Chadron State football standout from 1950s dies

Guido Santero - Circa 1990

An all-star football player at Chadron State College during the late 1950s, Guido Santero, died Sunday, March 22 at his home in Kansas City.  He was 84.

A native of Lewellen, Santero was the leading rusher on the Eagles’ undefeated team coached by Bill Baker in 1958. As the tailback on the single wing formation, he usually took a direct snap from center. He carried the ball 117 times for 807 yards, an average of 6.9 yards, and scored 13 touchdowns in eight games.

It was 1980 before another Chadron State player scored that many touchdowns and 1990 before a CSC back scored 14. His rushing average also was unmatched until 1989.   

At the end of the 1958 season, Santero was named to the Nebraska College Conference first-team as well as to the all-state college teams selected by both the Lincoln Journal and the Omaha World-Herald.

Chadron State had another excellent team in 1959, going 6-2. Santero was again the team’s leading rusher with 485 yards and also completed 20 of 40 passes for 360 yards and seven touchdowns.  He was a co-captain of that team and lettered in basketball in 1958-59He also was a Student Senate officer, a member of Blue Key National Honorary Fraternity, was selected to Who’s Who Among American College and University Students and graduated with honors in 1961.  

He was inducted into the Chadron State Athletic Hall of Fame in 1984.

After teaching and coaching for a year at Sioux County High School, Santero became a successful insurance agent and financial planner, ultimately in the Kansas City area. His health reportedly had been failing after he had a stroke about two years ago.

The youngest of 12 children, he is survived by his wife Janice, two daughters, two sisters and numerous nephews and nieces. 

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Editor's note:  Thanks to Con Marshall for sending us this photo and story. 

Finding Consolation

It was a sad ending to a terrific season for the Chadron (Nebr) State College football team Saturday (Dec. 1) as Northwest Missouri University handily rebuked the Eagles 26-13 in the NCAA Division II quarterfinals in Chadron.

Gone was the stellar last-quarter comeback of a week earlier, when the Eagles defeated Abilene Christian 76-73 after trailing by 29 points at the end of the third period.

The post-game congregation this week was a solemn one at Elliott Field. In the photo above, two Eagle players console one another, while family and fans looked on.

There is little doubt that the Maryville, Missouri powerhouse deserved the win. Their play and statistics were impressive as they continued their march to the Division II playoffs later this month in Alabama. Nebraska native Xavier Oman of Beatrice set a Bearcat school record for rushing in a single game, collecting some 306 yard for the day. Chadron State College ended another great season with a record of 12-1. After the game, a CSC fan (left) hugs quarterback Joe McLain on the 50-yard line.

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”I’m overjoyed with what we accomplished this year,” Coach Bill O’Boyle said. “We’ve had 12 wins and we came back from a lot of adversity. The guys did a great job staying together and they played as a team. I couldn’t be happier for them.”

The Eagles Had Heart!

The song "Heart" from the Broadway show “Damn Yankees” back in the mid-1950s became a hit recording for both Eddie Fisher and the McGuire Sisters. 

But its lyrics could well have been penned for the Chadron State Eagles football team in their stellar comeback last weekend (Nov. 24th) against Abilene Christian.

You’ve gotta have heart
All you really need is heart
When the odds are sayin'
You’ll never win
That’s when the grin should start

The Eagles simply wouldn't accept defeat. Despite trailing the Abilene Christian "Wildcats" by 29 points in the third period, the CSC "Eagles" displayed great stamina -- and even greater heart -- by chipping away slowly at that margin as the minutes and seconds raced off the clock in the fourth quarter. It was a second round NCAA Division II playoff for the southwest region, played in Chadron (Nebr.) on a soggy Elliott Field.

You've gotta have hope
Mustn't sit around and mope

The heart displayed by the Eagles shone no brighter than from the CSC sideline, as star running back Danny Woodhead climbed atop a bench, as he often has done this year, to rally the crowd behind the Eagle defense. The sheer tenacity of offense and defense alike allowed the Eagles to narrow the gap -- albeit at a pace that was agonizingly slow. The clock was not their friend. But finally, at the end of regulation play, Chadron State had managed, almost unbelievably, to tie Abilene Christian, 56-56. A joyous moment for Eagles fans, and a moment of consternation for the many fans who'd left the game at the end of the third period.

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When your luck is battin' zero

Get your chin up off the floor

Mister you can be a hero

You can open any door...

There's nothin' to it but to DO it!

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And then there were THREE overtime periods. In the end, it was a series of enormous team efforts that gave Chadron a 76-73 win over Abilene. 

The high score and great drama caught the attention of the New York Times, which has enjoyed giving its lofty, if not somewhat condescending, coverage of "tiny Chadron State." It reminds me of the perpetual toungue-in-cheek coverage of Slippery Rock (PA) football scores over several decades.  Read what the Times had to say about the Chadron State-Abilene Christian game.

Our appetites, and those of thousands of other Eagles fans, are whetted for the next chapter in this wonderful unfolding of Chadron State College athletic history. That will occur next Saturday, December 1, when the Northwest Missouri University team invades Chadron for another round of Division II playoffs. Stay tuned!

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Hats off to the Eagles -- they had heart!