STrib: Gordy Soltau, ex-Gopher, 49ers football star, dies at 89

per the STrib:

Former Gophers football star Gordy Soltau, who played nine NFL seasons and was a three-time All-Pro with the San Francisco 49ers, died Sunday in Santa Clara, Calif., at age 89.

Soltau, an end and placekicker, played with the Gophers from 1946 to ’49. Some longtime Gophers followers consider the 1949 team to be the most talented in school history. It finished 7-2, losing to Michigan and Purdue by a combined 13 points, but had a school-record 12 players selected in the 1950 NFL draft.

The Gophers had three first-round selections — Clayton Tonnemaker, Leo Nomellini and Bud Grant. Soltau was taken next, selected in the third round.

http://www.startribune.com/sports/280878592.html

Go Gophers!!

per Sid:

Bierman blew it

The death of former Gophers wide receiver Gordy Soltau, as reported in Thursday’s paper, reminded me of the 1949 Gophers, which I consider the best Gophers football team I ever covered, with 12 players drafted into the NFL.

Coach Bernie Bierman, after the No. 5-ranked Gophers went into Columbus and beat No. 11 Ohio State 27-0 to improve to 4-0 in 1949, worked them so hard the following week that they were mentally tired. Despite being a three-touchdown favorite, they were defeated 14-7 by No. 12 Michigan in Ann Arbor. And then Bierman worked them harder yet the following week, and again the Gophers were upset, this time 13-7 at home against Purdue.

On the day of the Wolverines game, Bierman got the team to Michigan Stadium three hours before the game. It was a lesson learned by one of his players, Bud Grant, for when he became a coach: Get a team to the game site as late as possible so they don’t get mentally tired.

Following the two losses, a committee of parents of the players went to then-university President James Morrill to complain about the long practices.

Morrill, never a booster of Bierman, scheduled a conference with the coach and as a result, Bierman — to show Morrill he was wrong — cut the time of practices in preparation for Iowa, which had a 4-2 record at the time.

In those days, teams traveled by train. I had a habit of having somebody drive me to the St. Paul train depot and interview the visiting coach on the ride to Minneapolis. I recall how confident Hawkeyes coach Eddie Anderson was after studying films of the Gophers’ losses to Michigan and Purdue that Iowa would win.

Well, the final score was Minnesota 55, Iowa 7.

Bierman continued the shorter practices for the last two games of the season, and the Gophers beat Pittsburgh 24-7 and Wisconsin 14-6.

Ohio State finished the season 7-1-2 (4-1-1 Big Ten) and went to the Rose Bowl, edging the Gophers only because they tied Michigan 7-7 in the final game of the regular season. In that game, Ohio State missed the extra point on their first try, but Michigan was called for being offside. The Buckeyes got another attempt and made it, and went to the Rose Bowl instead of Minnesota.

I might be criticized for rapping Bierman, but he wasn’t the same coach post-World War II that he was prewar, and that’s why he was replaced in 1951 by Ohio State’s Wes Fesler, who Buckeyes beat out the Gophers of going to the Rose Bowl.

http://www.startribune.com/sports/vikings/281016392.html?page=all&prepage=1&c=y#continue

Go Gophers!!

RIP Mr. Soltau