pine Bluff farm was a special fundraising event for decades. From a modest beginning (the first one raised $20,000), it grew bigger and bigger and more profitable.
"When we started out that was one of the staples — just like the Fifth Quarter — Kalscheur's party was one of the highlights," Richter said. "During my time at the athletic department, they'd present the check and it was a big deal; it was in the hundreds of thousands of dollars."
Whatever the proceeds, he noted, it was relevant to the early '90s.
"With Title IX and cutting sports, we had to find an additional source of revenue," Richter said. "Television is obviously huge now. But, back then, it was pretty much static; not big numbers. Jimmy wasn't a new source of revenue. But he was always willing … he was always there for us."
Over time, the fundraisers eventually transitioned into friendraisers.
"But you can't take it for granted," Richter said. "We appreciated what he did for us."
Alvarez harkened back to Kalscheur's loyalty and reliability.
"There's never been anything that anyone has ever asked of Jimmy, where he hasn't stepped up and been supportive," Alvarez said "Anytime there's an ask, he's there. He has enjoyed hosting the players, coaches and teams. He has gotten a lot of pleasure out of it and it's very meaningful for us."
• • • •
Kalscheur was raised in the small farming community of Pine Bluff, Wisconsin, 14 miles west of Madison.
"I grew up," he said, "right across from the church."
(Years later, he would build an addition onto the church.)
Because his dad enjoyed baseball, he gravitated to the sport at a young age. Kalscheur later played shortstop and third base for his high school and Home Talent League teams.
When the family moved off their farm in his early teens, he found work at a local grocery store in Pine Bluff. After graduation, he worked for a wholesale market in Madison.
Starting as a delivery boy and climbing each rung of the ladder in the food industry, he put himself in position to purchase the UW Meat Market; a six-person operation in 1958.
Four years later, it was renamed the UW Provision Company and Kalscheur was on the path to the Hall of Fame, the Wisconsin Meat Industry Hall of Fame. He was inducted in 2005.
In 1972, he relocated the operation to Middleton (2315 Pleasant View Road).
Ten years ago, Steve Kalscheur took over as president and began running the business.
The core values, from father to son, have not changed in six decades.
"If you work hard and show up every day," said Steve, citing the formula "you'll be successful."
After all these years, his dad keeps showing up every day, too, despite some health challenges.
"Normally, he's here Monday, Wednesday and Friday after dialysis; he comes in for a half-hour or hour," Steve said. "On Tuesdays and Thursdays, he's here 6 a.m. to noon."
To his father's thinking, why wouldn't someone keep working?
"It just keeps me in the swing of things," Jim explained. "I still have a few of my pet customers that I like to call. You've got to have something to do."
Plus, as Steve pointed out, he's doing something that "makes him feel good."
It's just his nature. And, in turn, he makes people feel good with the things that he does.
"Things that go unnoticed," May said. "He's quite the guy."
Kalscheur's motivation to help others is not complicated.
"That's just what you should do," he said before slipping back into the shadows.
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UW Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2019
- Joe Thomas, Football
- Kelly (Kennedy) Saurer, Volleyball
- Otto Puls, Special Service
- Elzie Higginbottom, Track & Field
- Donovan Bergstrom, Cross Country and Track & Field
- Pat Christenson, Wrestling
- Gwen Jorgensen, Cross Country, Track & Field, Swimming
- Trent Jackson, Men's Basketball
- Jessie (Vetter) McConnell, Women's Hockey
- Jim Kalscheur, Special Service
- Next member announced July 5
