Eugene Cichowski stopped coaching football at New Trier in 1990, but he never stopped being part of the Trevians football program and the school community.
Cichowski — known as “Chick” throughout a long football career that included playing stints at Lane, Indiana, a pair of NFL teams and the CFL — died on March 24. He was 90.
Current New Trier coach and alum Brian Doll arrived on campus as a freshman in 1991, a year after Cichowski retired. But he got to know Cichowski well.
“Even after he retired, he worked out every day [at New Trier],” Doll said. “He had a group that would come in at 6 a.m. It was so much fun to watch. He was still running workouts in the basement of the fieldhouse.”
Cichowski had a productive playing career, starting at quarterback for Indiana in 1955 and playing both offense and defense in the NFL with the Pittsburgh Steelers, who drafted him in 1957, and what are now the Washington Commanders in 1958-59. His pro career wrapped up with a two-year stint with Calgary in the CFL in 1960-61.
He later served as a scout for the Baltimore Ravens and New York Jets.
Cichowski’s head coaching career started in 1971 at what was then New Trier East and continued after the merger of New Trier East and New Trier West, ending in 1990.
“He was one of those characters who was bigger than life,” Doll said. “Our coaches’ award is named after him. It’s really our most prestigious award — it’s what a New Trier football player stands for. The players who have won it are kind of a who’s who of New Trier football.”
Cichowski’s teams went 144-47 in 20 seasons with nine IHSA playoff berths in an era where the postseason field was much smaller than today. In 1973, the year before the state playoffs launched, New Trier was 8-0.
His 1982 team went 11-2 and was the only one in program history to reach the state final, falling 20-7 to Reavis in the Class 6A title game.
One of Cichowski’s players at New Trier East was Clay Matthews Jr., who went on to a long and successful career as an NFL linebacker with the Cleveland Browns and Atlanta Falcons.
Cichowski was a regular at Trevians games well into his 80s. “He would walk in wearing a New Trier jacket,” Doll said.
He also was a frequent visitor to New Trier practices.
“We always loved having him come back and talk to the team,” Doll said. “Chick was an old-school football guy who loved hard-nosed, tackling football.
“The thing I loved — the guy really had a smile on his face when he was around football. You realized how much football meant to him.”