pro ball with the Green Bay
Packers, catches a total of
seven passes – this is one
of them – in the Shockers’
26-12 win over Hardin-
Simmons.
This June, former Shocker football players reunited on campus for a series of events, hosted by WSU Athletics and assisted by the WSU Alumni Association. Back in 1962, the varsity squad posted a 3-7 record under first-year head coach Marcelino “Chelo” Huerta. The next season, the Shockers flipped things around to the winning side.
Coach Huerta guided the 1963 Shockers to a 7-2 record and to the University of Wichita’s third Missouri Valley Conference title in four years.
The Shockers didn’t nab the title outright, but fought their way to a share of the MVC crown, tying the Cincinnati Bearcats with a 3-1 league record.
Quarterback Hank Schichtle and receiver Bob Long rewrote the Shocker record book for season passing and receiving statistics, as the team finished the season ranked in the top 10 in the nation in seven statistical categories.
Schichtle and Long, playing his first year of college football, clicked early on. In the Shockers’ opening home game against Hardin-Simmons, Long caught seven Schichtle passes for 111 yards in the 26-12 win before a record crowd of 15,720.
The Shockers went on to post wins over Arizona State, Louisville, New Mexico State, Dayton, Cincinnati and Tulsa. Their losses came at the hands of Boston College and North Texas State.
