Heidelberg Athletics Hall of Fame
Those who saw him play can still close their eyes today and see number 36 twisting and turning to get extra yardage before using his burst of speed to break away for a long gainer for Heidelberg College.
Fenton "Fent" Wolfe was simply a gifted athlete who delighted fans every time he touched the football for the Student Princes.
It was during those World War II years, 1940, 1941, and 1942 that Wolfe set sail on destroying the opposition on the gridiron from his halfback position. Wolfe came to Heidelberg from Findlay High School where he graduated in 1939 and received scholastic, football, basketball, and track honors.
Before he left Heidelberg he earned three letters in football and three in basketball. His talent on the football field was indicated by the fact that all three years he was an All-Ohio Conference pick.
In 1940 his All-Conference honor came despite missing the final four games with a knee injury. Heidelberg won the first five that season with "Fent" in the backfield and lost the final four without him.
Teammate Luke Bowdler of Passaic, New Jersey remarked, "I have always said that when we lost "Fent" in that fifth game, our season was also lost." When Wolfe returned to action in 1941 he continued to run over the opposition and finished as the high scorer in the state.
Under coach T.R. Tumey, Wolfe was also known for his first appearance in a Heidelberg uniform against a favored Otterbein team in 1940 at Armstrong Field. Wolfe raced 48 yards for the first score of the season on the first play for the Student Princes after Otterbein seemingly had kicked out of danger from its 19 yard line. The final score that opening day was Heidelberg 26, Otterbein 0.
Wolfe, a 165-pound back, nicknamed by some the "Findlay flash," had many great moments at Heidelberg, but one that will always stand out was the halting of a 15-game Wittenberg winning streak, 14-0.
Even on the day of his injury Wolfe left his mark as the headline read that fall day in 1940, "Fenton Wolfe stars before leaving game with wrenched knee." It was a day that had Heidelberg taking an 18-7 win over Mount Union in Alliance that stretched the Student Princes' winning streak to five.
Ranked third in the state in scoring at the time of his injury, Wolfe got the Princes on the move with a 65-yard punt return for a touchdown in the second period after teammate Forrest Sharrock of Marion kept the Raiders in the "coffin corner" throughout the opening period with his kicking talents. Wolfe again found the end zone in the third period on an end run of 15 yards to set up the clincher by Karl "Zip" Zalar, of Barberton in the final period.
Many questioned that day whether or not Wolfe would ever be able to return to the form that destroyed foes each weekend. But in 1941 "Fent" was back as one of the best backs in the state. When the 1941 season closed the name Wolfe was there on the first team of the All-Ohio Conference team again. Again in 1942 the name Fenton Wolfe would be on the lips of foes and fans alike throughout the conference and state.
But Wolfe was also talented in the classroom. He was a member of the Heidelberg Literary Society, was active in several college activities, was business manager of the yearbook, and earned the Charles E. Miller Scholarship Award.
After graduating from Heidelberg, he served as First Lieutenant Marine Radar Officer, serving in the South Pacific from 1943-46. Wolfe took graduate studies in math and physics at Ohio State University and earned a master's of science from Bowling Green State University.
He took his talents from the field and taught youngsters the game at Carey, Bellevue, and Upper Sandusky High Schools, as well as Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, posting records of 43-25-2.
"Fent" left the coaching and teaching ranks in 1959 for the textbook publishing industry before retiring and making Upper Sandusky his home. He and his wife Sally have three sons and 10 grandchildren.
(This profile appeared in the 1991 Hall of Fame Banquet Program. Â Mr. Wolfe passed away in 1993.)
