Today's Tidbit... Marquette's Top Football Players

For all but a few, basketball is the sport that comes to mind when mentioning Marquette University. Marquette enjoyed quite a run under Al McGuire from 1964 to 1977, including winning the NCAA championship in his siren song season. Unfortunately, like many other schools, Marquette now appears in the NCAA tournament every other year without notable success, so let's forget about basketball and look back to the days when Marquette played big-time football.

Marquette played football for the first time in 1892 and, by the late 1920s, performed well against a national but Midwestern-heavy schedule. The Hilltoppers gained an invite to the inaugural Cotton Bowl in 1937, losing to Slingin' Sammy Baugh and his fellow Horned Frogs, but had only four more winning seasons before the school dropped football after the 1960 season.

Marquette beat Michigan State, Arizona, Iowa State, and Texas Tech in 1939 on a typical schedule for the era. (1940 Marquette yearbook)

The two players best known for their football accomplishments were LaVern Dilweg and George Andrie.