Mac Paul Wenskunas (June 8, 1922 – August 3, 1957) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Quincy College from 1947 to 1949 and at North Dakota Agricultural College—now known as North Dakota State University—from 1950 to 1953, compiling a career head coaching record of 30–27–1.
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 8, 1922 |
| Died | August 3, 1957 (aged 35) near Boody, Illinois, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1942 | Illinois |
| 1945–1946 | Illinois |
| Position(s) | Center |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1947–1949 | Quincy (IL) |
| 1950–1953 | North Dakota State |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 30–27–1 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 2 Pioneer Conference (1947–1949) | |
A native of Georgetown, Illinois, Wenskunas played college football as a center at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. He lettered for the Illinois Fighting Illini in 1942, 1945, and 1946. He was captain of the 1946 Illinois Fighting Illini football team, which won the Big Ten Conference and the 1947 Rose Bowl. He was a member of the 1947 All-Star team. His college playing years were interrupted by his service in the Marines during World War II.[1]
He was drafted by the Chicago Cardinals in the second round of the 1946 NFL draft with the 11th overall pick, but he was just a junior at the time and did not go to the NFL that year. The following year, he was drafted by the Chicago Rockets with the 136th pick in the 18th round of the 1947 AAFC Draft. Instead of playing football, he went into coaching. He spent three years as the head football coach at Quincy College, where his teams went 19–6 over three seasons and won the Pioneer Conference every year.[2] He then became head coach of North Dakota Agricultural College.[3]
After leaving coaching he moved to Athens, Ohio and then Decatur, Illinois working as a salesman for the Jostin Classroom Jewelry Company.[1]
Wenskunas died with his wife in a two-car crash on August 3, 1957, near Boody, Illinois that also killed three other people.[1][4]
Head coaching record
edit| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quincy Hawks (Pioneer Conference) (1947–1949) | |||||||||
| 1947 | Quincy | 4–3 | 3–0 | 1st | |||||
| 1948 | Quincy | 7–2 | 3–0 | 1st | |||||
| 1949 | Quincy | 8–1 | 3–0 | 1st | |||||
| Quincy: | 19–21–6 | 9–0 | |||||||
| North Dakota State Bison (North Central Conference) (1950–1953) | |||||||||
| 1950 | North Dakota State | 2–7 | 0–6 | 7th | |||||
| 1951 | North Dakota State | 1–5–1 | 1–4–1 | 6th | |||||
| 1952 | North Dakota State | 5–4 | 4–2 | 2nd | |||||
| 1953 | North Dakota State | 3–5 | 2–4 | T–4th | |||||
| North Dakota State: | 11–21–1 | 7–16–1 | |||||||
| Total: | 11–21–1 | ||||||||
References
edit- ^ a b c "Three Still Critical After Fatal Crash". August 5, 1957. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
- ^ "Wenskunas Signs Contract" (PDF). Retrieved March 1, 2024.
- ^ "Football History". Retrieved March 1, 2024.
- ^ "Mac Wenskunas, Ex-Grid Star, Is Victim of Crash". Mt. Vernon Register-News. Mount Vernon, Illinois. Associated Press. August 5, 1957. p. 8. Retrieved June 19, 2017 – via Newspapers.com
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