Born on this date 113 years ago today — Oct. 11, 1902 — was 1920s Illini football star Frank Rokusek. Captain of the 1924 Illinois team, he was a blocking end for running back Red Grange. Said Grange of Rokusek: “I got the publicity for the long runs I made, but without ‘Roke’ clearing the way, I wouldn’t have gotten loose for a lot of them.”
The three years Rokusek lettered —1922, ’23 and ’24 —the Illini won the Big Ten and national championship his junior year and finished 6-1-1 his senior season. In 1927, he joined Bob Zuppke’s coaching staff, mentoring Illinois’ ends.