BleedGopher
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per the Sun Current:
When former Edina High principal Rollie Ring died last Aug. 11 at the age of 96, speculation was that he was the last member of the most famous University of Minnesota football team to pass away.
A month before his death, over breakfast at the Chanhassen American Legion Post, Ring talked about the 1941 Gopher football team, which had repeated as the national champion after also winning in 1940.
“I think I’m the last one,” he said. “I exchanged Christmas cards with many of my teammates for years, but the cards have stopped coming now.”
Ring, who was living in a retirement village at the time, was unaware of one ex-teammate who was still alive in California.
That teammate, lineman Paul Mitchell, passed away March 11 of this year at the age of 96.
It is ironic that Ring didn’t know about Mitchell, considering they had known each other since high school, when Ring played for Minneapolis South and Mitchell played for Minneapolis Edison.
Mitchell’s career with the Gophers was legendary, and after earning All-American status, he went on to a career in professional football.
Ring, the Gophers’ second-string quarterback, mainly played during blowouts after his teammates had built a lead. Sharing the same backfield with Heisman Trophy winner Bruce Smith, there was little opportunity for Ring to carry the football. Nevertheless, he sat in on every chalk talk with head coach Bernie Bierman.
In the same July 2016 session mentioned above, Ring said, “Bernie Bierman was as good as any of the football coaches today. “He was ahead of his time, and he knew how to lead a team.”
Ring, who was born in May of 1920, had just about the same lifespan as his teammate Mitchell, who passed away in California. Mitchell was born in August of 1920.
“I wasn’t a star player for the Gophers by any means,” Ring noted on several occasions. “Bruce Smith was the big wheel in our offense.”
On that day in Chanhassen, Ring talked about his long life. He had turned 96 three months earlier and his memory remained sharp.
“I’ve been lucky all this time,” he said. “I took care of myself when I was younger.”
http://current.mnsun.com/2017/03/30/last-of-the-1941-gophers-finally-passes-away/
Go Gophers!!
When former Edina High principal Rollie Ring died last Aug. 11 at the age of 96, speculation was that he was the last member of the most famous University of Minnesota football team to pass away.
A month before his death, over breakfast at the Chanhassen American Legion Post, Ring talked about the 1941 Gopher football team, which had repeated as the national champion after also winning in 1940.
“I think I’m the last one,” he said. “I exchanged Christmas cards with many of my teammates for years, but the cards have stopped coming now.”
Ring, who was living in a retirement village at the time, was unaware of one ex-teammate who was still alive in California.
That teammate, lineman Paul Mitchell, passed away March 11 of this year at the age of 96.
It is ironic that Ring didn’t know about Mitchell, considering they had known each other since high school, when Ring played for Minneapolis South and Mitchell played for Minneapolis Edison.
Mitchell’s career with the Gophers was legendary, and after earning All-American status, he went on to a career in professional football.
Ring, the Gophers’ second-string quarterback, mainly played during blowouts after his teammates had built a lead. Sharing the same backfield with Heisman Trophy winner Bruce Smith, there was little opportunity for Ring to carry the football. Nevertheless, he sat in on every chalk talk with head coach Bernie Bierman.
In the same July 2016 session mentioned above, Ring said, “Bernie Bierman was as good as any of the football coaches today. “He was ahead of his time, and he knew how to lead a team.”
Ring, who was born in May of 1920, had just about the same lifespan as his teammate Mitchell, who passed away in California. Mitchell was born in August of 1920.
“I wasn’t a star player for the Gophers by any means,” Ring noted on several occasions. “Bruce Smith was the big wheel in our offense.”
On that day in Chanhassen, Ring talked about his long life. He had turned 96 three months earlier and his memory remained sharp.
“I’ve been lucky all this time,” he said. “I took care of myself when I was younger.”
http://current.mnsun.com/2017/03/30/last-of-the-1941-gophers-finally-passes-away/
Go Gophers!!