Oral History Interview: Lewis Ritcherson, Sr. (1227)

Abstract

In his 2012 interviews with Troy Reeves and Greg Bond, Les Ritcherson, an assistant UW football coach and a long-time UW affirmative action officer, discussed his career at UW-Madison, as well as, his days as a student, athlete, coach, and teacher in Texas. Ritcherson began by discussing his youth in Waco, Texas; his college experiences as a student-athlete at Wiley College; and his coaching and teaching career at Midland High School and then at Waco’s A.J. Moore High School, where he won several state championships. He explained how he came to Wisconsin and discussed his coaching career in Madison. Ritcherson talked about the racial turmoil that beset the football program in the late 1960s. He also discussed his career as an Affirmative Action Officer, first, at the UW-Extension and, then, at UW-Madison.