Tip to Oehser, Caldwell’s hometown fans love him
“I knew back then he was a very special young man,” said Gene Van Galder, an assistant coach in football and basketball at the time and now a minister in Beloit. “Not just gifted athletically, but as a person he was just incredibly solid. He was respectful, he was so intelligent, he picked things up so quickly and he was a natural leader. Not a rah-rah guy, but a leader.”
Indeed, as a prep athlete Caldwell fit in more than he stood out. He was a captain in football and basketball, but he was never flashy, never drew attention to himself.
“He was always a competitor,” said Wynn Weaver, a teammate in football and basketball who lives in Milwaukee. “He was quiet, though. He just dutifully went about his job, whatever it was. He wasn’t a big rah-rah guy. You can watch him on TV and tell that. He doesn’t have much emotion at all. He just does what he needs to do. No highs, no lows, just always about business.”
He still is that way. Even in the NFL, where the coaches are workaholics, few are as efficient and well-prepared as Caldwell. That stems from his upbringing.
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