Bernard Edward Masterson (August 10, 1911 – May 16, 1963) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the

University of Nebraska–Lincoln The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (Nebraska, NU, or UNL) is a public land-grant research university in Lincoln, Nebraska. Chartered in 1869 by the Nebraska Legislature as part of the Morrill Act of 1862, the school was known as the Universit ...

from 1946 to 1947, compiling a record of 5–13. Masterson played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at Nebraska from 1931 to 1933. He played professionally in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) with the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

from 1934 to 1940.

Playing career

Masterson was a three-sport athlete at Lincoln High. He was an all-state back in football, a starter on the 1930 state championship basketball team, and a track star. Bernie Masterson

Moving on to the

, he starred from 1931 to 1933 as a back on three straight unbeaten Big Six championship teams. He was selected All-Big Six in 1933. Masterson played quarterback for the Chicago Bears from 1934 to 1940 when the Bears were known as the "Monsters of the Midway". During his pro career, the Bears were 59–19–3 and were in three NFL championship playoffs. Bernie has an NFL career total of 3,372 passing yards and 35 touchdowns.

Coaching career

In 1940,

Clark Shaughnessy Clark Daniel Shaughnessy (originally O'Shaughnessy) (March 6, 1892 – May 15, 1970) was an American football coach and innovator. He is sometimes called the "father of the T formation" and the original founder of the forward pass, although that ...

hired Masterson to coach

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

quarterback

Frankie Albert Frank Cullen Albert (January 27, 1920 – September 4, 2002) was an American gridiron football player and coach. He played as a quarterback with the San Francisco 49ers in the National Football League (NFL). Albert attended Stanford University, ...

.Ron Fimrite
A Melding Of Men All Suited To A T; Clark Shaughnessy was a dour theoretician, Frankie Albert an unrestrained quarterback and Stanford a team of losers, but combined they forever changed the game of football
''Sports Illustrated'', September 5, 1977. He joined the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

in 1942, and coached Navy teams for

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

and St. Mary's Pre-Flight until 1945. He came back to Nebraska as head football coach for 1946 and 1947. He went 5–13 in the two seasons as head coach.

Death and honors

Grave of Bernard Edward Masterson (1911–1963) at All Saints Cemetery, Des Plaines

Masterson died of a heart attack in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

on May 16, 1963, and was buried at All Saints Cemetery in Des Plaines. He was inducted into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame in 1977.

Head coaching record

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Masterson, Bernie 1911 births 1963 deaths American football quarterbacks Chicago Bears players Iowa Hawkeyes football coaches Lewis Flyers football coaches Nebraska Cornhuskers football coaches Nebraska Cornhuskers football players Saint Mary's Pre-Flight Air Devils football coaches Stanford Cardinal football coaches UCLA Bruins football coaches United States Navy personnel of World War II United States Navy officers People from Shenandoah, Iowa Sportspeople from Lincoln, Nebraska Coaches of American football from Nebraska Players of American football from Nebraska Educators from Nebraska Military personnel from Nebraska