If there’s one thing you can say about coach Joker Harshbarger’s Redskin football teams of the late 1940’s, it’s that Elry Falkenstein was destined to be their quarterback from the day he was born. Falkenstein’s father, Alois Sr., was a man described as an “avid” football fan, and from the time young Elry could hold a ball, Alois had his son practicing his passing. Even during the cold winter months in Naperville, Elry Falkenstein could regularly be found out on the Naperville Community High School field by himself, throwing balls 50 yards to strengthen his arm and perfect his passing while his buddies were inside playing basketball. It was a commitment to excellence that earned him the respect of the small farming community and defined his exemplary athletic career. Falkenstein was a three-year starting quarterback for the Redskins on teams that went a combined 23-2-1 during his tenure as signal caller, including an unblemished 3-0 record against hated rival Wheaton. Playing as a member of the Little Seven Conference, Falkenstein’s teams won two conference titles in 1947 and 1948, and finished 2nd in 1946 under the watchful eye of Hall of Fame head coach John “Joker” Harshbarger. Partnering with Roger Dornburg, Howard Eby, and Bob Parcells, Naperville’s “Dream Backfield” rolled to eight straight victories in 1948, amassing an incredible 302 points along the way. One newspaper writer of the day commented, “The Redskins went through their opponents like a $10 bill in today’s supermarkets,” and its players, Falkenstein included, became local legends. Falkenstein’s work ethic was infectious. He would spend hours each day in the summer working with his teammates, and if no one was available, he wouldsimply throw footballs at a tire in the yard instead. More often than not, his teammates were up for the extra work. Falkenstein once told the Daily Suburban Trib, “Parcells and I worked all summer from June (1948) on a particular play that we showed Coach Harshbarger. He put it in, and as a result, we scored about seven or eight touchdowns off that one play. I’d fade out to the right and Parcells would go down and in on a post pattern, and I’d jump in the air and throw the ball to him about 50 yards.” More than 65 years later, Parcells, himself a Hall of Fame member, remembers his teammate and those very workouts with fondness, remarking, “Elry loved his football. He was dedicated to be the best. Every year in high school, Elry and I would meet after dinner and run pass patterns for hours. He was tireless in his efforts to improve.” Parcells also shares, “Often overlooked were his defensive skills. In a game against Downers Grove, he tackled their star running back with a hit that belonged in a tackling clinic.” Named All-Conference and All-State in 1948, Falkenstein would later accept a scholarship to play football for Frank Leahy at the University of Notre Dame. After one season as a back-up to All-American quarterback Bob Williams on the Irish’s 1949 National Championship team, Falkenstein transferred to the University of Illinois where he would eventually earn his own All-American honors. Falkenstein would quarterback the Illini to the 1951 Big Ten championship and a victory in the 1952 Rose Bowl, the first college football game to ever be televised nationally. Losing to Stanford 7-6 late in the 3rd quarter, Illinois ripped off 34 unanswered points to finish with a 40-7 victory. The 1952 team would ascend to a #2 national ranking before losing to Wisconsin 20-6 on October 4, 1952; the captain of that Badger squad was Falkenstein’s high school backfield mate and fellow Naperville Central Athletic Hall of Fame member, Roger Dornburg. Falkenstein would lead the Illini to another Big Ten championship in 1953 en route to earning All-Big Ten, All-Midwest, and his All-American recognition. After graduating from the University of Illinois in 1954, he would go on to play one season with the Packers. Following his time in Green Bay, he spent three years as an Officer in the United States Air Force and played in the Hawaiian All-Service Bowl in Honolulu, Hawaii. In 1956 he was named Head Coach of the Hamilton Air Force Base football team, the Pacific Coast service champions, and later enjoyed a stint back in his hometown as the backfield coach at North Central College. Falkenstein had a lot to be proud of from his days as a player, but equally important to him was his family: wife Charlotte, sons Elry II & Craig, daughter Charisse, and his six grandchildren, one of whom- Elry III- is the proud bearer of his grandfather’s name. Naperville today is much different than the community of 5,000 that it was when Falkenstein starred for the Redskins. Most old articles recall football as a way of life in Naperville in the 1940’s. Writer Reid Handley remarked that before boys were learning the game from coaches in the 7th and 8th grade “Green & Black Program,” they were playing tackle football in vacant lots all over town, much to the dismay of concerned mothers. But by 7th grade, Falkenstein had already spent plenty of time perfecting his pass. The gift of history is that it allows us to see all of a life story, its beginnings, middles and end. While Alois could not know for sure just what path Elry’s life would take, he was adamant about getting a football in his little boy’s hands. That father-son pass of passion brought some beautiful color to the Falkenstein family story and all fortunate enough to witness its unfolding.