BleedGopher
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per the Daily News:
He was the greatest player on some of the greatest teams in Golden Gopher history, though his Heisman Trophy ceremony was overshadowed by news of Pearl Harbor. Even today, he is often confused with a recent Buffalo Bills star of the same name.
Outside of Minnesota, Bruce Smith’s name has drifted into obscurity, an early college football hero in an era before media glitz and glamour. But within the state, Smith still casts a formidable legacy, over 75 years after his Heisman campaign.
The only Golden Gopher to ever win a Heisman Trophy, Smith captured the award for his remarkable 1941 season, in which he led Minnesota to its second straight undefeated national title.
A native of Fairbault, Minn., Smith, a six-foot, 200-pound running back, was a three-sport athlete in high school and earned all-state honors in basketball. Today, the high school football field in Fairbault is named in his honor.
Smith later became a star at the University of Minnesota, which was at its zenith under legendary head coach Bernie Bierman, who won 93 games from 1932-41 and 1945-50. The run included seven Big Ten titles in nine years from 1933-41.
In some of those title campaigns, the Gophers clashed with traditional powerhouse Michigan, which was led by Fritz Crisler, who had opened his head coaching career with two seasons at Minnesota in 1930 and 1931. In Smith’s junior year of 1940, the second-ranked Gophers and third-ranked Wolverines squared off in an anticipated November matchup at Memorial Stadium.
http://www.southernminn.com/faribau...cle_9763f575-8108-5fe0-849d-a7f7c4db9a4c.html
Go Gophers!!
He was the greatest player on some of the greatest teams in Golden Gopher history, though his Heisman Trophy ceremony was overshadowed by news of Pearl Harbor. Even today, he is often confused with a recent Buffalo Bills star of the same name.
Outside of Minnesota, Bruce Smith’s name has drifted into obscurity, an early college football hero in an era before media glitz and glamour. But within the state, Smith still casts a formidable legacy, over 75 years after his Heisman campaign.
The only Golden Gopher to ever win a Heisman Trophy, Smith captured the award for his remarkable 1941 season, in which he led Minnesota to its second straight undefeated national title.
A native of Fairbault, Minn., Smith, a six-foot, 200-pound running back, was a three-sport athlete in high school and earned all-state honors in basketball. Today, the high school football field in Fairbault is named in his honor.
Smith later became a star at the University of Minnesota, which was at its zenith under legendary head coach Bernie Bierman, who won 93 games from 1932-41 and 1945-50. The run included seven Big Ten titles in nine years from 1933-41.
In some of those title campaigns, the Gophers clashed with traditional powerhouse Michigan, which was led by Fritz Crisler, who had opened his head coaching career with two seasons at Minnesota in 1930 and 1931. In Smith’s junior year of 1940, the second-ranked Gophers and third-ranked Wolverines squared off in an anticipated November matchup at Memorial Stadium.
http://www.southernminn.com/faribau...cle_9763f575-8108-5fe0-849d-a7f7c4db9a4c.html
Go Gophers!!