Wisconsin Football Coaches Association

MONTE CHARLES
Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2006

Monte was born and grew up in Vicksburg, Michigan. At Vicksburg High School he earned 14 letters participating in football, basketball, and baseball. He was an All-Conference fullback. He is a member of the Vicksburg High School Hall of Fame. Monte was an alumnus of Hillsdale College in Michigan where he lettered in football track and baseball. In college he played both fullback and linebacker. He played on a winning team all four years of college. Named to the All-Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association as a linebacker.  Hillsdale was the only Michigan small college team to participate in a bowl game. Seven of his Hillsdale teammates were drafted by NFL teams. Upon graduation Monte was drafted as a fullback by the Green Bay Packers in 1950 but was released six weeks before the start of the 1951 season.  Next he spent three years with the semi-pro team, the Detroit Tars.

He then embarked upon an exciting, colorful and successful career in coaching:
. From 1954-1964 he was the first football coach and athletic director at Southfield Michigan High School in the Detroit area. Monte had a regular newspaper column that appeared every Monday morning in The Detroit Free Press entitled "The Coach Sez."
. His first coaching position at the college level 1965-66 was at Northern Illinois University. He was the offensive coordinator, coaching national record holder quarterback, George Bork.
. Head coach UW-Plattville 1966-68, record 17-9-2
. Assistant coach, Winnipeg Blue Bombers - Canadian Football League 1969
. Head coach UW-Superior, record 11-5
. Head coach, UW-Stevens Point, 1972-1976, record 26-21-3
. Assistant coach serving quarterbacks and receivers, Missouri Southern University, Joplin, 1977-79
. Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, Saskatchewan Rough riders CFL 1980-83
. Director of player personnel and head scout for Hamilton Tiger cats CFL, 1984-85
. Scout for Canada Nine representing CFL
. Assistant coach, Montreal Allouettes, CFL 1987
. Volunteer assistant coach, UW-Steven Point, 1988
. Intramural director and offensive coordinator, UW-Stevens Point, 1989-91
. Assistant to the executive director of Student Life and support Services and coordinator of recruitment for an NFL team summer training camp at UW-Stevens Point, 1991-92

Monte was an ambassador of good will and a personable, loyal, trusted, optimistic representative for whichever organization he represented. He was "Coach of the Year" in the Detroit Metropolitan Area schools for 1957; guest of honor at Monte Charles Day in Southfield Michigan, October 2, 1965. He was the only person in the history of the Wisconsin State University Conference to be a head coach at three different schools, UW-Plattville, UW-Superior and UW-Stevens Point. He was Coach of the Year in the WSUC in 1968. 

All three teams Monte coached in the WSUC led the nation and NAIA Division I in passing and total offense. Several of Monte's players at all three schools became Little All-Americans and are now members of their respective school's athletic Halls of Fame. It was at UW-Stevens Point where he was dubbed and shall always be remembered by his players and fans as the "Ringmaster of the Aerial Circus" for his proficient and exciting passing games.