Bob Miller:
The Wisconsin hockey team has caught the imagination of thousands of fans. What do you like about Badger hockey?

Speaker:
I like winning. [laughs]

Speaker:
The excitement.

Speaker:
I like a fight now and then. [laughs]

Bob Miller:
The story of the acceptance of Wisconsin hockey in Madison is unique. And this is that story.

Mike Leckrone:
One of the things that gave the band the biggest boost in my earliest years was the fact that we were, we became a staple at hockey games. Bob Johnson, our hockey coach, legendary figure in Wisconsin history, came to me one day and he said, “Can you get a band to play at a hockey game?” I don’t even remember if I’d ever seen a hockey game before. But Bob was one of those guys that you didn’t say “no” to. [whistle]

Narrator:
So, Badger Bob Johnson and Mike Leckrone teamed up. And the hockey coach and the band director soon discovered that joining forces brought the games to a new level. [“Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight”] Growing popularity and excitement for the hockey program and creating an opportunity for the band to further establish its unique reputation.

Ray Luick:
To be the first athletic endeavor during Leckrone’s existence here that took off is so ironic because it’s the sport he knew the least about. But then, the relationship he developed with the coach, Bob Johnson, is just absolutely marvelous.

Speaker:
Johnson was the same way. He was trying to get people interested in hockey like Mike was with the band. So, the two of them said, “What can we do to help each other?”

John Berg:
The band was a huge part. You know, you have to make new ice, and you have those delays between first and second and second and third periods. And who filled that space? Mike and the band.

Mike Leckrone:
The band established a personality in a lot of ways. There were big signs. They had “Leckrone Legionnaires.” In the meantime, the hockey team got really good. [crowd cheers]

Announcer:
Picked up, score! On the rebound!

Mike Leckrone:
It was wild. Wisconsin had just won the national championship in Detroit. Obviously, a great deal of celebrating was going on. People were wild. The band was performing everywhere you could imagine. All this celebration going on, and there’s no Bucky Badger. Bucky Badger had left his uniform, his suit, with the band. So, I happened to know where the suit was located under one of the buses. So, I said, “Wouldn’t it be fun if I got to be Bucky Badger?” [“If You Want to be a Badger”]

Mike Leckrone:
Just a short period of time. Make an appearance, do everything that Bucky Badger does. And so, I put on the suit, and I made an appearance as the band was playing. Everybody was happy. I disappeared quickly back into the crowd. No one has ever known. ‘Til now. [chuckles] It was one of those things that you can put on your bucket list, say, “I did it, but I don’t know that I can tell anybody I did it.”