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Type of bind: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.332630977583
EAN num: 9780870203602
ISBN number: 0870203606
Label: Wisconsin Historical Society
Manufacturer: Wisconsin Historical Society
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 256
Printing Date: August 05, 2005
Publishing house: Wisconsin Historical Society
Sale Popularity Level: 150842
Studio: Wisconsin Historical Society
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When longtime college and National Football League coach Jerry Frei died in 2001, many of his former University of Oregon players and others attending his memorial services were astounded to learn that he had been a decorated P-38 fighter pilot in World War II. He never brought that up with his players. But like so many other veterans, he hadn’t talked much about the war with his children, either.
Late in Jerry Frei’s life, his son – author and journalist Terry Frei – belatedly began asking more questions about the young pilot’s experiences. As they talked, a frame of reference was the Wisconsin Badgers’ 1942 team picture on Jerry Frei’s den wall. Sophomore backup guard Jerry Frei, then only 18, was in the fourth row of that 1942 photo, behind All-American end Dave Schreiner and star halfback Elroy 'Crazylegs' Hirsch, and subsequent to fearsome fullback Pat Harder. (Hirsch is carrying the ball against Ohio State in the above photo, and Harder is about to throw a block.) Jerry Frei spoke of how the players on one of the greatest college football teams of all time went off to serve their country after their glorious season – and about how not all of them made it back.
After his father’s death, Terry Frei set out to learn more about the team and the men in that picture. What he learned left him forever changed.
In the final-fling atmosphere common on college campuses as the very first year of U.S. involvement in the war was winding down, the Badgers climbed up the national rankings under the guidance of coach Harry Stuhldreher, the quarterback of Notre Dame’s famed 'Four Horsemen.' Stars and scrubs alike had enlisted in various branches, were awaiting their callups, and knew that each game brought them closer to military service. Of the 51 players on the ’42 roster, only one remained on the team the subsequent season.
Dave Schreiner and the Badgers’ other co-captain, halfback Mark Hoskins, both came from tiny Lancaster, Wisconsin, and the long-time buddies and teammates both planned to become pilots. But Schreiner’s colour blindness scuttled that plan, and after he renounced a pre-medicine student deferment, the two-time All-American end became a Marine officer.
As the war raged on, the Badgers sailed through Harm’s Way, fought in the Battle of the Bulge, confronted daunting odds as pilots when their mission totals mounted, and led units in the fierce Pacific island battles.
Through exhaustive research and interviews with the remaining Badgers, their families, and combat comrades, Terry Frei tells the often heart-wrenching story of this band of brothers, describing their successes and losses both on the football field and in service to their country. In particular, the climactic material about the 'Great Escape' prison camp, plus the Battle of Okinawa and the role of several Badgers in it, has tugged at readers’ hearts.
This is a tale about one team.
It stands for a generation.
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Rated by buyers 
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I think Terry Frei did a fantastic recounting events of something that happened 60 years ago. Clearly Mr. Frei did a thorough job researching all the events and the many characters he references. As for the reader, he/she is taken on a journey about teenagers turning into young men during one of the most difficult times in American history. Frei goes into great detail about the Wisconsin Badger roster and characters that make it up. At times, it does get confusing but I honestly don't see how Frei could have singled anyone out -- except for perhaps Dave Schreiner. I will admit I skipped some of the middle of book when the author gives a recap of all the Badger games from 1942. The second half of the book (about the war) is very well done. In fact, the second half of the book is a real page tuner. All in all, it is a good book about some fine people that I would have loved to have met.
Rated by buyers -
Through exhaustive research and interviews with the remaining Badgers, their families, and combat comrades, Frei tells the story of this team of young men who became real-life heroes by fulfilling a much greater calling. In describing their experiences on the football field and in service to their country, Frei makes it clear why the generation young men and women who came of age during the Second World War have become known simply as the "Greatest"
While some may think that this book is "too narrow," "too old," or "too local," let me say that it is far from that. This is a story of the highest degree, one that will leave the reader at various times laughing, mournful, amazed, and inspired. "Third Down And A War To Go" is much more than just a football story. It is much more than just a war story.
It is a story about us.
Rated by buyers 
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Great job. So good that I was brought to tears. So good that I almost need to visit the cemetery in Lancaster, Wis., and say "thanks" to Dave Schreiner and Mark Hoskins. Thanks to you, Terry, for the idea, the research, the writing. I rank your book up there with "Flags of our Fathers." And you were correct in advising your readers to ask questions, and more questions, of their parents. I look forward to Terry's subsequent book and plan to read his previous one.
Randy Jesick
Journalism Department
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Rated by buyers 
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Very average book! Frei doesn't go down as one of my favorite sports writers. Loves to sensationlize rather then just tell a great story.
Rated by buyers -
Third Down and a War to Go is a page turner which chronicles the 1942 University of Wisconsin all-star football team and its college years, heroic service in World War II, and return to unsung ordinary lives. It was a different era for college football. Players actually wanted an education. The majority were less than six feet tall and weighed less than 200 pounds. What scholarships they received were so meager that even the All-Americans washed dishes and waited table. There was no question about them interrupting college and collegiate football to serve their country. Some selflessly gave their lives but most returned, played some more football, and contributed to America's post-war recovery as lawyers, teachers, real estate agents, and Jerry Frei, the author's father, as a college and pro football coach. Most never discussed their war service and certainly didn't consider themselves the "greatest generation."
Terry Frei tells their story in a moving style. Portions bring one to tears.
This book will engage WWII veterans, their children, those of us who grew up during the war, and readers who are interested in true "All Americans."
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