1984 WCHS Football Redshirts

In 1981, Charles Walls of Peoria Manual had sat behind Peoria Manual's strong running backs for two years. He finally got his chance with three games left in the 1980 season as a junior and ended up ranked 9th in the Mid-State Ten Conference in rushing based on those three games.  Colleges were calling.  Football was Walls' ticket to success.  In a 1981 intrasquad game before his senior season, Walls broke two bones in his lower arm.  Interestingly, his father pulled him out of school before the 10th day of class, which essentially means he was never there.  This was in accordance with the IHSA rules at the time, provided it was due to a disabling illness or injury.  He returned for the spring semester but still had one semester to go to graduate, the fall of 1982.  He had essentially "redshirted" his football season.

What does this have to do with Washington?

On prom night, May 5, 1984, a head-on collision on Route 24 with a drunk driver broke every bone in the left leg of Scott Underwood.

With Underwood’s 1984 season ruined by an accident, his family chose to keep him out of school, retaining his year of eligibility in athletics — “redshirting” the 1984 season, just like Charles Walls.  

The medical redshirt had become increasingly prevalent at the college level.  Here we were seeing the natural trickle down to high school sports.  The IHSA, not really ready to deal with the matter, had no rules in place.

With Underwood sidelined, the 1984 Panthers began practicing for the season.  Junior quarterback Brad Fuller broke his collarbone during one of these preseason practices.  The Fullers also decided that Brad should not attend WCHS in the fall of 1984 to retain a year of eligibility.

This decision led to many complaints being leveled at the school and the program, but both were at the mercy of the family decisions and had nothing to do with it.  The families were working within the IHSA rules at the time.  The 1984 Panthers, sans Underwood and Fuller, would go 5-4 and miss the playoffs, one of only two times coach John Venturi would miss the playoffs from 1981 to 1998.

The following year, the WCHS football Panthers, with Underwood and Fuller mended, would win the 1985 IHSA State Championship.

Currently, the IHSA rule states that players have 4 years to participate after entering high school.