Yesterday in La Crosse

There could have been three public high schools in town, 55 years ago

Published

5 years ago

February 21, 2019

In February of 1964, the La Crosse city council and the school board were discussing future plans for a third public high school, besides Central and Logan. The new school would be at Losey Boulevard and Green Bay Streets, where Central is located now. At the time, Central stood at 16th and Cass. The plan commission was excluded from discussions, after it was suggested that a different site be considered. But that notion was turned down, because too much work had already been done to develop the Losey site for a school. Mayor Milo Knutson was upset with delays, and wanted a referendum…arguing that a third school on Losey would be too close to the existing Central.

A big heavyweight title fight was live on the radio that month. WKTY carried ABC’s coverage of champion Sonny Liston’s fight against Olympic medalist Cassius Clay. The fight from Miami started just after 8:30 p.m., La Crosse time. After six rounds, Liston didn’t get out of his corner for the seventh round, and Clay shouted “I am the greatest.” Clay soon changed his name to Muhammad Ali. Howard Cosell and Rocky Marciano broadcast the fight on AM radio in 1964, yesterday in La Crosse.

Related Topics:Cassius Clay High School Losey Boulevard

Brad Williams

A native of Prairie du Chien, Brad graduated from UW - La Crosse and has worked in radio news for more than 30 years, mostly in the La Crosse area. He regularly covers local courts and city and county government. Brad produces the features "Yesterday in La Crosse" and "What's Buried on Brad's Desk." He also writes the website "Triviazoids," which finds odd connections between events that happen on a certain date, and he writes and performs with the local comedy group Heart of La Crosse. Brad been featured on several national TV programs because of his memory skills.