Jerry Stalcup, the former East lineman and linebacker who went on to play in the 1960 Rose Bowl for Wisconsin and then in the NFL and AFL for three seasons, died Sunday at the age of 86.
Stalcup had been out of the public eye for several years because he suffered from CTE - chronic traumatic encephalopathy - a chronic brain condition from his years in football.
Despite that, in 2018, when he was inducted into the Rockford Public Schools Athletics Hall of Fame, Stalcup said he wouldn't change a thing.
"Football is the greatest team sport. How many times do you have 11 guys lined up and all come together?"
After his playing days were over, Stalcup spent decades in Rockford and Machesney Park teaching and training the oncoming generations of players. He was talked out of an insurance career to become a teacher and assistant coach at East, where he was the defensive coordinator for the famed 1973 and 1974 E-Rabs teams that went 22-0 over two seasons, including winning the 4A IHSA state title in the first year the state held playoffs.
He then was hired away by Harlem in 1975 where he coached the school to its first conference title in 1977. He couldn't sustain the success at Harlem. The Huskies would win as many as three games in a season only one more time before stepping down after the 1986 season.
His effectiveness as a coach could be judged by what happened after. In 1987, under Ed Gavigan, Harlem went 3-6. From 1988 through 1993, under four different coaches, Harlem went 1-41.
The program began to turn around when Brian Benning took over in 1993. In 1997, when Benning was in need of a defensive coordinator, he was encouraged to ask Stalcup, who was still at Harlem as a teacher. Jerry agreed and the Huskies went 9-2, winning the first conference title since his 1977 squad.
Stalcup stepped down after the 1998 season and retired from teaching in 1999.
There will be a visitation Friday night from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Zion Lutheran Church and funeral services at Zion at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
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