Bill Vohaska
refer to caption
Vohaska from 1950 Illio
Personal information
Born:May 17, 1929
Riverside, Illinois
Died:December 24, 2004(2004-12-24) (aged 75)
Venice, Florida
Weight:180 lb (82 kg)
Career information
High school:Cicero (IL) Morton
College:Illinois
Position:Center, linebacker
Career highlights and awards

William John Vohaska (May 17, 1929 – December 24, 2004) was an American football player.

Vohaska was born in 1929 in Riverside, Illinois. He attended Morton High School in Cicero.[1]

He played college football for the Illinois Fighting Illini football team at the center position from 1948 to 1950.[1] He was seleced as captain of the 1950 Illinois Fighting Illini football team that was ranked No. 11 in the final UPI poll.[2] He was selected by the Associated Press as the first-team center on its 1950 College Football All-America Team.[3][4] Illinois head coach Ray Eliot called Vohaska a "hustler and a perfectionist" and "the finest player I have ever worked with."[5] Vohaska also competed for the Illinois wrestling team, but he forfeited his senior year of wrestling eligibility to participate in an all-star bowl game in Hawaii.[6]

Vohaska later worked as a coach and teacher. He taught at Morton High School beginning in 1954 and later at Morton College.[7] He also founded and operated the Riverside Day Camp in Riverside, Illinois.[8]

Vohaska died in 2000 at a hospice home in Venice, Florida.[7]

References

  1. 1 2 "Vohaska Captained Gridders: AOY Candidate Named All-American Pivot". Daily Illini. May 16, 1951.
  2. ↑ "Vohaska Elected Captain Of Rose-Hued Illini Team". The Life. Berwyn, Illinois. November 25, 1949. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ ESPN College Football Encyclopedia. ESPN Books. 2005. p. 1220. ISBN 1401337031.
  4. ↑ "Two Platoons Selected for All-American Team". Janesville Daily Gazette. December 6, 1950.
  5. ↑ "Eliot Claims Vohaska As Perfectionist On Gridiron". The Life. Berwyn, Illionis. October 5, 1949. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ Ed Smason (December 13, 1950). "Vohaska Takes Hawaiian Bowl Bids". The Daily Illini. p. 5.
  7. 1 2 "William J. Vohaska". The Life. Berwyn, Illinois. December 31, 2004. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ Vikki Ortiz Healy (September 18, 2009). "Hazy, crazy camp days: For decades, Riverside Day Camp gave kids a place to romp all summer -- until insurance concerns rained on the parade". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on July 17, 2014.


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