Remembering former Gopher head coach Jim Wacker

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hungan1

hungan1

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Jim Wacker was a consummate optimist and a man of integrity to a fault. He believed in winning the right way.

“My heart is pumping and my corpuscles are jumping and it really is a wonderful time.” - Jim Wacker

“One of the last things he told me was to enjoy my kids because life is all about relationships. Even as he was dying, he was encouraging people as we were encouraging him.” - Tom Meuller

https://www.cune.edu/athletics/team...acker-got-collegiate-coaching-start-concordia
 
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I have been a Gopher sports fan my whole life but my fandom went to a higher level (season tickets, college football passion, etc.) in the Mason years.

I was much more of a casual fair weather fan in the Wacker years. My main memories of those years are centered on how bad the team was and how hopeless it seemed to return to respectability.

I did a lot of duck/pheasant hunting in those days so I listened to most games on the radio. While I grew a deep appreciation and admiration to hearing Ray Christianson’s calls, I remember wincing and groaning a lot at the game results.

Wacker was a very likable guy seemingly over his head. Horrible defenses.
 


It was hard to dislike Wacker. However, it was hard to watch his football teams.
 


I had student season tickets for all the Wacker years. The offense was entertaining, but there was no defense.
He seemed like a genuinely nice guy though.
 


gopherdudepart2 said:
Those Wacker teams were high octane on offense, they could move the ball and score. No defense but they were entertaining. The upset of Syracuse was still a favorite memory where Tyrone Carter recovered multiple fumbles against Donnovan McNabb.
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The thing is, he was a very successful coach prior and most notably at TCU- ranked 12th/highest in 25 years; running a wishbone offense. Then he comes here and tries to run that spread garbage in the B10. Never had a chance. I think he could have been competitive running the option as no one else ran it. Wonderful guy by all reports.
 

Schnauzer said:
I have been a Gopher sports fan my whole life but my fandom went to a higher level (season tickets, college football passion, etc.) in the Mason years.

I was much more of a casual fair weather fan in the Wacker years. My main memories of those years are centered on how bad the team was and how hopeless it seemed to return to respectability.

I did a lot of duck/pheasant hunting in those days so I listened to most games on the radio. While I grew a deep appreciation and admiration to hearing Ray Christianson’s calls, I remember wincing and groaning a lot at the game results.

Wacker was a very likable guy seemingly over his head. Horrible defenses.
Click to expand...
Some of us thought he was too loyal. Some of his assistants might not have been ready.
 



Wacker was a great man. The world was a better place with him in it. Obviously he didn't have success here but some fond memories I have are:
1. 1996 upset of #23 Syracuse, led by Donavon McNabb. This game was on ESPN2 and served as Tyrone Carter's coming out party. One of the most enjoyable games I can recall.
2. Last Gophers coach to defeat Wisconsin two times in a row. (1993 & 1994) The 1993 win was especially sweet in hindsight because it likely kept Wisconsin from a national championship.
3. He upset Iowa in 1992 (his first season). The team was only 2-9 that year but anytime you beat your rivals it is fun.
 


DarrenTheGreek said:
Wacker was a great man. The world was a better place with him in it. Obviously he didn't have success here but some fond memories I have are:
1. 1996 upset of #23 Syracuse, led by Donavon McNabb. This game was on ESPN2 and served as Tyrone Carter's coming out party. One of the most enjoyable games I can recall.
2. Last Gophers coach to defeat Wisconsin two times in a row. (1993 & 1994) The 1993 win was especially sweet in hindsight because it likely kept Wisconsin from a national championship.
3. He upset Iowa in 1992 (his first season). The team was only 2-9 that year but anytime you beat your rivals it is fun.
Click to expand...

I was at that Syracuse game with student season tickets. Still remember it quite well with TCs two fumble returns for TDs!
 





He won four national titles while he was coaching in Texas. He was unable to be successful in coaching the Gophers. He sure did entertain us.

Recruiting from Minnesota was tough in that era. It has dramatically improved under PJ Fleck. The success of Gopher Football is still being written.
 

In about 1992 we lost a heartbreaker to Illinois down there in the snow. I felt sick until the following Wednesday. For some reason I wrote a letter (pre-email) to Wacker and he actually wrote back. That was very nice of him. I wish that I had kept his letter.
 

denguegopher said:
In about 1992 we lost a heartbreaker to Illinois down there in the snow. I felt sick until the following Wednesday. For some reason I wrote a letter (pre-email) to Wacker and he actually wrote back. That was very nice of him. I wish that I had kept his letter.
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It was 1993 but I remember that. We had won 3 conference games in a row and this would have been our 4th. We hadn't won 4 consecutive conference games since the 70's and I don't believe we would again until 2013.

I remember watching that Illinois game with my dad and grandpa. It was heartbreaking...especially on the heels of the big upset vs Wisconsin.
 

I remember how much class he had when he left. He made a speech at the end where he said he would always be a Gopher fan and he would be there when they went to a bowl game. Sure enough, he was in the booth waving to everyone when Mason's first bowl team made it to the Sun Bowl. It's really tough not to like someone like that. RIP Jim Wacker.
 


Who can forget "Geezo-beezo!"

mndaily.com

Wacker

Wacker. The name alone is enough to make you smile. Throw in an infectious personality and a fruity vocabulary, and you’ll have a decent picture of the man that oversaw...
mndaily.com mndaily.com
 

DarrenTheGreek said:
1993 Wisconsin vs Minnesota
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I've watched this video dozens of times! I wonder though....it would be cool to watch the 1994 win at CR stadium somehow again.

I didnt see it live but back in those days WI public TV rebroadcasted every WI game that night and living out on the ridge SE of Rochester we can get not only TC PBS but IA and WI.

I was 11 yrs old and wished I had recorded that game. I never saw Sconnie fans so dejected and their announcers so depressed post game.
 

DarrenTheGreek said:
Wacker was a great man. The world was a better place with him in it. Obviously he didn't have success here but some fond memories I have are:
1. 1996 upset of #23 Syracuse, led by Donavon McNabb. This game was on ESPN2 and served as Tyrone Carter's coming out party. One of the most enjoyable games I can recall.
2. Last Gophers coach to defeat Wisconsin two times in a row. (1993 & 1994) The 1993 win was especially sweet in hindsight because it likely kept Wisconsin from a national championship.
3. He upset Iowa in 1992 (his first season). The team was only 2-9 that year but anytime you beat your rivals it is fun.
Click to expand...
I would add the victories against Purdue in 1993 (gotta love a 59-56 game) and 1995 (Darkins runs for nearly 300 yards). But winning the Axe in 1993 was clearly the high point.
 

The Wack Attack! Great fun to watch. Our only chance was try to outscore the opponent. We sometimes outscored our opponents, just not often enough. Great guy & very successful coach elsewhere, it just didn't work @ MN. I really thought he was going to be able to turn us around & was a big fan. It just didn't work out.
 

Was thrilled to receive a recruiting letter from him when I was in high school and he was head coach at North Dakota State.
 

Jim Wacker was an outstanding human being. I enjoyed him very much, and wished he would have had more success so that he would have been around here longer. He was a credit to the "U" and to the state of Minnesota.

His offenses were fun to watch. He wanted to take advantage of leading a cold-weather team from the north playing indoors, so the ball was flying all over the inside of the dome. He recruited and developed offense accordingly.

It really was too bad his Minnesota teams didn't get over the hump.

A couple of memories from his time here... when he was newly hired and about to hit the recruiting trail representing the Gophers for the first time, he grabbed the equivalent of a copy of the U.S. News and World Report. Jim said he was stunned because every time he was asked a question about the "U"s academics, he would refer to his reference material in hand, and found out that the "U" was at the top of the charts in just about every field of academic study.

Another memory was when he was recruiting Eden Prairie native, big-time RB LeRoy McFadden, who was attending prep school in Connecticut. Jim jumped on a plane and flew to Connecticut, then drove to the school where LeRoy was enrolled. When Jim got to LeRoy's room, he knocked on the door and asked for LeRoy. Then Jim was informed that LeRoy was back home in Eden Prairie?!?!

I don't think Jim had the "support" that PJ and most modern day coaches currently enjoy.

But Jim was a Hall of Famer in the department of decency and goodness. Can't believe he's been gone for 18 years.
 

Loved that Wiscy upset in 1993! But man, those uniforms were not great. We look like Colorado or Pitt with that old school video quality. The Darrell Thompson/Rickey Foggie era unis were much much better
 

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