Comments on: Wednesday, Sept. 23, 1931: The scoop on Bernie Bierman

By: JJ Milwaukee

JJ Milwaukee — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 23:38:01 +0000

My dad told me many stories of the Bierman era Gophers and had newspapers that chronicled the great 1930s and 1940s teams. As a kid, I loved reading those old sports sections. I remember my first college FB game too, Minnesota vs. Wisconsin in 1967. That happened to be the last time Minnesota could lay claim to Big Ten champion. With such a grand football history, it’s hard to believe how long we’be had mediocre (or worse) teams. Not many schools can boast of 6 National Championships. Here’s to Tim Brewster and the hopes of a turnaround; they don’t have to compete for the national title but it sure would be refreshing to see a competetive team each year.

By: BRUCE BURTON

BRUCE BURTON — Sun, 04 Feb 2007 20:36:13 +0000

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?

By: Steve Nestor

Steve Nestor — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 18:26:26 +0000

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.

By: Leonard George

Leonard George — Sun, 07 Jan 2007 18:08:04 +0000

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.

By: Bob Roy

Bob Roy — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 14:35:04 +0000

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

By: Bill Adams

Bill Adams — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 02:30:18 +0000

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).

By: Ben Welter

Ben Welter — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 02:25:04 +0000

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.

By: Clyde Olson

Clyde Olson — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 23:01:41 +0000

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

By: Rob Bradford

Rob Bradford — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 21:19:00 +0000

Did Fritz Crisler end up at the University of Michigan?

By: Dave Solkovits

Dave Solkovits — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 19:27:35 +0000

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.