Laurie Walquist

Lawrence Wilfred Walquist (March 9, 1898 – September 28, 1985) was a professional

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 who played

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

for nine seasons for the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

. He was also the first-ever head coach for the

Chicago Bruins The Chicago Bruins were an American basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois. Owned by Chicago Bears football team owner George Halas, the Bruins were a member of the American Basketball League, a league that also featured other National Footbal ...

of the American Basketball League. Walquist attended

Rockford Central High School Rockford High School (sometimes referred to as Rockford Central High School) was the first school opened by the newly formed, citywide, school district, Rockford Public School District 205 in Rockford, Illinois. Opened in 1885, it served as a h ...

where he played both basketball and football. He graduated in 1918. Laurie served in the United States Army in 1918 and while he was accepted at West Point, he chose to attend the

University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United States. Established in 1867, it is the f ...

. He graduated from Illinois in 1922 receiving a BS in economics. During his collegiate years, he was President of the Junior Class, member of Ma-Wan-Dee, and belonged to

Tau Kappa Epsilon Tau Kappa Epsilon (), commonly known as or Teke, is a social college fraternities and sororities, fraternity founded on January 10, 1899, at Illinois Wesleyan University. The organization has chapters throughout the United States and Canada, maki ...

and

Alpha Kappa Psi Alpha Kappa Psi (, often stylized as AKPsi) is the oldest and largest business Professional fraternities and sororities, fraternity. The fraternity was founded in 1904 at New York University. It is headquartered in Noblesville, Indiana. Histor ...

fraternities. Walquist starred in basketball in 1919–20, 1920–21, 1921–22 and was picked as All-Conference guard in 1922. Additionally, he won four letters in football, was captain in 1921 and played right halfback and quarterback 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 ...

. He was picked for All-Conference and All-Western in 1919 and 1920. Walquist played with the Chicago Bears for nine season (1922, 1924–1931) and continued with the team through the mid-1930s as an assistant coach along with

Paddy Driscoll John Leo "Paddy" Driscoll (January 11, 1895 – June 29, 1968) was an American professional football and baseball player and football coach. A triple-threat man in football, he was regarded as the best drop kicker and one of the best overall ...

under head coach

George Halas George Stanley Halas Sr. (February 2, 1895 – October 31, 1983), nicknamed "Papa Bear", was an American professional football end, coach, and executive. He was the founder and owner of the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL), ...

. 1898 births 1985 deaths American football halfbacks American football quarterbacks American men's basketball players Basketball players from Illinois Guards (basketball) Chicago Bears coaches Chicago Bears players Chicago Bruins coaches Illinois Fighting Illini football players Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball players Oregon State Beavers football coaches Players of American football from Rockford, Illinois {{quarterback-stub