Someone I know shared with me the following stuff posted by Mike Korcek on Facebook. He is the guru when it comes to NIU athletic history and connections.

You may have heard of his dad (NIU's Orlando Bowen) or his grandfather (Toledo QB Chuck Ealey)...

http://www.sharethesmile.ca/Stories/Athl...OchOm4JxnU


From John Radtke in the Daily Herald: Another Northern Illinois success story...

https://basketball.dailyherald.com/sport...KtM6pQaIow

Thanks to Paul Vigilante for posting this great news about Chandler Harnish.....

Ft. Wayne Journal-Gazette Sports announced the Initial Norwell High School Athletic Hall of Fame. Chandler Harnish will be inducted 2/12/2021.

(11-24-2020 03:39 PM)uiniu57 Wrote:  [b]
You may have heard of his dad (NIU's Orlando Bowen) or his grandfather (Toledo QB Chuck Ealey)...

Chuck Ealey was an amazing QB, I saw him play at Huskie stadium in 1971 during my freshman year at NIU towards the end of his college career when he went 35 and 0 as a starter. We led the whole game until he just took over and willed his team to victory.

At that time African Americans were not given much of a chance to play QB at the college or NFL level. The guy won 3 Bowl games and never lost a college game that he started but because he did not play for a bigger school in bigger bowl games and was not recognized as an All American by the more prestigious organizations he was denied entry into the College Football Hall of Fame.

He went on to play in Canada where he won the Gray cup. It is outrageous that he is not in the College Football Hall of Fame and I hope that some day they adjust the rules to let him in where he most certainly belongs.

Wikipedia has a pretty good article about him if you want to read it.

(11-24-2020 06:46 PM)bikechuck Wrote:  

(11-24-2020 03:39 PM)uiniu57 Wrote:  [b]
You may have heard of his dad (NIU's Orlando Bowen) or his grandfather (Toledo QB Chuck Ealey)...

Chuck Ealey was an amazing QB, I saw him play at Huskie stadium in 1971 during my freshman year at NIU towards the end of his college career when he went 35 and 0 as a starter. We led the whole game until he just took over and willed his team to victory.

At that time African Americans were not given much of a chance to play QB at the college or NFL level. The guy won 3 Bowl games and never lost a college game that he started but because he did not play for a bigger school in bigger bowl games and was not recognized as an All American by the more prestigious organizations he was denied entry into the College Football Hall of Fame.

He went on to play in Canada where he won the Gray cup. It is outrageous that he is not in the College Football Hall of Fame and I hope that some day they adjust the rules to let him in where he most certainly belongs.

Wikipedia has a pretty good article about him if you want to read it.

If you want to dig deeper — and have a little time (45 minutes) — watch the following. And Chuck Ealey never lost a HS game, either:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmL1EvtQy3E

For those who don't know, Mike Korcek is a huge Superman fan, comic book collector, fanatic when it comes to music by the Doors and the Seeds. But if you can ignore those penchants, it's worth getting him to "friend" you on Facebook. While I still haven't been able to do that, a buddy forwarded to me another of Mike's recent posts / finds. This is a good read for Thanksgiving.

Column: Devonte O'Malley made a promise to his mom. The Bremen graduate lived up to his word, earning a football scholarship at NIU.

By Pat Disabato
Daily Southtown |

Devonte O’Malley was having trouble expressing the words of gratitude.
His emotions were running high during our phone conversation, forcing him to pause on multiple occasions.
“I’m sorry,” O’Malley said. “I’ve worked hard for this and I’m so grateful. I made a promise to my mom that I would do this.”
What O’Malley, a 2020 Bremen graduate, did was earn a college scholarship to play football at Northern Illinois — just like he said he would.
It didn’t come easy.
It required hard work and commitment. Trust and self-belief.
It could have easily gone a different way if O’Malley would have allowed a life-altering tragedy to become an obstacle to opportunity.
Bridget O’Malley would be immensely proud of her oldest son Devonte, a freshman defensive lineman at NIU.
Not only for staying true to his word but for being a person to look up to for his younger siblings.
“I know she’s looking down at me and watching my every move,” he said. “I’m trying to do things that would make her happy.”
His mother died when Devonte was 7. She was driving one of the family’s all-terrain vehicles when she lost her life.
“My mom drove off, and a few seconds had gone by when we heard a big boom,” he said. “She hit a tree and died.
“I remember looking out my window later at night and seeing my dad in his car crying. My mom was such a nice, creative person. Very affectionate. Not a day goes by where I don’t think of her.”
Bridget O’Malley would have undoubtedly given Devonte, the oldest of her three children, a big hug Sunday after he was told he had been awarded a scholarship.
A 6-foot-3, 260-pound defensive end, O’Malley had agreed to attend Northern Illinois as a preferred walk-on. He would have to earn that chance at a scholarship.
It took O’Malley only three games to prove he was deserving. He offered validation on Nov. 18 with two tackles and a sack against Ball State.
NIU defensive ends coach Travis Moore believes O’Malley is just starting to tap into his vast potential.
“Devonte is one of the best kids I’ve ever coached,” Moore said. “He’s a hard worker. He has great size and technique. He’s an unbelievable kid.”
At the start of Sunday’s practice, the Huskies were having some fun performing tipped ball drills between position coaches and players.
O’Malley was called out by Moore, the former Eisenhower head coach. O’Malley won the drill, although Moore, a 2000 Eisenhower graduate, showed some hops.
Moments after the competition, NIU head coach Thomas Hammock tossed a ball to O’Malley.
In big gray letters it read, “You’re on scholarship.”
Crete-Monee product Trayvon Rudolph, also a freshman, earned a scholarship a few weeks ago in similar fashion during an NIU practice.
Like Rudolph, O’Malley was surprised.
“The first thing I thought of was my mom,” O’Malley said. “I had some tears, but we still had to practice. As soon as I got back to my dorm, I called my grandfather. All my emotions poured out of me. My grandfather couldn’t stop crying. Then I called my dad.”
More tears.
O’Malley thanked coaches Hammock and Moore for taking a chance on him and living up to their word as well.
“They kept their promise,” O’Malley said. “Coach Moore had faith in me. He has kept encouraging me and told me to keep working hard and to be patient. This is a great place. They stress relationships and they mean it.”
Bremen coach Dan Stell gives O’Malley a ton of credit.
“He’s a kid who grew so much not just physically but emotionally and socially while he was here,” Stell said. “A lot of kids go down the wrong path. Devonte chose the right path. I’m so happy for him.”
When O’Malley sits down with his family for Thanksgiving dinner, he will have even more reasons to be grateful this year.
“I’d typically say for my family and for having a roof over my head,” O’Malley said. “Now, I’m also thankful for my college coaches giving me a full ride.
“They had faith in me and helped me fulfill a promise I made to my mom. That’s a huge blessing.”

(11-25-2020 04:24 PM)uiniu57 Wrote:  For those who don't know, Mike Korcek is a huge Superman fan, comic book collector, fanatic when it comes to music by the Doors and the Seeds. But if you can ignore those penchants, it's worth getting him to "friend" you on Facebook. While I still haven't been able to do that, a buddy forwarded to me another of Mike's recent posts / finds. This is a good read for Thanksgiving.

Column: Devonte O'Malley made a promise to his mom. The Bremen graduate lived up to his word, earning a football scholarship at NIU.

By Pat Disabato
Daily Southtown |

Devonte O’Malley was having trouble expressing the words of gratitude.
His emotions were running high during our phone conversation, forcing him to pause on multiple occasions.
“I’m sorry,” O’Malley said. “I’ve worked hard for this and I’m so grateful. I made a promise to my mom that I would do this.”
What O’Malley, a 2020 Bremen graduate, did was earn a college scholarship to play football at Northern Illinois — just like he said he would.
It didn’t come easy.
It required hard work and commitment. Trust and self-belief.
It could have easily gone a different way if O’Malley would have allowed a life-altering tragedy to become an obstacle to opportunity.
Bridget O’Malley would be immensely proud of her oldest son Devonte, a freshman defensive lineman at NIU.
Not only for staying true to his word but for being a person to look up to for his younger siblings.
“I know she’s looking down at me and watching my every move,” he said. “I’m trying to do things that would make her happy.”
His mother died when Devonte was 7. She was driving one of the family’s all-terrain vehicles when she lost her life.
“My mom drove off, and a few seconds had gone by when we heard a big boom,” he said. “She hit a tree and died.
“I remember looking out my window later at night and seeing my dad in his car crying. My mom was such a nice, creative person. Very affectionate. Not a day goes by where I don’t think of her.”
Bridget O’Malley would have undoubtedly given Devonte, the oldest of her three children, a big hug Sunday after he was told he had been awarded a scholarship.
A 6-foot-3, 260-pound defensive end, O’Malley had agreed to attend Northern Illinois as a preferred walk-on. He would have to earn that chance at a scholarship.
It took O’Malley only three games to prove he was deserving. He offered validation on Nov. 18 with two tackles and a sack against Ball State.
NIU defensive ends coach Travis Moore believes O’Malley is just starting to tap into his vast potential.
“Devonte is one of the best kids I’ve ever coached,” Moore said. “He’s a hard worker. He has great size and technique. He’s an unbelievable kid.”
At the start of Sunday’s practice, the Huskies were having some fun performing tipped ball drills between position coaches and players.
O’Malley was called out by Moore, the former Eisenhower head coach. O’Malley won the drill, although Moore, a 2000 Eisenhower graduate, showed some hops.
Moments after the competition, NIU head coach Thomas Hammock tossed a ball to O’Malley.
In big gray letters it read, “You’re on scholarship.”
Crete-Monee product Trayvon Rudolph, also a freshman, earned a scholarship a few weeks ago in similar fashion during an NIU practice.
Like Rudolph, O’Malley was surprised.
“The first thing I thought of was my mom,” O’Malley said. “I had some tears, but we still had to practice. As soon as I got back to my dorm, I called my grandfather. All my emotions poured out of me. My grandfather couldn’t stop crying. Then I called my dad.”
More tears.
O’Malley thanked coaches Hammock and Moore for taking a chance on him and living up to their word as well.
“They kept their promise,” O’Malley said. “Coach Moore had faith in me. He has kept encouraging me and told me to keep working hard and to be patient. This is a great place. They stress relationships and they mean it.”
Bremen coach Dan Stell gives O’Malley a ton of credit.
“He’s a kid who grew so much not just physically but emotionally and socially while he was here,” Stell said. “A lot of kids go down the wrong path. Devonte chose the right path. I’m so happy for him.”
When O’Malley sits down with his family for Thanksgiving dinner, he will have even more reasons to be grateful this year.
“I’d typically say for my family and for having a roof over my head,” O’Malley said. “Now, I’m also thankful for my college coaches giving me a full ride.
“They had faith in me and helped me fulfill a promise I made to my mom. That’s a huge blessing.”

Excellent article and a heart-warming story. I shed some tears, too.

Oh, and as for Mike Korcek…….I like the Doors and Seeds, too. ("Pushin' too hard on me!"). Superman was a favorite of mine growing up, and I like to escape in comic books, too.