MADISON, Wis. — John Jagger was a gifted introvert whose generous life and tragic death revolved around the sport he loved.

Jagger was the first All-American in Wisconsin men's hockey history, an honor he received in 1970, coinciding with the Badgers taking part in their first of 11 NCAA Frozen Fours.

It also marked the first season that UW was a member of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.

Jagger, from Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., played three years at Wisconsin – from 1968 to '71 – where he amassed 22 goals and 68 assists for 90 points.

He appeared in 104 games due mainly to the fact that freshmen were ineligible to play. That he was named most valuable player for the UW freshmen squad should give up an idea of his overall talent. He also was named MVP for the Big Ten tournament in 1970.

Jagger, listed at 6-foot-2, 200 pounds, was a left-handed shot who didn't wow anyone with his speed or his quickness. But what he lacked in those areas he made up for with other vital skills.

"If you looked at him and watched him in practice you'd say, "Umm, kind of unspectacular,''' said Jeff Rotsch, who also played defense for the Badgers and wound up being the first UW player to be drafted by an NHL club in 1970. "But he had incredible stick skills, very smart with angling and using his body appropriately. He was really good. Very cool and calm. He never got riled up.''

Jagger was an offensive force at a time when many defensemen served as mainly stay-at-home models. He had two seasons of 35-plus points for the Badgers – 11-28-39 as a sophomore, 6-29-35 as a senior – but perhaps his biggest asset was his consistency.
 

"They don't have a word for him that's better than steady,'' Rotsch said. "He was incredible.''

According to his only child Mark, John Jagger had a brief career in the minor leagues before returning to Sault Ste. Marie, finishing school and landing a job teaching kids with special needs. He did that until the day he died.

"He integrated sports into their lives,'' Mark said of his father. "It gave those kids such a sense of accomplishment. In his spare time, he'd bring these kids into the gym and play floor hockey or basketball and whatever.

"Some of my best memories are picking these kids up at their houses and they were excited as heck to get out and do something. A lot of them were from homes that weren't the best of homes. He would use his spare time to get these kids out doing stuff when their home situations weren't always the best.''

Mark said his father was 40 when he died while doing, of all things, coaching hockey.

"He hit his head on the ice at my hockey practice,'' Mark said. "He passed away doing what he loved. That's the only comfort in there.

"He wasn't feeling well. He was coming off the flu, he got dizzy or hit a rut in the ice. He wound up with a basal skull fracture.''

There were no air ambulances available on that particular day, so by the time John Jagger was hospitalized, it was too late to save him.

"Going out doing what you love most on the planet, there's a bit a justice in that,'' Mark said.

The celebratory notion that John Jagger is being inducted into the UW Athletic Hall of Fame is not lost on his only child.

"When I first got the call, it was cool,'' Mark said. "It's gotten so much more deeply for me. It's kind of like bringing a little bit of him back after these last 35 years."

BEST OF THREE

One: What's in a name
Upon getting the news of his father's hall of fame assignment, Mark Jagger said his 13-year-old daughter wrote a booklet about her grandfather as a way to honor him.

Her name?

Madison.

"We thought it was a boy all the way through, but we couldn't agree on a boys' name,'' Mark said.

His wife, Ardis, picked Madison.

"I told her, 'Somebody probably whispered that in your ear,''' Mark said knowingly.
 
Two: So much talent
Jagger is the first of 14 UW defensemen to be named a first-team All-American. The others are Rotsch, Brian Engblom, Craig Norwich, Theran Welsh, Bruce Driver, Paul Stanton, Barry Richter, Brian Rafalski, Jeff Dessner, Jamie McBain, Brendan Smith, Justin Schultz and Jake McCabe.
 
Three: Playing keepaway
Mark Jagger said his father enjoyed coaching him and his friends, but there was always one catch.

"All my friends used to get pissed off because he would stickhandle around us and no one could get the puck from him,'' Mark said.