Will it ever happen again? Will a Toreador football team ever, again, reign as the state's very best......regardless of school size, classification etc.....
Highly unlikely.
In Boone High School athletic history, now, well over 100 years old, there have been many memorable moments and achievements BUT the 1964 Boone High football team has, through the years, gained not just significant historical recognition, but LEGENDARY status.
With an 8-0 record and a final statewide ranking of number one or three, this squad was recognized as the best in Iowa, in that particular year, and solidified its standing as the very best in BHS football history.
This was eight years before the Iowa High School Athletic Association began its playoff program. That's the only downside to this story. This team had no opportunity to show, without doubt, on the field, against any opponent, that it was the state's very best.
Instead, to add to speculation, there were two statewide rankings at the time with news media given the task of making comparisons and declaring the top teams of that fall. United Press International gave the Toreador squad a first place nod while the Associated Press placed them third best.
The UPI had Sioux City Central, Mount Pleasant and Cedar Rapids Jefferson two, three and four. The AP poll, showed the Cedar Rapids team first, the Sioux City team second and Boone third. In the AP poll, Boone actually had more first place votes than Sioux City Central. Jefferson had 13, Boone six and Central four.
You know, that even today, those '64 squad members ache because they had no opportunity to show, on the field, in playoff competition, that they were, absolutely, the best.
The 1963 team, paced by a pair of all-state linemen, John Hendricks and Toby Anderson, had an outstanding 6-1 record but those two and a total of 17 letter winners had graduated. It was hard to imagine the '64 team could come up with the standard achieved by that '63 squad.
Anyone who remembers Coach Merle Harris is not amazed that he showed some uneasiness coming into the 1964 season. Always a bit pessimistic, he told me, Sports Editor of the Boone News Republican, at the time, "my best two teams here had some depth. By that, I mean 18 or 20 players capable of competing on an equal basis with our opponents. So far this season, we've only been able to uncover 13 or 14 in that category."
Small numbers, however, were not unusual for a Harris coached team. He was long on discipline and wanted nothing to do with anyone willing to give less than what he thought they were capable of. This 1964 squad was only 33-strong and, perhaps, just half of those would see much playing time.
In the opening game at Fort Dodge, the Toreadors trailed, 12-7, at halftime but great running by Marty Rinehart, the most gifted BHS back I've seen, and good defensive play by Don Riker and Sid Erickson sparked the Boone team to victory, 14-12.
Central Iowa Conference play began with a rousing 27-0 romp past Marshalltown as Rinehart scored three times. Oskaloosa fell, 33-7, in the homecoming contest.......buried by Boone's 352 yards of offense. However, there were concerns. Three Toreadors suffered rather serious injuries, Jim Ferry had a broken hand, Steve Kruck a knee injury and Rick Davis a cracked wrist.
Remember when Ames was a regular Toreador opponent? In his first year as BHS coach, the Harris squad was thumped 63-12. Ames continued what became a 29 year win streak against Boone until 1962 when the Toreadors posted a 28-12 victory.
In '64, the Harrismen absolutely demolished the Little Cyclones, 40-7, behind 503 yards of total offense while the Ames team was limited to just 27 rushing yards, just nine of them after halftime. It was the third straight Boone win over Ames after that long losing streak.
Minus the all-state Rinehart, out with an ankle injury, the Boone team nailed Tama-Toledo, 28-0, as Ted Hora and Riker combined to replace Rinehart's offensive punch. Hora gained 151 yards rushing and Riker added 103 yards.
Rinehart returned for a Nevada game but only ran the ball four times in a 54-0 rout. Ten different ballcarriers saw action in the Boone backfield. Hora gained 179 yards and Steve Godfrey added 100.
Always tough Newton loomed ahead but the Boone squad took a 14-0 halftime lead and won 21-14. Cardinal coach Paul Turner felt compelled to visit the BHS locker room after the game and commented, "you're a mighty fine football team.....state champs." The win assured Boone High of its second straight CIC championship and, in that time, only the third in the school's history.
The sensational season ended a week later when Grinnell suffered a 42-13 clubbing. The Tigers were behind, 14-0, before they were able to run a single offensive play. Rinehart, Hora and Riker all had 100-plus rushing games.
It was an exciting time for Boone High School and the entire community as well. An estimated 600 Toreador fans packed the General Walter L. Anderson armory for a season-ending congratulatory banquet which featured a speech by University of Iowa Athletic Director and former head football coach Forest Evashevski.
Squadmembers were Steve Bush, Mike McIntyre, Alan Dannatt, Mike Wittmer, Steve Godfrey, Clark Reed, Mike Harris, Ted Hora, Steve Crandell, Dan Nieman, Marty Rinehart, George Morris, Les Hohanshelt, John Winters, Dave Crandell, Clyde Hovick, Roger Hasstedt, Mike Sorenson, Bob Martin, Rick Davis, Bruce Richeson, Denny Vaudt, Ben Bennett, Bob Reedholm, Steve Kruck, Charles Lind, Mike Bennett, Mike Duffy, Sid Erickson, Brian Geerdes, Dan Newland and Harry Nickerson.
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BOONE CONNECTED DEATHS: Larry J. Burke, 83, Mesa, AZ. Born in Boone. BHS-57. Survivors include his wife, Dee (Delores) Deal Burke, BHS-59, and a daughter...........Brenda Elsberry, 58, Boone. Born in Boone. Ames HS-84. Lived in Boone and worked several years at Genesis Development. Survivors include her mother, Emma Moiser, and three brothers including Craig and Roy Elsberry all of Boone. Other survivors are her sisters, Valerie Hughes and Vicky Elsberry, both of Boone.........Nancy Huntley-Krause, 67, Ames. Grew up in New Hampshire. Educated at the University of New Hampshire, San Diego Mesa College and earned a degree in audiology from the University of Kansas. Worked in Ames at McFarland Clinic for 10 years and for over 20 years, worked at the Area Education Agency. She learned horseback riding in Boone. Survivors include her husband, George Krause, a son, daughter, brother and two sisters.
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