Hall of Fame
Macalester had some of its most successful football teams just after World War II, and much of the credit goes to Robert Stark, an All-State tackle who helped the Scots win 11 games against just two losses and a tie during his junior and senior seasons.
Stark enrolled at Macalester as a freshman in 1942, but says, "I just wasn't ready for college at age 16." Instead, he enlisted in the Marines; he was sent to radar school and then assigned to aircraft carriers in the Pacific.
This matured Stark, who was now ready to re-enroll at Macalester. He was bigger and stronger, and was about to become a standout for the Scots in both football and wrestling.
As a wrestler in the heavyweight division, Stark led the Scots to a pair of league titles, winning three state individual championships in the meantime. One year he captured a tie for the championship in the Northwest AAU tourney.
Stark was just as dominating in football, and was named All-State three times. After a disappointing 1-6-1 sophomore season, the Scots claimed their first league crown in 22 years in the magical 1947 campaign. The team gave up just two touchdowns all fall and finished with a 5-0-1 mark. No Macalester team since then has gone through a season without a loss. Macalester went 6-2 during Stark's senior season. Most observers felt that strong line play was the key to Macalester's success in '47 and '48, and Stark played a major role on the line.
Following graduated school at the University of Minnesota (during which Stark served as Macalester's wrestling coach and freshman football coach), he pursued a career in electronics, first in Alaska and then in suburban Chicago. He has coached a junior football program in Glenview, Ill. for 20 years.
