Albert E. (Al) Werneke was inducted into the Florida Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1994 and named one of the 12 coaches on the Florida High School Athletic Association’s All-Century team in 1997.
Werneke played football at Indiana State for Paul Selge and Bill Jones from 1955 to 1956 after a stellar high school career as a running back, pass receiver and placekicker at Garfield High School in Terre Haute, Ind. He led the Garfield team in scoring and also played basketball and baseball, and was the only athlete in his class to letter in each of the four major sports.
The former Sycamore spent 10 season coaching at high schools in the Midwest, posting a 70-24-3 record. His stops included Dugger, Ind., Oblong, Ill., Flora, Ill., and Brazil, Ind. before heading south to begin a 23-year career in Florida.
Before retiring in 1993, Werneke posted a 187-42-2 record at five different Florida High Schools, winning championships at Titusville in 1982 and 1983, and coached Titusville to runner-up in 1980. He was selected Coach of the Year at the district level 17 times, picked to coach the Florida All-Stars in the North-South game four times, and coached Florida to a win over Georgia in 1986.
Werneke, who died on Feb. 25, 1997 in Gainesville, Fla., was honored by Titusville High School on Sept. 7, 2007 with the dedication of their football facility as “Al Werneke Stadium”.
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Played football at Indiana State under Coach Paul Selge and Bill Jones
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Spent 33 years coaching at the high school level, posting a 257-66-5 record
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Won two Florida state championships at Titusville High School
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Selected Florida Coach of the Year at district level 17 times
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Coach Florida All-Stars (1986)
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Elected to Florida High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame (2003)
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Named one of 12 coaches on Florida High School All-Century team
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Football facility at Titusville High School named in his honor
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Inducted into Hall of Fame February 9, 2009
