Earl "Oily" Mattine was known for slipping through holes in the defensive line that seemed to be blocked.When he skirted the ends, they had to be of the best to stop him. Earl had a good change of pace while dancing, twirling, twisting and dodging — some way or another he managed to elude the grasp of opposing tacklers. Earl was more than tricky and he had the speed of a deer to carry him along. As a baseball standout Mattina was known for his home run stroke as a 1^st baseman for the Badgers. In those years, The Hill faced not only college teams, but many Major League teams that were barnstorming the south during the spring. The 1930 team with hard-hitting Mattina swept Big Ten (B1G) Champion Wisconsin and Southern Conference member Tulane. Mattina went on to sign a pro baseball contract.