If one Google searches “Thorp, Wisconsin” and goes to that city’s Wikipedia page, they find out that Thorp’s population at the last census was 1,621 and the city is located in Clark County.

And scrolling down that page, you get to a category called “Notable People” who were born there.

There you will find the names of 10 people and a rock band called “Fillet of Soul.”

Of the 10 people listed as “Notable People,” seven were politicians, two played pro football, and one was a pro golfer.

Without knowing these people, I am hopeful that wherever they went to live, they made a positive impacts on their communities.

I know one person who was born in Thorp, Wisconsin, and not listed there who did just that.

Carl Wyczawski.

He came to New Ulm in 1956 with a last name with nine letters that was at first hard to pronounce and even harder to spell.

But later he had gotten a nickname of just three letters that he was known by.

Red.

He did so many positive things for New Ulm.

It is a long, long list.

One of those was he became — along with the late Herb Schaper — one of New Ulm’s sports historians, especially baseball.

Wyczawski loved baseball and was especially proud of New Ulm’s program.

One of the gifts that he had was the ability to meet an out-of-town person at a baseball game and — three years later when that team returned — remember that person’s name, who their son was and where he played.

Once you met Red, you were his friend for life.

And he was he was your friend for life.

Red was genuine. What you saw was what you got.

Genuine, caring to each person he met.

And he knew New Ulm baseball history. And he was proud of it.

So really in the end, no matter what a person writes about Red, it can never be enough, nor can it ever show how much his loss means to New Ulm and to New Ulm baseball.

The gentleman who came to New Ulm in 1956 with a last name with nine letters that was at first hard to pronounce and harder to spell is gone but will forever be fondly remembered for all of the positive impacts that he made on New Ulm.

And by three letters.

Red.

Rest in peace. New Ulm will miss you.

To honor his memory, there will be a moment of silence prior to the 4 p.m. New Ulm Brewers Region 2C playoff game Saturday at Johnson Park.