Former MC football great Virgil “Tige” Boucher ’32 died Aug. 8, 2007, in Peoria, Ill., a little more than two months after he had received the last of his many personal, professional and civic honors, Monmouth College’s Distinguished Service Award.

Boucher, who was 97, attended the Alumni Weekend awards ceremony and was represented at the podium by Bob Sulaski, one of his former players at Peoria’s Woodruff High School.

“Monmouth College is behind many of the blessings in his life,” said Sulaski, who noted that several individuals traveled from around the state to be with the “highly esteemed” Boucher on his special day.

That was also the case both times that Boucher hosted reunions of his former Woodruff players. The 2001 event drew more than 150 WHS football lettermen from 23 states, many saying they wouldn’t have missed it for the world.

“I owe my success to the boys, and I want them to know I appreciate it,” Boucher told the Peoria Journal-Star at the time. “I love them all.”
 

A legendary Monmouth lineman, Boucher celebrated the 75th anniversary of his undefeated 1931 football team last year.  (Print-quality image)

That giving spirit was on display throughout his life. Following his retirement as a teacher and coach, Boucher became so actively involved in the Heart Association, the Retired Teachers Association and Kiwanis that he received the Tom Connor Award, which is presented annually to Peoria’s outstanding volunteer.

He also was generous to his alma mater, as his six-figure gift helped created the attractive Boucher Plaza entrance to Bobby Woll Memorial Field.

“I just felt that I wanted to pay back what I’ve received,” said Boucher at the time. The plaza was named in honor of his son-in-law and daughter, the late Joseph and Judy Boucher Chamberlain.

Boucher also endowed a scholarship to enable students from Woodruff to attend Monmouth. When picking his own college back in 1928, he was similarly influenced by his high school math teacher and football coach, 1921 MC graduate J.O. Firth. Once he arrived on campus, football coach Herb Hart and mathematics professor Alice Winbigler were his mentors.

The Hall-of-Famer was at home on the football field, helping the Fighting Scots to an undefeated season in 1931. Monmouth was heralded as the only undefeated team in the state and was the champion of the Little 19 and Midwest conferences.

In a 26-12 victory that season over North Central, teammate Leino “Moose” Corgnati sprang loose for a 72-yard score. Said Boucher, “I’ll never forget that play because I did a brush block and left my assignment to lead Moose down the field. I took out the safety to finish the play off. That was my pride and joy.”
 

The media took notice of Boucher’s dominating play, with an account of another game that season stating that he was “smearing Coe’s offensive plays before they even got started.”
 

Boucher earned first team all-star honors from both the Associated Press and United Press following the season.

Off the field, Boucher was a member of the Theta Upsilon Omega fraternity, which eventually became Sigma Phi Epsilon. He remained active with the Sig Eps until the time of his death, serving on their alumni board and endowing scholarships to promote leadership and development.
 

Boucher during his coaching days at Peoria Woodruff.

“I grew up knowing Mr. Boucher as members of the same church in Peoria,” said Bill Turner ’93. “Our relationship magnified quickly once he learned that not only was I attending Monmouth, but I had also joined Sig Ep. Over the years, I have witnessed Virgil acquire and embrace an extended family both through the fraternity and the college community. He found particular enjoyment following the lives of his fellow Sig Eps, the accomplishments of the many Woodruff High School graduates he ushered to campus and the victories of the Scots football team. Virgil especially enjoyed the victories over Knox.”

After graduating from Monmouth, Boucher served as a coach in the tiny western Illinois communities of Seaton and Media. In 1942, he was asked to teach at the new Woodruff facility. Four years later, he assumed control of the football team, and by the mid-1950s, Boucher had built a powerhouse, which included an undefeated team in 1955. That squad, which outscored its foes 285-7, played in the midst of a six-year stretch that saw the Warriors go 49-6-5.

Today, the practice football field at Woodruff is named in Boucher’s honor.

“I’ve always been thankful to Monmouth College,” he said recently, recalling his goal as a teenager was “to get off the farm.” Boucher added, “They took me as a pretty green country boy, and I learned a lot.”