Flambeau League
The Flambeau League is a former high school athletic conference with its membership concentrated in northwestern Wisconsin. Founded in 1939 and disbanded in 1970, the conference and its member schools belonged to the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association.
History
[edit]1939-1950
[edit]
The Flambeau League was formed in 1939 by five small high schools in northwestern Wisconsin: Butternut, Draper-Loretta, Fifield, Glidden and Winter. Original members were located in four counties (Ashland, Lincoln, Price and Sawyer) and the conference was named after the Flambeau River, which ran through the conference's geographic area. During that same time period, there was a conference running concurrently called the Flambeau-Soo League, which contained current Flambeau League and former Soo Line Athletic League schools. There were five dual members for most of this alignment's history with the exception of the 1945-46 season, when Fifield was solely a member of the Flambeau-Soo League.[1] This dual-conference arrangement lasted until 1946, when the Flambeau-Soo was disbanded. Former Flambeau-Soo League members Prentice were immediately welcomed into the Flambeau League for the 1945-46 school year, along with the re-entry of Fifield.[2]
1950-1962
[edit]
The entry of Tripoli into the fold brought the Flambeau League to seven members for the 1950-51 season.[3] Two years later, the Flambeau League lost Draper-Loretta when it was consolidated into fellow conference member Winter.[4] Hawkins moved over from the similarly named Flambeauland Conference to replace them,[5][6] maintaining the size of the membership roster at seven. Three years later, the Flambeauland Conference disbanded,[7] and former members Ingram-Glen Flora joined as the Flambeau League's eighth member in 1955.[8] Their time in the league would be short-lived, as they were merged with Tony in 1961 to form the new Flambeau High School, with the new school inheriting Tony's Lakeland Conference membership.[9] The next year, Fifield was consolidated into nearby Park Falls,[4] and two schools displaced by the cessation of the 3-C Conference (Rib Lake and Westboro) entered the Flambeau League as replacements, increasing membership back to eight schools.[10]
1962-1970
[edit]
In the late 1960s, the Flambeau League continued to lose members to both rural school district consolidation and membership in other conferences. Hawkins and Westboro left the conference in 1967, with Hawkins' consolidation into Ladysmith and the folding of Westboro into Rib Lake.[11] In 1968, Winter left to join the Lakeland Conference, decreasing the roster to five member schools.[12] The conference lost another member in 1969 due to Tripoli's consolidation into Prentice's district.[13] The four remaining schools competed for one more season before disbanding the Flambeau League in 1970. Butternut and Glidden joined the Indianhead Conference,[14] Prentice became members of the Lakeland Conference[15] and Rib Lake was accepted into the Marawood Conference.[16]
Conference membership history
[edit]Final members
[edit]| School | Location | Affiliation | Mascot | Colors | Joined | Left | Conference Joined | Current Conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Butternut | Butternut, WI | Public | Midgets | 1939 | 1970[14] | Indianhead | Northern Lights | |
| Glidden | Glidden, WI | Public | Vikings/ Black Bears |
1939 | 1970[14] | Indianhead | Closed in 2009 (merged into Chequamegon) | |
| Prentice | Prentice, WI | Public | Buccaneers | 1946[2] | 1970[15] | Lakeland | Marawood | |
| Rib Lake | Rib Lake, WI | Public | Redmen | 1962[10] | 1970[16] | Marawood | ||
Former members
[edit]| School | Location | Affiliation | Mascot | Colors | Joined | Left | Conference Joined | Current Conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draper-Loretta | Draper, WI | Public | Blue and Gold | 1939 | 1952[4] | Closed (consolidated into Winter) | ||
| Fifield | Fifield, WI | Public | Vikings | 1939, 1946[2] | 1945,[1] 1962[4] | Closed (consolidated into Park Falls) | ||
| Hawkins | Hawkins, WI | Public | Hawkeyes | 1952[5][6] | 1967[11] | Closed (consolidated into Ladysmith) | ||
| Ingram-Glen Flora | Glen Flora, WI | Public | Bluejays | 1955[8] | 1961[9] | Closed (merged into Flambeau) | ||
| Tripoli | Tripoli, WI | Public | Tornadoes | 1950[3] | 1969[13] | Closed (consolidated into Prentice) | ||
| Westboro | Westboro, WI | Public | Trojans | 1962[10] | 1967[11] | Closed (merged into Rib Lake) | ||
| Winter | Winter, WI | Public | Warriors | 1939 | 1968[12] | Lakeland | ||
Membership timeline
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Glidden Atop Two Leagues". Superior Evening Telegram. 17 December 1945. p. 9. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
- ^ a b c "Flambeau League Elects Officers". Superior Evening Telegram. 9 October 1946. p. 17. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
- ^ a b "Flambeau League Holds Meeting". Superior Evening Telegram. 8 September 1950. p. 19. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
- ^ a b c d Rupnow, Chuck (12 October 1986). "School consolidations may affect alumni most". Eau Claire Leader-Telegram. p. 6. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
- ^ a b Hawkeye 1952-53. Hawkins High School. 1953. pp. 19–20.
- ^ a b "Holcombe Off To Slow Start, Drops 2nd Game in Week". Chippewa Herald-Telegram. 21 November 1952. p. 9. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
- ^ "Holcombe Chieftains Play Host to Hawkins". Chippewa Herald-Telegram. 12 December 1955. p. 8. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
- ^ a b "Basketball (see Flambeauland - erroneously named but shows Flambeau League opponent)". Eau Claire Leader-Telegram. 3 December 1955. p. 8. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
- ^ a b "Turtle, Shell Lake Seek Lakeland Lead". Eau Claire Leader-Telegram. 11 October 1961. p. 10. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
- ^ a b c "Cloverbelt, Marawood Open Conference Seasons Friday". Marshfield News-Herald. 15 November 1962. p. 17. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
- ^ a b c "Consolidation Cuts WIAA to 425 Schools". Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune. 7 September 1967. p. 14. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
- ^ a b "Lakeland Loop Western Race Opens Tonight". Eau Claire Leader-Telegram. 6 December 1968. p. 16. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
- ^ a b "Apportion Tripoli School District". Wausau Daily Herald. 18 July 1969. p. 9. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
- ^ a b c "Glidden Leads in Indianhead". Ironwood Daily Globe. 24 December 1970. p. 15. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
- ^ a b "Holcombe, New Auburn set Lakeland schedule". Chippewa Herald-Telegram. 29 October 1970. p. 15. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
- ^ a b "Marawood Conference votes to enroll Nekoosa". Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune. 22 October 1969. p. 14. Retrieved 4 April 2025.