On Thursday, June 11, 1923, a new society known as the "O" men's club was born. Only lettering men were eligible to be members, even though women had been receiving letters since 1918 at that time. Men had been receiving letters since at least 1903. The women's "O" was initially smaller than the men 's because some people believed that women did not put as much effort into athletics, and women were still in a period of proving themselves.

Another athlete with her "O", 1922-1923

In November of 1923, former "O" men, among others, gathered with the Oshkosh Normal School football team champions of Wisconsin in the all-normal conference for a celebration. During 1923, the "O" club was rated as one of the strongest clubs in school. The original roster of the "O" club had forty-four names on it, including Robert "Bob" Kolf, Milt Wilson, and others. The National "O" Club has a long history of being rebooted on numerous occassions after it had become inactive for a few years.

June of 1928 was one such time of reorganization for the "O" club. The organization had lagged until this year when Richard "Eck" Erdlitz, one of the charter members who returned to school, became motivated to revive the organization. It was then stated that the purpose of the "O" club organization was to promote good, clean athletics, to encourage good fellowship, and to boost the Oshkosh College in every way possible.

In March of 1954, the "O" club was reorganized again after being inactive since WWII. It was comprised of Oshkosh State College athletes who had won major or minor monograms. Kolf was the group's advisor.

In December 1959, Oshkosh State College once again reorganized the "O" club, which was open to athletes who had earned major letters in the various sports offered at Oshkosh State. Kolf, who was the athletic director, aided this reorganization. The club promoted Ron Dibelius, a member of the basketball team, as a candidate for the "ugly man" contest, conducted annually by OSC to raise funds for charitable purposes.

In 1962, the "O" Club was comprised of athletes who had earned major monograms for participation in football, basketball, baseball, track, tennis, and golf. The Bratwurst Festival, which had been an annual "O" Club spring tradition since 1960, added a new component in 1962 by crowning a queen. In 1963, the "O" Club continued its active involvement by participating in the Winter Carnival.

In a letter addressed to Robert Kolf on August 19, 1970, the National "O" Club, Inc. was officially established. Attorney James J. Williamson wrote the bylaws, filed them with the state of Wisconsin, and did the registration without charge. At this time, there was an inauguration of an athletic Hall of Fame for Wisconsin State University - Oshkosh by the National "O" Club. It was also decided at this time to begin getting names and addresses of past "O" men. In June of 1996, the bylaws were revised and they seem to provide the most current information on the National "O" Club, Inc. To be a member, one has to have earned an athletic award (or equivalent) at UW-Oshkosh and be interested in promoting the purposes of the organization. A 1998 National "O" Club brochure states that the club assists with the intercollegiate athletic program and National Championship Awards, has created and sponsors the Hall of Fame, co-sponsors the Senior Awards banquet, and supports many other projects. The evolution of the National "O" Club seems to be a continuing process and an outstanding accomplishment for UW Oshkosh.

References

Akin, R . (Revised Bylaws [Article IV. Sec. 1]. p 2., 1996).

Kitzman, E. W. (Personal communication to Robert Kolf, 1971)

NATIONAL O CLUB UW-OSHKOSH TITANS. (1998). 1998 National "O" Club Board of Directors; National "O" Club Apparel and Merchandise; Pledge Card. [Brochure].

Oshkosh State Teachers College. (1946). 75th Anniversary Bulletin 1871-1946. 42 No. 175 (p.52)

Quiver. (1905, 1918, & 1923).

From the Polk Library archives: newspaper clippings in multi-scrapbooks: May 3, 1919; Nov. 26, 1923; June 2, 1928; March 25, 1954; Dec. 2, 1959; May 15, 1962; Jan. 14, 1963; & May 11, 1964.