class | notes
T H E
M A G A Z I N E
O F
M A R Q U E T T E
U N I V E R S I T Y
letters to the editor
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in the spring 2015 issue, including this writer who identified the young lady, as well.
LEADER OF THE PACK 2015 ALUMNI NATIONAL AWARDS
ENGINEERING HARLEY-DAVIDSON’S FIRST ELECTRIC MOTORCYCLE
TRYING TIMES
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ROLL CALL
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OPUS COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
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Inspired by issue Thank you for always being an inspiration to me. Page after page of the spring 2015 issue spoke of students, staff and alumni being the difference in Milwaukee and the world. The collaboration between the Spanish and journalism students at the Haggerty Museum to show the bilingual sides of community was so creative, I immediately sent the article to my sister, who works at the Phoenix Art Museum. The work Dr. Mallory O’Brien is doing to track the trend of tavern-related homicides is a great example of Marquette’s dedication to the well-being of the city. Lastly, the invitation to pre-1969 alumni to take classes credit-free is just awesome. The wealth of primary source material these wise adults can contribute and the stimulation they receive from lifelong learning is a brilliant innovation. No wonder I’m so proud to be a Marquette alumna. CHRISTINE (KUBICKI) RODRIGUEZ, SP ’81
Drumming up memories EDITOR’S NOTE
A number of alumni corresponded to identify the Marquette basketball players featured in the archival photo
The photo was taken in 1944. The smiling fellow wearing No. 22 on his uniform is Pedro Ismael Prado, who was born in the small town of Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, in 1920. Prado was a member of the Puerto Rico Olympic basketball team and at the time of the photo was a star playmaker with the Hilltoppers. He received his D.D.S. degree from Marquette in 1945 and served in the U.S. Navy during WWII. He practiced dentistry in San Juan until his death in 1991. The young lady is Gloria Prado, Pedro’s kid sister who became the unofficial Marquette team mascot. Gloria was 17 years old at the time and attending her fourth year of high school at Holy Angels Academy in Milwaukee. This photo of Gloria sitting on the shoulders of two young men appeared in a Puerto Rico newspaper and provoked a minor gossip upheaval in the staid hometown community of Vega Baja. Later Gloria married Dr. Robert W. Axtmayer, who graduated from Marquette Medical School in 1946. They had several lovely children. Robert practiced obstetrics in San Juan for many years and passed away in 2009. Gloria remembers the names of the other players in the picture from left to right: Bill Chandler, Bob Mayer, Joe Evans and Gene Burce. Gloria lives in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. ELI A. RAMIREZ, MED ’42, GRAD ’50
No. 4 of the basketball players pictured in the latest Marquette Magazine is Gene Berce. He
went on to play for Cornell, the New York Knicks and the Tri-City Blackhawks. He was the first Marquette player to score 1,000 career points and is in the Marquette Hall of Fame. He presently lives with his wife, Mary, in an assisted living facility in Wisconsin. MICHAEL NEVILLE, JOUR ’70
The person in the back is my deceased husband, William (Bill) W. Chandler, M.D. He was elected captain twice and graduated in 1946. He played for his father, the longtime basketball coach. Thank you for publishing this picture from early in his career at Marquette. MRS. WM. W. CHANDLER (PAULA CHANDLER)
I try to visit No. 4 twice a month. He’s been an outstanding father-in-law for 30 years. MARK SCHONENBERG, ARTS ’84
The man on the far right of the archival photo in the spring 2015 issue (wearing a No. 4 jersey) is my grandfather, Eugene Berce. He attended Marquette in the 1940s and is a member of the Marquette University Hall of Fame for his time on the basketball team. He is currently 88 years old and continues to cheer on the Golden Eagles.
Avalanche. Then the team became the Warriors and later the Golden Eagles. PETER SCHMITT, SP ’59
Campus Replay sparks recall There were very competitive touch football games between the fraternities at that time. Many of the Marquette football players were members of the frats. I was a member of Sigma Phi Delta and enjoyed the competition. TOM STUMP, ENG ’60
It’s great that you wanted to acknowledge Marquette’s once proud football program, but you should’ve pointed out its major accomplishments (aside from playing in the first Cotton Bowl): Marquette’s coach from the 1930s, Frank Murray, is in the College Football Hall of Fame; the captain of Marquette’s Cotton Bowl team from 1936, Ray Buivid, was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy; four of Marquette’s former players are in the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame. … Marquette’s football program always featured players who went on to the
from the archives
BRIANNA SCHONENBERG, LAW ’14
Enjoyed your spring issue. ... Great job. No. 4 is Gene Berce, who is alive and well, living in Waukesha County. He was the first player to score 1,000 points in a career. It would make a great story. You did a story on the football team in the 1950s. By then the Marquette teams were the Hilltoppers — not the
Five basketball players pose with a female student, 1943–1944. Recognize anyone? Send a note to mumagazine@ marquette.edu.
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Summer 2015
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