By Kris Leonhardt
Editor-in-chief
GREEN BAY – As a gift to his alma mater, Cliff Christl has launched a school record book as a fundraiser for Green Bay East High School Athletics, featuring the boys basketball program.
Christl grew up in Allouez and graduated from East High in 1965.
He went on to serve a long journalism career before taking his current position as Green Bay Packers historian.
“As my current job as Packers historian would suggest, I’m into recording history. And East basketball as bad as it has been at times has an interesting history. It might have had more great players in the 1950s than any high school in the state of Wisconsin,” Christl explained.
“Then there were the Steve Kestly years, with some more talented players and a run of success like no other in East’s history. I covered Steve’s dad, Fred, when he was at Pulaski, and he was one of the best high school basketball coaches ever in the state. A favorite of mine.
“Two years ago, when Ryan Sweeney was on his record-setting run, I drove to New London just to see him play. My one regret is I didn’t see some of Rick Rosinski’s outstanding players: Dennis Tinnon, Harry Boyce and a few others.
I was living or working in Milwaukee around that time.”
Christl funded the project and did all of the research and writing, with help on scoring records from previous coaches, stating that it took “longer than expected” to complete the book.
“It consumed a lot of my free time the last year. I’m lucky I have a wife, Shirley, who understands my passions.”
The book covers 104 seasons, from 1919 to 2023.
“There were efforts to form a basketball team at Green Bay East High School at least as early as 1904, but only twice over the next 15 years did those intentions truly pan out,” the book stated.
It includes the history of the boys program, conference standings, school records, coaching history, All-State and conference honors, NCAA player bios, hall of fame inductees, the East-West rivalry and more.
“I’ve followed the fortunes of East’s football and basketball teams as a young boy, a student, a sportswriter and still today, so it was a subject of interest to me. Plus, I wanted to do something for the school. I have fond memories of my years at East, although probably my biggest disappointment there was getting cut from the basketball team about midway through my junior year. Still, I’m a Red Devil for life,” he stated.
Books can be purchased at East High School and The Haberdasher in Green Bay and Bosse’s in De Pere.
“Nobody is making a profit off of this other than the Green Bay East High School Athletics endowment fund. In other words, if you buy the book, you’re making a tax deductible donation to a worthy cause,” he added.