UWEC Athletics Hall of Fame
Lavern Brinkman was an outstanding football player for the Blugolds, achieving all-state honors in 1923 and serving as team captain in 1924. He was a guard on the 1922 championship team. He followed Red Carroll at Stanley High School and continued the winning tradition with a 13-3 record in three seasons including an undefeated team in 1926. He left Wisconsin to assume a similar position in Marshfield, Oregon. There he won conference championships in football and track. After one season, he moved south to Oakland, California and spent two more years as an educator and coach. He joined New York Life Insurance Company in 1930 where he advanced quickly and became General Manager in 1945, a position he held until his retirement in 1964. Brinkman spent much of his lifetime in service to Goodwill Industries. He served 22 years on the Board of Wightman Memorial, six years as president.
