Altoona alumnus John Tackmann was named the Ironman of the Game for the second consecutive week for his performance with the Mahoning Valley Thunder of af2, the developmental circuit of the Arena Football League.

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Altoona alumnus John Tackmann started his af2 professional football career with a bang on Saturday, March 29, earning league-wide recognition after scoring three touchdowns and finishing with a game-high 6.5 tackles as his Mahoning Valley Thunder defeated the Albany Conquest 59-33.

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For the first time in 40 years, an Altoona High School alumnus will be playing professional football. On Saturday, 2002 graduate John Tackmann will start his first game at linebacker for the Mahoning Valley Thunder of af2, the developmental circuit of the Arena Football League.

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The Class of 2005 team won the 2007 Altoona Alumni Basketball Tournament, defeating the Class of 2004 in the title game. Team members included (left to right) Dusty Pfundheller, Cole Benson, Grant Squires, Storm Harmon, Evan Nyberg, John Brehm, and Dustin Hardy.

Few current Altoona residents have ever heard of Leonard Haas, let alone his monumental accomplishments. The son of a railroad engineer, he grew up in Altoona, graduating from Altoona High School in 1932. Little has been recorded about his early years.
He earned a Bachelor’s degree (1935) at the teachers’ college that eventually became UW-Eau Claire (UWEC). This was followed by a Master’s degree (UW-Madison, 1938) and ultimately, a Ph.D. (University of Minnesota, 1954).
After working as a high school teacher (1935-1941), he returned to his Eau Claire college where he served as a UWEC educator, administrator, and Chancellor (22 years) until 1980. During his long tenure, he was instrumental in UWEC’s complicated rise from a small teachers’ college (600 students) to a prominent, multi-disciplined university (11,000 students). In addition, throughout his life, he assumed many important local civic responsibilities.
Chit-chat was never part of his style. At a ceremony honoring him, a toastmaster remarked, “I’m supposed to introduce some levity into these proceedings, but in truth, there’s very little that is light about Leonard.” Haas was a very serious and dedicated leader. His commitment to the university and his community was total.
He died in 1998 at the age of 83. He was survived by his wife Dorellen (now deceased), two daughters, Karen and Kristine, and many grandchildren.
The UWEC Fine Arts building has been named to honor him and his wife. This Altoona native and his many achievements will long be remembered.

The Eau Claire Crush reached the championship game of the Great Plains Football League on the arm of Altoona alumni Randy Langworthy, defeating the Chippewa Valley Predators 20-17 in the Eastern Conference championship at Carson Park on Saturday, July 28.

Trailing 17-13 and faced with a 4th-and-13 on the Predators’ 14, Langworthy found Joey Salter in the corner of the end zone for what proved to be the game-winning touchdown. The Crush had led 13-0 to open the game, but struggled after that until the touchdown pass, with a blocked punt leading to a Predators field goal and a turnover on downs leading to a Chippewa Valley score to close within 13-10 at halftime.

Chippewa Valley quarterback Keldric Stokes continued to use his mobility to frustrate the Crush defense in the second half, scrambling to avoid the rush until he was able to find a wide-open receiver in the end zone to put the Predators in the lead 17-13. But the Predators made a critical mistake midway through the fourth quarter, when an apparent miscommunication between Stokes and a receiver led to an interception that was returned deep into Predator territory, setting up Langworthy’s game-winning pass.

“It was a post-corner route and I just threw it to the back of the end zone and let Salter make a play,” said Langworthy.
Crush defensive back Jordan Klingbeil picked off Stokes one more time in the final minute to seal the win, sending Eau Claire into the championship game against the Western Conference champion Rochester Giants. It was sweet revenge for the Crush, who had lost to their intracity rivals in the regular season.

“The first game was big, but meant nothing,” said Langworthy. “We wanted the playoff game much more since it was for the championship.”

However, the Giants defeated the Crush, 28-7 in the championship game. Langworthy threw a touchdown pass to Salter to pull Eau Claire within 14-7 in the second quarter, but a failed fourth down conversion deep in Rochester territory prevented the Crush from tying the game before the half, and the Giants put the game away in the second half.