He had one continuous streak of running every day for 20 years and still tries to make it a daily activity, although running slower and shorter. Ron rebounded from open heart surgery in 1982, to run in “Grandma’s Marathon” in Duluth each year for the next 14 years. Hagen went on to become the 1965 first team All-State quarterback and set pass records (since broken) at Minnesota.īuckle signed a pro baseball contract in 1953, and played 1954 season at Wytheville, Va., in the Appalachian League, as property of the Baltimore Orioles. His first quarterback was 12-year old Phil Hagen and that team won the championship. Ron also coached YMCA youth tackle football for 10 years. In the early years, Ron officiated many games when they did not interfere with his newspaper coverage. Later Ron played two years with the Chippewa Marines semi-pro team. He played at what is now UW-Eau Claire as a freshman in 1952 and had two of the school’s longer scoring plays a 74-yard scrimmage run against UW-Stevens Point and an 80-yard pass against UW-Whitewater. Ron was also connected to the game of football as a player, offical and youth coach. Ron still covers about 15 games a year and writes a weekly high school football column. He has covered an estimated 900 football games in more than 50 cities in the state from Marinette to La Crosse Superior to Madison Neenah to River Falls and many places in between. Now the former sports editor of the newspaper, he is enjoying his 60th year as a writer. Born and raised in Eau Claire, Ron took a sports job at the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram in 1956, at the age of 21.
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