Wednesday, Sept. 23, 1931: The scoop on Bernie Bierman
Posted on January 3rd, 2007 – 7:05 PMBy Ben Welter
Coach Bierman at the blackboard in the 1930s. (Photo courtesy mnhs.org) Who will replace Glen Mason as the next University of Minnesota football coach? You can be sure that the dean of Minnesota sports scribes, Sid Hartman, is working his sources hard on that question – although his suggestion that Mason had any chance at the Alabama opening makes me wonder about his sources.
Back in September 1931, one of Sid’s predecessors at the Minneapolis Tribune had the scoop of the year: Bernie Bierman, former Gophers athletic star, would be the next Gophers football coach. The official announcement came three months later, after Bierman’s Tulane team won its final regular season game.
Bierman’s years as Gophers coach were indeed golden: His teams completed a 93-35-6 record and won six Big Ten titles and five national championships.
CRISLER TO ENGAGE BIERMAN AS COACH IN ’32, REPORT
Agreement Reached,
So Rumors Declare
News of Appointment Will Be Withheld Until Close of Season, It Is Said. Crysler Denies Story.
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| Coach Bierman with some of his players in the 1930s. (Photo courtesy mnhs.org) |
By George A. Barton.
(Copyright, 1931, by The Minneapolis Tribune Co.)
Here is a story which will be denied in two cities – Minneapolis and New Orleans – but we will give it to you for what it is worth, and we have sound reasons for believing it is worth considerable from a standpoint of authenticity as well as marking an important epoch in athletic history at the University of Minnesota.
Give us your ear, neighbor, and we’ll slip you the news that’s going around. Here ’tis – Fritz Crisler either has, or will engage Bernie Bierman, former Gopher athletic star, as head football coach for Minnesota in 1932. We have heard rumors to this effect around and about for the past two weeks, but gave them little credence until getting the lowdown from two “M” men who evidently know what they are talking about.
Crisler himself seemed quite startled when we asked him over the telephone the other day whether he was considering Bierman as his head coach a year hence.
“Where did you get that story?” Crisler queried.
“Oh, from some of the boys over town,” answered your correspondent. “Is there anything to it?”
“I haven’t anything to say at this time because I am not looking any further ahead than this season,” was Crisler’s courteous, but firm reply.
If Bierman already has been engaged, or agreed to accept the coaching post at Minnesota, it would not be good policy on Crisler’s part to make a public announcement to the effect at this time, largely because Bierman is still head coach at Tulane university at New Orleans, and a statement that he is leaving the southern institution to return to his alma mater might have a tendency to disrupt the football morale at Tulane where Bernie is popular with the alumni, student body and general public.
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| Bierman on the sidelines, about 1940. (Photo courtesy mnhs.org) |
Rumors persist, however, that Crisler and Bierman have reached an understanding. Prominent alumni of the university have ventured this news to us at several luncheon clubs, and when we got the information from two “M” men who seem to be in the know, we decided it was time to let our readers in on the secret.
According to our informants, Crisler and Bierman reached an agreement during Bernie’s visit to Minneapolis this summer, Bierman having spent a month here with his mother.
We happen to know that Bierman would like very much to return to Minnesota as head football coach. We also happen to know that Bernie was the unanimous choice of the university “M” men as the successor of Dr. Clarence W. Spears when the doctor accepted an offer from the University of Oregon, and that the “M” men were bitterly disappointed when Crisler was given the preference over Bierman. We also happen to know that Bierman, for a time, was given serious consideration by members of the university senate, so serious, in fact, that two members of this committee conferred with Bierman in Chicago shortly before Crisler received the appointment.
Crisler himself has stated on several occasions at public gatherings that it was his aim, in time, to appoint a Minnesota man to every coaching position at the university, thereby creating a spirit which would perpetuate Minnesota’s glory on the athletic field.
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| In his first season, smokin’ Bernie Bierman guided Minnesota to a 7-6 victory over visiting Nebraska on Oct. 15, 1932. The Gophers scored their touchdown on “forward-lateral pass” from Pug Lund to Brad Robinson to Jack Manders. From the newspaper clips, sounds like it was a good old hook-and-ladder play. (Photo courtesy mnhs.org) |
BIERMAN MEETS CRISLER’S REQUIREMENTS.
Bierman is the type of man that Crisler would prefer to select for the important position of head football coach because he is a fellow of high ideals, has gained national recognition as a coach and strategist, is a native born Minnesotan, and is one of the state university’s athletic immortals. Furthermore, the appointment of Bierman as coach would cement the friendship between the university athletic department and the “M” club, and Crisler strongly desires an affiliation of this sort with the men who won their letters for representing Minnesota on the athletic field.
Bierman would be no experiment. He has won his spurs as football coach in big time competition. Bernie tied for the championship of the south with his Tulane teams of 1929 and 1930, and his gridders have been undefeated for three successive years. His team of 1930 was hailed by gridiron critics from coast to coast as one of the outstanding aggregations of the season.
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| As a senior, Bernie Bierman captained the 1915 Gophers football team. (Photo courtesy mnhs.org) |
Bierman starred in football, basketball and track at Minnesota in 1913, 1914 and 1915. He was a brilliant halfback and captained the championship football team of 1915. Since his graduation, he was for several years football and track coach at Montana university. He left there to accept a position as track coach and assistant to Clark Shaughnessy, at that time athletic director and football coach at Tulane university. When Shaughness resigned to accept a similar post at Loyola university at New Orleans, Bierman was named as his successor.
CRISLER CARRYING HEAVY BURDEN.
Everyone closely in touch with the athletic situation at the University of Minnesota is aware of the fact that Fritz Crisler undertook too big an assignment in carrying the double burden of director of athletics and head football coach. He is ambitious beyond words, and a tireless worker, but no individual, regardless of his stamina and determination, could bear up under the cares, worries and long hours attendant upon the double duty that Crisler is carrying, and retain his health.
It is a wise move on Fritz’s part to separate the two positions and concentrate upon the position of director of athletics, a most important job in itself, and one in which there is still much work to be done at Minnesota. Crisler makes an ideal athletic director because he is strongly in sympathy with all branches of sport, competitive as well as intra-mural.
By relinquishing the coaching reins to another, and devoting his entire attention to the athletic directorship he will have more time to solidify a feeling of friendship between the high schools of the state and the university. We regret to say that in the past little has been done to create kindly sentiment among the high schools toward the state university with the result that many star athletes from the prep schools of Minnesota have found their way to universities and colleges outside the state.
We have reasons for believing this condition will be changed when Crisler, with his magnetic personality, finds more time to devote to making contacts with the high schools of this state.
9 Responses to "Wednesday, Sept. 23, 1931: The scoop on Bernie Bierman"
A very interesting article about Bernie.
I played on his last varsity team in 1950. Prior to that, I had no knowledge of Bierman’s background, other than he was an outstanding athlete at the U.
Did Fritz Crisler end up at the University of Michigan?
My early memories of U. of Minnesota Football were the years of 1948 and 1948 which were near the end of Coach Bierman’s reign. What I most remember of Bernie Bierman is the halftime discussions that he would have with Halsy Hall on WCCO Radio. Even as a 13 year old the answer to Halsy’s question of who did the Coach think would win the game gave me a chuckle. Coach Bierman would answer, I think that the team that scores the most points will “probably” win. And you know, Bernie was always right.
Clyde, Austin, Texas
Hi, Rob. Yep, Fritz moved on to coach at Michigan, where he enjoyed a successful career. His teams posted a 71-16-1 record. Crisler was credited with popularizing the two-platoon system, which, ironically, Bernie Bierman had difficulty adapting in his later years.
Bierman was a great coach and exceptional recruiter who was undeservedly fired after failing to win an expected national championship in 1949 and failing to carry the Gophers to the Rose Bowl. Ohio State, which lost 27-0 (I think) to the Gophers went instead after the Gophers lost to Purdue. But what a team! Nomolleni (spelling?), Tonnemaker, Gagne, Grant, Bye and others I cannot recall. One problem with Bierman was that he stuck to the singled wing in a T-formation era of innovation. The Gophers did not recover from his firing until Murray Warmath 10 years later brought in Black athletes that southern schools refused to accept (Bobby Bell, for example).
As a former coach in Minnesota I know how important it is to get the H.S. coaches throuhout the state on you side.
TheU of M has not done a good job of this for many years. I’ve always supprted the Gophers since I grew up in Stillwater.It is VERY important to get a man who knows the U of M and the state and is willing to show suport and friendship to the H.S.coaches. Butch Nash was great and a young experience coach like Marc Trestman could bring excitement to the program.I coached for many years in Minnesota and Ive had many Gopher athletes.Thank you for letting me voice my opinion. I want the Gophers to WIN like all Minnesotan. Bob Roy
Gopher Football of the 40’s made fall the most exciting time of the year for a preteen ager to listen to Halsy Hall on wcco on a saturday afternoon was all a young boy needed to have.
Great article and connection to the past. Somethings never change. My Dad played for Bernie as a freshman. He never forgot the honor of being a part of Gopher Athletics. I was an asst. trainer during one of the last ‘glory years’ 66-69. Agreat coach like Bernie or warmath are few and far. The honor of being involved with greats like them is never forgotten by those so fortunate. Hopefully are future football players a the ‘U’ will be able to say the same.
Instead of building a dynasty on Bernie’s foundation (eg, by hiring Bud, Bud, Sheehan, Tony, etc.) the U of M has invested a half century in self-inflicted mediocrity. Why? Is there secret antagonism towards bigtime FB in very high administrative places?
