Wayne Reeve was born in Bear River, Utah, in 1917, back when football relied less on science and skillful training, and more on energy, enthusiasm, and reckless abandon.

As co-captain of the BYU football team, Wayne fought his way to All-Conference honors his junior and senior years with an individual style that made him one of the favorites of the Cougar fans. He was named to the All-American team for colleges with less than 2,500 enrollment, and in 1940 that was Brigham Young University’s situation. Wayne won the Hodgson Hat in 1939 as the Star of the Week in the Utah Intercollegiate League after leading the Cougars to a sensational victory over a powerful Denver team. In 1941 he was listed among the nation’s outstanding stars in the Collegiate Who’s Who football yearbook.

Wayne graduated from BYU in 1941 with a B.S. degree, and later earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Kansas. He served as an instructor at Kansas City College in Kansas City, Missouri, emphasizing studies in herbetology ­ the study of cold-blooded vertebrates. Wayne died October 4, 1972.