By Lois Blinkhorn
of The Journal Staff

It was an emotional moment when they named the homecoming queen at South Milwaukee High School.

The queen cried. The sister of the queen cried. The mother of the queen cried.

And the father of the queen? "Aw, I just had a couple more beers," said Reggie Lisowski, better known to the wrestling world as The Crusher, one of Milwaukee's most famous exports.

That hard boiled answer was good for a laugh, but the truth is that Lisowski was proud as could be when he heard of his daughter Sherri's accomplishment. "I was on cloud 27," was how he put it.

Sherri, 17, is the youngest of the four Lisowski children. A senior at South Milwaukee, she was first elected to the homecoming court in an election involving the entire high school; then she was chosen queen by the senior class.

The choice was announced at an assembly on the afternoon preceding the homecoming game. "They make a big production out of it," The Crusher said. "They darken the auditorium and when they announce the queen, they put the spotlight on her."

Then she is crowned, wrapped in a cape, and presented with a dozen roses.

Tears are inevitable, Sherri said, because of the big buildup. "All day long I was so nervous," she said.

The captain of the football team was king and that evening the royal couple and their court were introduced at halftime during the game.

Homecoming hasn't changed much in South Milwaukee since the days when Reggie Lisowski was a football star and his future wife, Faye, was on the homecoming court. "It's still as big a deal as it was then. The values are about the same," said Lisowski.

He remembers vividly the homecoming game when he was a senior in high school. "We beat West Allis 13-7 and I scored the winning touchdown," he said.

What year was that?

The Crusher suffered a sudden lapse of memory. "You don't want to date me," he said with a grin.

He has taught Sherri jujitsu "so she can take care of herself," Lisowski said, and he raved about her ability in yoga. He does a little yoga himself, but he's no match for Sherri because he lacks her flexibility.

Lisowski talked about Sherri's future plans (maybe television or modeling) and her accomplishments (she sings with a high school group and was mascot for South Milwaukee's winning basketball team last year). "I'm proud of all my kids," he said.

When Sherri and her father posed for the photographer, The Crusher popped a cigar in his mouth and suggested she sit on his knee.

That's the same pose he used when he was pictured with a 105 year old woman in St. Paul, Minn., who said her one wish in life was to meet The Crusher before she died.

She was a sharp little old lady," he said.