Sometimes we have heroes who earned their glory before we were born. Growing up, one of my idols was 1941 Gophers Heisman Trophy winner Bruce Smith from Faribault, Minnesota.
How could it be any other way? My dad was a passionate Gophers football fan and law school graduate of the University of Minnesota. He saw Smith play many times and recounted stories about the great halfback who remains to this day the only Gopher ever to win college football’s most coveted individual prize.
Hollywood even made a movie about Smith. I can remember being so amazed when by chance I watched “Smith of Minnesota” on a Minneapolis TV station in the late 1950s. Wow, a Heisman winner from Minnesota and the subject of a movie? My admiration for Smith and his legacy was set in stone, never to be forgotten.
All Minnesota fans should remember Smith who 75 years ago today was in New York City to accept his Heisman award, symbolic of being college football’s best player in 1941. He was a home state hero who helped make the Golden Gophers brand synonymous with excellence. He was a key contributor to Minnesota’s national championships in 1940 and 1941, his junior and senior seasons. Those titles were the fourth and fifth produced by Bernie Bierman, the “Grey Eagle” from Litchfield, Minnesota who deserves a place among the Big Ten’s all-time coaching giants.
Smith beat out Notre Dame running back Angelo Bertelli to win the Heisman. Other Gophers have come close to winning the award. Smith’s teammate George Franck was second in voting in 1940. Paul Giel was third in 1952 and second in 1953. Tom Brown finished second in 1960—the Gophers’ last national championship season—and Sandy Stephens placed fourth in 1961.
Maybe Smith was destined to be special. His father Lucius Smith played tackle and kicked for the Gophers about 30 years before his son became a star at Minnesota. In 1910 the Gophers and Michigan, both undefeated, played a game to decide the national championship. The Wolverines won 6-0 and for some unknown reason Lucius held himself responsible for the painful loss. Legend is that Lucius vowed to have a son who would avenge the defeat.
That day came in 1940 when Bruce and his teammates walked on to a muddy Memorial Stadium field and played Michigan in another game between two unbeaten teams to determine the national champion. The Gophers trailed 6-0 in the game, and no doubt there were Minnesota fans watching who wondered if the Gophers would lose by the same score as years before. The answer was no because Smith ran around and through multiple tacklers in the muck on the way to an 80-yard touchdown. The extra point was successful and the Gophers had a 7-6 triumph.
Smith played for the Gophers from 1939-1941. In the single-wing formation used so famously by Bierman, a left halfback like Smith also passed the ball so he was similar to a modern-day quarterback. But much of Smith’s fame came as a ball carrier including three times during his junior season of 1940 when he scored game winning touchdowns.
Smith came through when the Gophers needed him the most, including when injured. In 1941 another national title was in the balance when Minnesota played Iowa. Smith wasn’t supposed to play because of a knee injury but with the Gophers’ offense struggling, the captain convinced Bierman to let him take the field. He led Minnesota to a 34-13 victory over the Hawkeyes.
Courage was part of what defined Smith and shaped his character. After serving as a Navy fighter pilot during World War II, he played professional football but in 1947 nearly died from a ruptured kidney. Retired at age 29, Smith moved back to Faribault to raise his family without knowing his life would be a short one.
In 1967 Smith was diagnosed with cancer, but instead of withdrawing, he offered compassion to others. Raised as a Catholic, Smith had a spiritual foundation and he used his faith to reach out to children suffering from cancer, praying and providing comfort to youngsters.
June Smith told Sports Headliners that her brother was accompanied by a priest when he visited the children. The priest, William Cantwell, was impressed with the football hero’s modesty and gentle way with others. He found Smith to be inspiring, probably not so much as a Heisman Trophy winner but as a man. “He thought there was something special about Bruce,” June said this week.
Smith died from colon cancer in 1967 at age 47 but Cantwell invoked Smith’s intercession on behalf of young cancer patients after the football legend’s death. Cantwell also nominated Smith for sainthood in the Roman Catholic Church.
Years later the priest was diagnosed with cancer. He prayed to Bruce and he recovered from cancer, said June who is 90 years old and lives in Roseville.
June thinks of her brother often and remembers many things about him including how handsome he was. “He was the best looking guy,” she said.
Handsome enough and so famous as a national sports figure that he played himself in his Hollywood movie. The film was part of Hollywood’s World War II effort to make inspiring films about heroes. “Smith of Minnesota” was about a small-town family whose son becomes an All-American halfback.
In 1977 Smith’s number 54 jersey became the first to be retired by the Gophers. Yet it’s debatable whether the athletic department has done enough to recognize the school’s extraordinary Heisman winner and the character he exemplified. In Smith’s hometown of Faribault, his legend is important to many citizens. Led by Bruce Krinke, Richard Carlander, Dave Henry and others from Faribault, a bronze bust of Smith was commissioned a few years ago and is on display at TCF Bank Stadium, with plans to send a second bust to Faribault High School. Bruce Smith Field in Faribault is named after Smith and there is an outdoor mural with his image on a building in downtown Faribault.
“We want to keep the history of Bruce Smith going here in Faribault and (also) with the University,” said Krinke who for years has administered the Bruce Smith Golf Classic that raises money for Faribault schools. “I will tell you we have sent a letter to (Gophers athletic director) Mark Coyle to request that he consider naming the new practice field, Bruce Smith Practice Field, and he has responded saying…he’s considering it.”
Krinke, June Smith and others who revere Smith will remember him today on the 75th anniversary of his Heisman. Those who know his story so well, recall that on December 7, 1941 the Japanese carried out a sneak attack on Pearl Harbor. The nation was still in shock two days later when the All-American halfback from Minnesota came to the podium to accept his award.
Smith took the opportunity to inspire America when he said:
“In the Far East they may think American boys are soft, but I have had, and even have now, plenty of evidence in black and blue to prove that they are making a big mistake. I think America will owe a great debt to the game of football when we finish this thing off. If six million American youngsters like myself are able to take it and come back for more…and fight hard for the honor of our schools, then likewise the same skills can be depended on when we have to fight to defend…our country.”
None of us should be surprised that at a moment when Smith was being given college football’s greatest honor, he thought of others and spoke words of inspiration.
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