Illini Legends, Lists & Lore: Stan Wallace
Stan Wallace
Sunday marks the 78th anniversary of the birth of former Illinois and professional football star Stan Wallace. A native of Hillsboro, Wallace played defensive back and fullback for the Illini under coach Ray Eliot. Two of the three Illinois teams on which Wallace played from 1951 to '53 were successful. As a sophomore, the Illini rolled to a 9-0-1 record. Wallace is best remembered for his third-quarter interception in the 1952 Rose Bowl, returning a Gary Kerkorian pass 56 yards to set up Bill Tate's go-ahead touchdown run. Illinois went on to score 34 unanswered points to defeat Stanford 40-7. Wallace and the 1953 Illini compiled a 7-1-1 mark, defeating Ohio State and Michigan, but did not go to a bowl game. He rushed for 115 yards against Syracuse during his senior season and averaged nearly 12 yards per attempt in 1953. After his Illinois career, Wallace was selected to play in the East-West Shrine All-Star Game, Senior Bowl and College All-Star Game. That led to him being chosen in the first round (sixth selection overall) of the 1954 NFL draft by the Chicago Bears. Wallace played safety for the Bears from 1954 to '58 and also played for the Toronto Argonauts in the Canadian Football League from 1959 to '61, earning All-CFL honors twice. He stayed involved with the Illini football program as a color analyst on the radio broadcasts.In 1990, Wallace was selected to the Illinois All-Century Football Team. As a longtime Champaign-Urbana resident, he operated several businesses, including AgriLabs, Bear Research and Stan's SportsWorld. Wallace died in December 1999 at age 68. His widow, Midge, and their family still live in the community.
Illini birthdays this week
Sunday: Jackie Bain, swimming (25)
Monday: Alex Legion, basketball (21)
Tuesday: Andy Kaufmann, basketball (40)
Wednesday: Jeff Jordan, basketball (21)
Thursday: Isiah "Juice" Williams, football (22)
Friday: Jerry Colangelo, basketball (70)
Saturday: Jennifer McGaffigan, tennis (28)
By Mike Pearson, author of Illini Legends, Lists & Lore and assistant athletic director at Miami (Ohio)
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