Nine individuals will be inducted into the UW Athletics Hall of Fame on Friday, Aug. 29. The festivities outside the Shell (adjacent to Camp Randall Stadium) start at 5:30 p.m. UWBadgers.com is counting down to the big evening by featuring one inductee per day leading up to the 29th. Today we look at the career of the late Tom Wiesner, a football and boxing letterwinner.
- 1959 captained the Badgers to the Big Ten title
- 1960 football co-captain
- 1960 football MVP
- 1960 captain of the Rose Bowl team
- 1960 scored UW's only touchdown in Rose Bowl
- 1960 fullback who led the team in rushing (87 attempts for 374 yards)
- 1961 played in Hawaii's Hula Bowl all-star game
- 1961 played in the East-West Shrine all-star game
- Wisconsin State Athlete of the Year
- 1961 drafted by the Baltimore Colts
- 1971 at the time, he was the youngest person ever elected to the Clark County Commission in Las Vegas at the age of 31, a position he held for six years
- 1991 started the Badger Desert Golf Classic, an athletic fund raiser that supports athletic scholarships in his name
- 1994 was named Republican Man of the Year for his continuous support of the GOP and role as the Republican National Committee man for nearly two decades
- Had a hand in coordinating football and basketball games between UW and UNLV
- Known as one of Las Vegas' most prosperous and successful businessmen
- Helped found the las vegas athletic club and served on the unlv football foundation 's advisory board
- Was inducted into the UNLV Athletic Hall of Fame and the Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame in recognition of his contributions to UNLV athletics
- 1996-2002 member of University of Nevada board of regents, receiving the highest honor in the state of Nevada'distinguished Nevadan award'for his longtime services
- Also honored by having a street named after him in Nevada near the football stadium (Wiesner Way)
- UNLV instituted a Tom Wiesner Award given to the senior football player who characterizes the courage and toughness Wiesner showed during his lengthy battle with leukemia
- UW instituted the Tom Wiesner Award-presented annually to a Wisconsin-born student-athlete whose loyalty, hard work, spirit and dedication are unselfishly directed to the success of the team.
