NIC-10's 100 Greatest Football Players: No. 24 - Milton Olander, Rockford

The No. 24 player on our list appears to be the only one with a lake named after him.

Milton Olander is one of the Northern Illinois Conference football pioneers. He was a three-year starter for Rockford in 1915, 1916 and 1917 and two-year captain. This was a big deal. In the 1910s, '20s and '30s, the Rockford newspapers would run stories on who was picked as football captain.

Olander was first team conference in both 1916 and 1917. The 1917 team went 4-1 to win the Big 7. Olander then journeyed to the University of Illinois to play for Robert Zuppke, who was in the early stages of a Hall of Fame coaching tenure.

Zuppke trusted Olander immediately. He was a four-year starter at tackle for the Illini from 1918 through 1921. Illinois was 19-9 over Olander's four years anchoring the line. The 1919 team went 6-1 and is one of four teams from that year that has been credited as national champions.

After graduating, Olander embarked on a coaching career. He was hired by the Western State Normal School - now known as Western Michigian University - as head football coach. He guided them to a 6-0 record in his first year, outscoring its opponents 160-0.

Since 1922, he remains one of just three coaches in NCAA Division I history to go undefeated in their first seasons despite having no prior head coaching experience at any level. The other two are Joe McKenney of Boston College in 1928 and Chris Peterson at Boise State in 2006. Olander's second team went 6-1-1, but instead of building on that success, Olander returned to Illinois to serve as Zuppke's assistant coach through the 1934 season. 

In his later years, Olander went into business, serving as the director of industrial relations for Owens-Illinois Glass Co. in Toledo, Ohio. He moved to Sylvania, Ohio, and became one of the original members of that city's parks commission. Today, if you visit Sylvania, you can go to Olander Park and Olander Lake.

Olander died in 1961 at the age of 62.

No. 24 - Milton Olander, Rockford
Year	Level	School	Accomplishments	Points
1916	High School	Rockford	First Team All-Conference	2
1917	High School	Rockford	First Team All-Conference	2
			Winning Team	1
			Conference Champion	1
1918	College	Illinois	Letter Winner on Power 5 Team	4
			Starter	1
			Winning Team	1
1919	College	Illinois	Letter Winner on Power 5 Team	4
			Starter	1
			Winning Team	1
			National Champion	1
1920	College	Illinois	Letter Winner on Power 5 Team	4
			Starter	1
			Winning Team	1
1921	College	Illinois	Letter Winner on Power 5 Team	1
			Starter	1
Total				30

NIC-10's 100 Greatest Football Players