The 1962 Port Clinton football team was undefeated. This photo shows half the team. (Photo courtesy of Ottawa County Museum)

BY SHERI TRUSTY

The 1962 Port Clinton High School (PCHS) football team gave its fans one of the most exciting seasons in the school’s 100 years of football. The team, led by Coach Joe Lukac, made its final walk off the field with a 9-0-1 record and a lifetime of memories. Player Jim Lundgard hopes to relive some of those memories by finding long-lost film of the games.

Lundgard, who now lives in Kentucky, has been searching for game film for years. He believes the late Willis Misch of the former Misch Studio in Port Clinton recorded many of the games, and Lundgard has been looking for them for a long time.

“He took thousands and thousands of photos, and our coach had him film some of the games,” Lundgard said.

Lundgard located one film, a reel-to-reel of the 1962 Port Clinton vs. Lake game.

The 1962 Port Clinton football coaches had a lot to be proud of. (Photo courtesy of Ottawa County Museum)

“I had it put on DVD and sent it to the guys on the team that I could track down,” he said.

Lundgard has been searching for more films for decades, and he hopes someone has them tucked in their garage or attic. Lundgard already contacted the school district and the schools of the opposing teams; the Ottawa County Museum; and relatives of people who owned the photo studio in subsequent years.

“I wrote every school. I’ve been working on this for years. Somebody has got to have something somewhere,” he said.

Lundgard headed off to college after graduating in 1963 and volunteered for the draft during the Vietnam War, where he earned two Purple Hearts. He was inducted into the Ohio Military Hall of Fame for his service and sacrifice, which gave him the opportunity to meet former President Ronald Reagan.

Throughout all his life experiences, part of his heart remained with Port Clinton and the 1962 football team.

Jim Lundgard is hoping to find film of his 1962 football team. (Photo courtesy of Ottawa County Museum)

“I think it was the best team ever in the school’s history. We had just a really, really great team. There was lots of depth. All the talent was in that class,” Lundgard said.

According to the school’s 1963 Revista yearbook for the 1962/1963 schoolyear, which was provided by the Ottawa County Museum, the team was comprised of 90 players, including sixteen lettermen. They earned a 17th ranking in the Associated Press Poll. Port Clinton headed into the season so strong that the opposing teams didn’t score a goal until the third game, and, Lundgard believes, the Redskins’ 9-0-1 record should have been 10-0. The tie was the result of a game against Perrysburg.

“We almost lost that game because of the officials. We tied, but we should have won it by 30 points,” Lundgard said. “We beat most of the teams by 40 or 50 points.”

Anyone with information on films of the 1962 PCHS football team can contact Jim Lundgard at 502-468-9725 or jimlundgard@yahoo.com.