Charles H. Wacker Trophy

4Frederick Glade Wacker and his wife, Grace Jennings Wacker, presented the Charles H. Wacker Trophy to the Yacht Club in 1931 for Class A competition. They named the trophy in memory of Mr. Wacker’s father, a brewer, philanthropist, and prominent Chicagoan. Charles H. Wacker served as director of the Ways and Means Committee at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago and was chairman of the Chicago Plan Commission (the Burnham Plan). His Lake Geneva home was called Fair Lawn . At Lake Geneva Yacht Club, Fred Wacker raced a number of Class A scows–Privateer, Happy Warrior, Blue Heron, and Sweepstakes among them. The Wacker Trophy is an elegant and detailed sterling silver model of his A-boat Rumpus, one-half inch to the foot in scale, and it rests on two rectangular bases that are inscribed with the winners’ names. The race for the Charles H. Wacker Trophy was traditionally held on Labor Day, and the course, if weather conditions permit, is from the Yacht Club to a mark at Buttons Bay, near the Wacker home, and return. A few years after his gift, Mr. Wacker said that he had not stipulated a specific race course in the trophy’s deed of gift because he did not want “to tie the hands of the race committee to an arbitrary course.” He preferred, he said, an “informal understanding that whenever the direction of the wind on the day of the race made it possible to include Buttons Bay in the course that this course would receive the preference of the race committee.” The skipper of the winning boat receives a commemorative pin.

• 1931 A. F. Gartz Jr.
• 1932 H. N. Gifford Jr./John F. Perrigo, skipper
• 1933 H. N. Gifford/John F. Perrigo, skipper
• 1934 H. N. Gifford/John F. Perrigo, skipper
• 1935 Daniel Peterkin Jr./Robert Ferris, skipper
• 1936 Daniel Peterkin Jr./Robert Ferris, skipper
• 1937 Jack Vilas Jr.
• 1938 Jack Vilas. Jr.
• 1939 H. N. Gifford/John F. Perrigo, skipper
• 1940 H. N. Gifford/John F. Perrigo, skipper
• 1941 A. F. Gartz Jr.
• 1942 A. F. Gartz Jr.
• 1943 H. N. Gifford/ John F. Perrigo, skipper
• 1944 No race
• 1945 Melville C. Jones
• 1946 John F. Perrigo and William S. Perrigo
• 1947 Melville C. Jones
• 1948 Melville C. Jones
• 1949 Ernst C. Schmidt/Buddy Melges, skipper
• 1950 Melville C. Jones
• 1951 John F. Perrigo and William S. Perrigo
• 1952 William Grunow Jr.
• 1953 William Grunow Jr.
• 1954 William Grunow Jr.
• 1955 Ernst C. Schmidt/Buddy Melges, skipper
• 1956 Perrigo Brothers
• 1957 No race
• 1958 Ernst C. Schmidt
• 1959 No race
• 1960 No race
• 1961 No race
• 1962 Don Frankel and Bud Simon
• 1963 Don Frankel and Bud Simon
• 1964 Don Frankel and Bud Simon
• 1965 Bert A. Getz
• 1966 Don Frankel and Bud Simon/Ron Frankel, skipper
• 1967 William H. Sills III
• 1968 Ron Schloemer
• 1969 Buddy Melges
• 1970 Ron Schloemer
• 1971 William H. Sills III
• 1972 Gerald Schloemer
• 1973 William H. Sills III/Melville C. Jones, skipper
• 1974 Gerald Schloemer/Ron Schloemer, skipper
• 1975 No race
• 1976 Dr. Michael Gannon/Ron Schloemer, skipper
• 1977 No race
• 1978 John Spargo and Dennis Menasco
• 1979 Martin Ford and Dennis Menasco
• 1980 John Porter
• 1981 No race
• 1982 No race
• 1983 Buddy Melges/Robert Novak, skipper
• 1984 Buddy Melges/Harry Melges III, skipper
• 1985 William H. Sills III/George Beukema, skipper
• 1986 No race
• 1987 Gene Trepte/John Porter, skipper
• 1988 No race
• 1989 Harry Melges III/John Porter, skipper
• 1990 No race
• 1991 Harry Melges III
• 1992 Bill Koch/George Beukema, skipper
• 1993 Peter Nauert
• 1994 Peter Nauert
• 1995 Ron Schloemer and Jim Bland
• 1996 Erich Schloemer
• 1997 John Porter
• 1998 John Porter
• 1999 John Porter
• 2000 No race
• 2001 John Porter
• 2002 Ron Schloemer
• 2003 Chuck Lamphere
• 2004 No race
• 2005 Chuck Lamphere
• 2006 John Anderson/Scott Ripkey, skipper
• 2007 John Galley/Andy Burdick, skipper
• 2008 John Anderson/Buddy Melges, skipper
• 2009 Wendell Sherry
• 2010 Terry Blanchard
• 2011 Chuck Lamphere
• 2012 John Anderson/Vincent Porter, skipper
• 2013 Tom G. Whowell/Buddy Melges
• 2014 Chuck Lamphere
• 2015 Michael K. Keefe
• 2016 Patrick Lynch
• 2017 Charles Lamphere
• 2018 Charles Lamphere
• 2019 Thomas Freytag
• 2020 Vincent Porter
• 2021 Patrick and Michael Lynch
• 2022 Thomas Freytag
• 2023 Clifford Porter
• 2024 Thomas Freytag