William Reichardt Obituary

Bill Reichardt, 73, passed away on Tuesday, June 1, 2004 at Iowa Methodist Hospital. Funeral services are 11 a.m. Friday at St. Augustin's Church in Des Moines. Private interment will be at Resthaven Mausoleum.

Bill was born to Herbert and Ethel Reichardt on June 24, 1930 and grew up working in the family restaurant, Reich's Café in Iowa City. Prior to graduating in 1948, Bill received many sports honors, including induction into the Iowa City High School Hall of Fame, recipient of eight athletic letters for varsity competition and First Team All-State fullback.

While attending the University of Iowa, Bill received numerous football honors with the Hawkeyes including All American fullback, First Team All Big Ten for two years and named Most Valuable Player in the Big 10 in 1951. He was named the Chicago Tribune's MVP in the Big Ten, which was the first time any athlete in any sport was named the MVP in a conference on a team that did not win a game.

After graduating, he played in the Senior Bowl, North-South and the Blue-Gray games which were played at Chicago's Soldier's Field and in the College All-Star game against the Los Angeles Rams. Bill was recently named to the University of Iowa All Time Team as full back (selected by the Gannett News Service) and was inducted into the University of Iowa Athletic Hall of Fame.

In 1952, Bill was united in marriage with Sue Manbeck and they were married for 52 years.

Bill and friend, Bud Flood, opened Reichardts, Inc. in 1953 as Bill Reichardt's Sports Shop. "I'm Bill Reichardt, and I own the store" was a well recognized slogan of Reichardt's Clothing Store which remained in the original Roosevelt Shopping Center in Des Moines for all his 47 years in his own business, until selling the store in 1997.

On the political front, Bill spent two years in the Iowa House and four years in the Iowa Senate between 1964 to 1970. He was a candidate for Governor in the 1992 primary.

Bill has written and published many articles pertaining to competitive athletics as well as juvenile crime issues. In 1956, he founded the Little All-American Football League and coached in the program for 29 years. He also founded the Des Moines Youth Soccer League. He was the annual guest speaker to over 800 boys at the American Legion Hawkeye Boys State for 46 consecutive years. Many organizations throughout Des Moines and Iowa enjoyed Bill's participation on their Boards and Committees.

Bill is survived by his wife, Sue; three children, daughter, Barbara Jensen (Realtor - Denver, Colorado) and her three children, Jessica, William Cody and Jack and her husband, Buzz Weisberg, son Doug (Chairman & CEO, Holmes Murphy & Associates), his wife, Debbie and their three children, Kristin Hall, Katie and Randy; son Duke (Partner, Bening Financial), his wife, Carole and their three children, Austin, Dan and Brynn; and sisters Sherry Gardner and Mary Ellen Krebs.

A memorial gathering will be held Thursday beginning at 5:30 p.m. at the Hy-Vee Conference Center located at 5820 Westown Parkway in West Des Moines. Memorial contributions may be made to YMCA Partner With Youth (101 Locust Street, Des Moines 50309) or the American Cancer Society-Midwest Division (8364 Hickman Road, Des Moines 50325).

ARRANGEMENTS BY DUNN'S FUNERAL HOME.

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