Albert J. "Butch" Nowack (1904 – September 28, 1952) was an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

player and coach. A native of

Pana, Illinois Pana is a small town in Christian County, Illinois, United States. A small portion is in Shelby County. The population was 5,199 at the 2020 census. History The area around Pana was first organized as Stone Coal Precinct in 1845. The count ...

, he played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

as a tackle at the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

under

Robert Zuppke Robert Carl Zuppke (July 2, 1879 – December 22, 1957) was an American football coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Illinois—now known as the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign–from 1913 until 1941, compili ...

and was a member of the

1927 Illinois Fighting Illini football team The 1927 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, University of Illinois in the 1927 Big Ten Conference football season. The Fighting Illini compiled ...

that won the national championship and captain of the 1928 team that won the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

championship. He was selected as a first-team player on the

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the BBC, British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith, 1st Baron Reith, John Reith becomes the first ...

and

1928 All-Big Ten Conference football team The 1928 All-Big Ten Conference football team consists of American football players selected to the All-Big Ten Conference teams chosen by various selectors for the 1928 Big Ten Conference football season. All Big-Ten selections Ends * Wes Fesle ...

s. He was also selected by the All-America Board and the

North American Newspaper Alliance The North American Newspaper Alliance (NANA) was a large newspaper syndicate in operation between 1922 and 1980. NANA employed writers such as Grantland Rice, Joseph Alsop, Michael Stern, Lothrop Stoddard, Dorothy Thompson, George Schuyler, P ...

as a first-team player on the

1928 College Football All-America Team The 1928 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations and writers that chose College Football All-America Teams in 1928. The seven selectors recognized by th ...

. He was the

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

of the Central State Teachers College football team in

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

and

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be on J ...

. In April 1931, he was hired as an assistant football coach under Earl C. Hayes at

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

. He served as Indiana's line coach for the 1931, 1932, and 1933 seasons. In June 1935, he was hired as the head football coach at LaSalle-Peru High School in Illinois. He served in that position for 17 years. Nowack was unmarried. He died in 1952 at age 48 while undergoing treatment for throat cancer at the

Mayo Clinic Mayo Clinic () is a Nonprofit organization, private American Academic health science centre, academic Medical centers in the United States, medical center focused on integrated health care, healthcare, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science ...

Rochester, Minnesota Rochester is a city in Olmsted County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. It is located along rolling bluffs on the Zumbro River's south fork in Southeast Minnesota. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a popul ...

. He was buried at Mound Cemetery in

Head coaching record

College

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nowak, Butch 1904 births 1952 deaths American football tackles Central Michigan Chippewas football coaches Illinois Fighting Illini football players Indiana Hoosiers football coaches High school football coaches in Illinois People from Pana, Illinois Sportspeople from Christian County, Illinois Coaches of American football from Illinois Players of American football from Illinois Deaths from cancer in Minnesota Deaths from throat cancer in the United States