Andy Wiltzius

KINGSFORD — It was the early days of the COVID-19 shutdown. Retired Kingsford elementary school teacher and Flivver football coach Andy Wiltzius was trying to occupy himself during those down times of 2020 when thoughts of writing a book flashed through his mind.

And what better topic for Wiltzius to write about than a chronicle of the years he spent as a line coach under the stewardship of head coach Chris Hofer, an era in which Kingsford football soared to its greatest heights and won a state championship in 1993.

Wiltzius began his work in April of 2020. He spent hours in the Dickinson County Library looking at microfiche of Iron Mountain Daily News’ stories during the Hofer years, which spanned from 1987-2018.

He spent even more time in his home writing, about two hours per session.

The project turned into “Saddle Up,” a book about the 32 years of Kingsford Flivver football during the Hofer era. The book, containing 168 pages of Flivver football memories during that era, was recently published by Globe Printing, Inc., of Ishpeming and went on sale on Saturday at Kingsford Ace Hardware and by contacting Wiltzius personally.

“I formulated it in my head that it would be a year-to-year review of the 32 years that Chris coached,” Wiltzius said. “But then I got going on it and I said, ‘Look, I’m not remembering as much as I thought I would, so I thought, ‘Well, if I’m going to do this, I’ve got to do it right.’ I wanted it to be really (thorough).”

So began his trips to the DCL, back when patrons could only spend 45 minutes at a time in the library due to COVID-19 restrictions. Wiltzius would head to the library three or four times per week, go through the old Daily News game stories in order to spur his memories and to get the particulars of each season reported accurately.

Then, the writing began.

“That was a bit of a daunting undertaking,” he said. “I was an elementary teacher and I taught primarily mathematics at the elementary school. So I said, ‘Well, I’ve got to check my punctuation and my grammar’ and my wife (Brenda) did some of that for me.”

Wiltzius describes the book as “remembering the thrilling games, heated rivalries, triumphs, disappointments, great performances, championships and the fine young men who played winning football in a football town.”

The book begins with a dedication to all Flivver football fans and players and is then followed by an introduction.

Then, Wiltzius organized his work into year-by-year sections, which include important game recollections, some side stories, a schedule of game results and a roster of each team.

There was a wealth of information to be gathered and Wiltzius said he enjoyed the hours and hours of research.

“It was always fun because I didn’t have the stressors of a deadline.” said the 1980 graduate of Gladstone High School. “As I got further into it, I would have been disappointed if I hadn’t finished it, but that was always on option. I didn’t have to finish it. But it was important to me to see the project through.”

He finished his work at the beginning of October of this year and then turned to Globe Printing.

“They do a lot of local history and they walked me through some of the process and helped me with some of the editing, layout and such. Things I didn’t know anything about.”

Wiltzius said the title of his book came from a saying Hofer used often.

“He’d come into the locker room and he’d say, ‘OK, saddle up.’ That’s when (the players) would get their gear on and head out,” Wiltzius added.

The Hofer years were a high point in the history of Flivver football. Hofer’s teams went 253-94 over the course of his 32 years, winning 73% of their games. The teams won 16 Great Northern Conference titles, 16 Barber trophies, seven regionals and a state championship. Hofer’s teams also finished state runner-up three times.

Hofer finished his head coaching career as the 26th winningest coach in state history. His father, Ken, a legendary coach at Menominee, won 322 games in his career, good for seventh in state history.

Chris Hofer’s 32 years at Kingsford is the longest tenure in Flivver history, by far. The next closest is Rae Drake Sr. who coached at Kingsford for 14 years.

Hofer’s best years came in the 1990s when the Flivvers compiled a 95-20 record (.826 winning percentage).

Of course, the 1993 season will always be remembered as the year Kingsford won the Class B state title. And that year was extra memorable because Iron Mountain won the Class C crown. The Flivvers gave the Mountaineers their only setback of that season, a 24-14 verdict in front of a reported 5,000 fans at Flivver Field.

Wiltzius clearly remembers the days when that rivalry matchup was the highlight of the season.

“It was an unbelievable game,” he said. “The crowds were unreal. It was on a Saturday afternoon and it was great. And for being a smaller school, they competed against us great.”

Six weeks after that historic clash between top-ranked Kingsford and second-ranked Iron Mountain, both schools capped off their legendary seasons with victories — the Flivvers beat Imlay City 35-14 to win the Class B title and the Mountaineers defeated Manchester 28-8 to bring home the Class C trophy.

Wiltzius retired from coaching in 2016 after 28 years on Hofer’s staff.

“It was an important part of my life as far as I have such good memories from it, the friendships I made and the camaraderie of the coaches’ room,” he said.

Wiltzius added he dedicated the book to the former players and fans.

‘I really think it’s a credit to them,” he said. “And I hope it’s a keepsake, especially for former players who played during this generation. And to the fans, wow, we had some great fans.”

Wiltzius hopes that those fans, those former players, and maybe even some Mountaineers’ fans and others, will purchase his book, and take a walk through the history of a storied local football program.

“I’m excited for it to get out there and see how it’s received. It was a labor of love, a lot of work. But I really enjoyed it,” Wiltzius said. “I hope people, when they read it, will look back and enjoy it.”

Those interested in purchasing a copy of “Saddle Up” can also contact Wiltzius at his home at 156 N. Pyle Dr in Kingsford, at saddleupflivvers@gmail.com or by texting or calling 906-869-8551.