By FRED KRONER
In the past decade, St. Joseph-Ogden athletic teams from nine different sports have secured top three finishes in IHSA state tournaments.
It’s a continuation of a well-established tradition at the school which can be traced back to the 1960s.
Interestingly, team success was sparse during that early era. From 1960-1975, the districts involved in St. Joseph-Ogden captured just one postseason title and no team state trophies.
However, the school produced marquee athletes who were not only outstanding in their area, but who also excelled at the national level.
In a 10-year span, starting in 1963 (when Ogden still had its own high school), no fewer than seven graduates from either Ogden, St. Joseph or SJ-O went on to play at least one sport at the major-college level.
One of the last in that elite group was 1972 graduate Ron White, who will be one of four inductees into the SJ-O Hall of Fame on Oct. 2, prior to the scheduled homecoming football game against Prairie Central.
White will be joined by three other SJ-O inductees: Gary Garrison, Greg Knott and Amy Scharlau Lewis.
White was part of a group of athletes from the district who distinguished themselves after high school. That group included Deon Flessner (1963 Ogden graduate, basketball, Illinois); Ron Wrather (1964, football, baseball, Western Illinois University); Les Busboom (1965, basketball, Illinois); Rudy Schmidt (1966, football, Wisconsin); Rick Schmidt (1971, basketball, Illinois) and Rich Connell (1972, basketball, Illinois).
Steve Maddock, another Spartan standout in that era (and a 1971 SJ-O graduate) said many of those individuals shared a common blue-collar background.
“We never had open gyms,” Maddock said, “but we had a hard-working mentality that we grew up with from our parents. It’s hard work being on the farm.”
White was a three-sport letterman for the Spartans, earning three letters apiece in football and baseball and two in basketball. He was a football team captain as a senior.
As a football walk-on at the University of Illinois, White earned a scholarship as a sophomore in 1973 and was a letterman as a junior and senior.
An offensive lineman, White was a part of Illini teams which were nationally ranked in 1974 (14th in Week 5) and tied for third in the Big Ten in his senior season of 1975.
“Football and baseball were my favorite sports,” White said. “I didn’t do anything exactly special, but I stuck with it longer than most.”
In football, he said he preferred defense to offense. “It was more fun,” White said. “You could get tackles.”
At SJ-O, White was part of football teams that had a cumulative varsity record of 20-4-1 during the three years that he lettered. The 8-0-1 finish in 1970, his junior year, marked the sixth time in a seven-year period that the school did not lose a football game.
One of his fondest high school memories was in basketball as a senior. The 6-foot-1 White played center for the first SJ-O team to win a regional championship in the sport.
The previous year – which was Rick Schmidt’s senior year – SJ-O lost a one-point decision in the regional finals to a Danville team which went on to place third at state in a one-class tournament.
White earned football All-Area recognition from The News-Gazette as a lineman and that accolade opened up opportunities to play beyond high school.
“I got (recruiting) letters, mostly from small schools,” White said, “but I didn’t pursue it.”
His father, John – who played football and hockey in college – attended the UI and that was the destination that his son saw for himself.
Ron White was following his father’s footsteps in a second key area.
“My dad was in the seed business (with the Champaign County Seed Company) and that was my interest,” said Ron White, who earned his bachelor’s degree in agriculture science and marketing.
While at SJ-O, Ron White was active in the FFA (Future Farmers of America) and was involved with farm work in the summers.
It was in the fields that future SJ-O athlete (and Hall-of-Famer) Jim Risley first met White.
“His dad ran the detasseling crews and Ron was out there,” Risley said. “I knew he played football and I looked up to him.”
As a role model, White did not disappoint.
“Ron was very mature and responsible for his age,” said Risley, who was a freshman when White was a high school senior. “He was strong for his age, and never caused any trouble.
“For a young guy, it was great to be a friend with a guy like Ron.”
Risley also learned to emulate the determination and work ethic that he saw in the SJ-O veteran, especially after he left high school.
Earning a roster berth at Illinois was no small feat.
“He had the attitude, ‘I’ve got an opportunity and I want to make the most of it. To do that, I’ll give it all that I’ve got,’” Risley related. “He came up in a culture of, if you’re going to do it, do it right.”
Risley recalled a return visit that White made to his alma mater while attending Illinois.
“He had what I considered average speed,” Risley said. “He came back and ran a 40-yard dash with the fastest guy on the track team and it was a dead heat.
“I thought, ‘Maybe I underestimated his speed.’ It’s another example of wherever he’s at, he works as hard as he can to be the best that he can be.”
White spent his 39-year professional career in ag-related businesses, before retiring in 2015.
He managed production facilities for DeKalb Seed, Vogel Popcorn, Garst Seed and Precision Soya.
Maddock was impressed White continued to shine after his playing days were finished.
“He was a successful businessman after college,” Maddock said.
For the past 30 years, White and his wife, Margaret, have lived in Mahomet, where they raised three children (Mike, Andrew and Danielle).
He has also been a behind-the-scenes community volunteer without a self-promoting attitude.
“He’s done a lot for people and never asked for credit,” Risley said. “He has lived a life of service.
“If you ask for help, there’s Ron. He is a pearl who has polished himself into something special.”
Mark Rieger, who spent 13 years as an athletic trainer for Mahomet-Seymour sports teams, has been friends with White for three decades.
“He’s a very giving person who does a lot of things for a lot of people,” Rieger said. “Nobody knows what he does helping out in the community.
“He doesn’t look for any credit. He just does it.”
The White legacy in St. Joseph extends beyond Ron.
His father, along with then-principal Henry Berry, helped orchestrate and implement the 1964 consolidation between the St. Joseph and Ogden districts.
“The current athletic complex was acquired (from the McCormick family) as a corn field at that time,” Ron White said. “My dad drove the deal for St. Joe sports. He was always sports-minded.
“Through his determination, along with countless volunteers, he constructed the football and baseball fields.”
Maddock remembers John White’s influence rubbing off on his son.
“His dad was a coach, Little League, Pony League, Danville Twilight League and we played a lot of baseball together,” Maddock said. “His dad was serious about ball and Ron was a dedicated player.
“He was a catcher who kept the game under control.”
On his induction day into the SJ-O Hall of Fame, Ron White said the significance will go beyond his own accomplishments.
“It’s nice to be recognized for something you did,” he said, “but I know my dad would be pretty happy.
“Today, a great school district thrives for which he would be proud. Upon his death, Betty White donated the memorial fund for the scoreboard that stood from 1975.”
Since retiring, White has actively worked on a 230-acre farm in Piatt County.
Risley said the Hall of Fame tribute for Ron White is well-deserved.
“He’s one of those guys who lived the motto, ‘Don’t talk about doing things. Do it.’
“Everything Ron has done, he has done with effort, class and quality.”
