UWEC Athletics Hall of Fame
Dennis Helixon played football for Cliff Fagan and Ade Olson, basketball for Bill Zorn and baseball for Fagan between 1945 and 1948. He became a Blugold standout at age 27 after spending four and one-half years with the Marine Corps, serving with the 1st Marine Division in the South Pacific theatre during World War II. Helixon earned All-Conference honors all three years he played basketball and was the conference scoring champion in 1946, a season in which the Blugolds won the conference title and were chosen to represent Wisconsin in the NAIB (now NAIA) tournament in Kansas City. During Helixon's three varsity seasons, the Blugolds produced a 43-20 record including an 18-5 mark in 1945-46. Helixon captained the team as a senior.
After graduating from UWEC in 1948, Helixon began his 44-year teaching and coaching career at Owen High School. After six years there as basketball coach, he moved on to Loyal High School for two years and coached basketball, baseball and football. He left there in 1956 for his longest stint at one place, coaching basketball and baseball at East Leyden High School in Franklin Park, Illinois until 1978. Then he retired from teaching and finished with 15 years at Phillips, coaching basketball, baseball and golf through 1992. During those 44 years, he produced a 356-166 basketball record, a 236-118 baseball mark, a 6-3 football record and won three conference golf championships with one state tournament team. Even in retirement, Helixon remained active. At the time of his induction, he was serving his sixth year on the Price County Board of Supervisors and was on the Board of Directors of the Indianhead Library Federation. He was previously inducted into the Coaches Hall of Fame at East Leyden High School.
