Football Celebrates Military Appreciation, Welcomes Back 1988 Team

Sword presentation to Western Illinois Athletics honoring former coach Bruce Craddock

MACOMB, Ill. – One of the most successful teams in Leatherneck Football history will hold a reunion this weekend as Western Illinois plays host to Youngstown State. The 1988 team returns to Hanson Field as the program honors former head coach Bruce Craddock.

Saturday's game (Oct. 31) is also Military Appreciation. The team will wear a special camouflage 'W' logo on their helmet.

Another reunion will take place this weekend. Members of Craddock's Marines Corps Officer's Class, TBS Class 6-67, will honor Craddock's legacy by presenting a Marine Corps Officer's Sword, symbolic of United States Marine Corps leadership and courage, to Western Illinois University at halftime of the Leathernecks' game against Youngstown State. Also, prior to kickoff, Craddock's widow Karen (Craddock) Henderson will be present on the field for the coin flip.

"Saturday is shaping up as special day for Leatherneck Athletics. It's hard to imagine a better way to honor Coach Craddock and his indelible mark on Leatherneck Football than the presence of his former student-athletes and Marine Corps brethren. We look forward to Karen joining us as an honorary captain for the pre-game coin flip," said interim athletic director Matt Tanney.

Craddock, who won his second consecutive Gateway Conference Coach of the Year honor and was named the 1988 Kodak Division I FCS Regional Coach of the Year, led the Leathernecks to an undefeated 6-0 Gateway Conference record. Western lost in the opening round of the FCS playoffs and finished with a 10-2 overall record.

The 1988 squad set six offensive school records, produced (at the time) the third-highest scoring team in WIU history, and recorded the eighth-best total defense mark. The offense averaged 388 yards per game, while the defense allowed just over 290.

The record-breaking Gateway Conference champions concluded the season as the third-ranked FCS team in the nation after having been ranked as high as number two for the previous four weeks.

Seven players were selected to All-America teams, as senior quarterback Paul Singer concluded his career as the school's all-time signal caller. The 6-3, 195-pounder, who was an eight-time Gateway Conference 'Player of the Week' during his tenure, not only set 17 school records, but also was named the league's 'Offensive Player of the Year'. He passed for 8,257 career yards and 62 touchdowns. The strong-armed Singer was picked for six All-America teams and was a runner-up in the Coach's Choice Player of the Year Award.

"It's obvious when I meet with alums the positive influence Coach Craddock had on the young men he coached," said current WIU head coach Bob Nielson. "It is an honor to follow in the footsteps of outstanding coaches who are a big part of the Western Illinois tradition."

The annual WIU spring football game is named in honor of Bruce Craddock, who served as WIU's 15th head football coach from 1983 until his death in 1990. He was a Marine captain for three-and-a-half years and served in Vietnam from 1967 to 1970.

In April 1989, Bruce Craddock was diagnosed with liver cancer. His doctors told him exposure to defoliant Agent Orange in Vietnam caused his illness. His battle with cancer was an inspirational testimony to his never-give-up philosophy, which made his teams successful and made him one of the most respected coaches in his field.

Craddock was posthumously inducted into the WIU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1991. The Missouri Valley Football Conference's 'Coach of the Year' award is named in his honor, as is the annual WIU spring football game.

In addition, friends and family established the Bruce Craddock Memorial Scholarship in 1990 to honor his outstanding contributions. The scholarship is awarded each year to a graduate assistant or student manager for the Football team who represents all the outstanding characteristics possessed by Coach Craddock.

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