John Andrew Cherberg (October 17, 1910 – April 8, 1992) was an American politician, football coach, teacher and television executive. He served as the 13th
Lieutenant Governor of Washington
The lieutenant governor of Washington is an elected office in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. The incumbent is Denny Heck, a Democratic Party (United States), Democrat who began his term in January 2021. The lieutenant governor s ...
from 1957 to 1989, a longer tenure than any other lieutenant governor in the state's history. Previously he was head coach of the
University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington.
Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...
football team from 1953 to 1955, compiling a record of 10–18–2. Two decades earlier he had been a
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 ...
player at Washington.
Early life and career
Born in
Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ...
in 1910, Cherberg was the youngest of twelve children from a butcher father who emigrated from
Croatia
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, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
, then a part of
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
.
In 1919, his family moved to
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
,
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
.
He played football at
Queen Anne High School before graduating in 1929. He attended the
University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington.
Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...
(UW) and played
halfback on the
football team
A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an All-st ...
.
Cherberg graduated in 1933 with a degree in economics.
After graduation, he taught classes and coached football at
Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
and Queen Anne high schools in Seattle, where he led both schools to state football championships.
He joined the UW football staff in 1946.
The three seasons he served as head coach of the UW football team were controversial. His record of 10 wins, 18 losses, and 2 ties was identified as the second-worst in Seattle's history in a 2006 article by ''
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' (popularly known as the ''Seattle P-I'', the ''Post-Intelligencer'', or simply the ''P-I'') is an online newspaper and former print newspaper based in Seattle, Washington, United States.
The newspaper was foun ...
'' columnist Jim Moore. The team was involved in a payoff scandal that led to
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
sanctions for the school and the firing of Cherberg in February 1956.
Political career
In June 1956 Cherberg announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor. Capitalizing on name recognition from his football career and the statewide contacts he'd developed as the head of the state's association of high school football coaches, he won the Democratic primary by defeating
Howard S. Bargreen, and the general election by defeating Republican Don McDermott.
Cherberg was inaugurated as Washington's lieutenant governor on January 16, 1957, under fellow
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
Albert Rosellini
Albert Dean Rosellini (January 21, 1910 – October 10, 2011) was an American politician who served as the 15th governor of Washington from 1957 to 1965 and was both the first Italian-American and Roman Catholic governor elected west of the ...
. For his first 15 years in office, he also worked as an account executive at Seattle-area TV station
KIRO
Kiro was a colonial post in what is now the Central Equatoria province of South Sudan on the west side of the Bahr al Jebel or White Nile river. It was in part of the Lado enclave.
In 1900 there were said to be 1,500 troops from the Congo Free ...
to supplement his then-low lieutenant governor salary.
Cherberg ran for
Mayor of Seattle
The Mayor of Seattle is the head of the executive branch of the city government of Seattle, Washington. The mayor is authorized by the city charter to enforce laws enacted by the Seattle City Council, as well as direct subordinate officers in ci ...
in 1964, but was defeated by
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
councilman
Dorm Braman by 95,699 votes to his 83,205. Cherberg's platform included support for
fair housing
Housing discrimination in the United States refers to the historical and current barriers, policies, and biases that prevent equitable access to housing. Housing discrimination became more pronounced after the abolition of slavery in 1865, typical ...
. Years later, both he and Braman testified for the prosecution regarding the mayoral race and money from Seattle police officials and
King County Prosecuting Attorney
The King County Prosecuting Attorney is a non-partisan elected official in King County, Washington. The Prosecuting Attorney leads the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office, and prosecutes all felonies (as well as all misdemeanors in unincorp ...
Chuck Carroll
Charles Oliver Carroll (August 13, 1906 – June 23, 2003) was an American football player and attorney from Washington.
Carroll played for Garfield High School and earned 17 varsity letters while there. He would be given the title of Garfield ...
, who were alleged to have been tolerating police corruption. (The case was later dismissed.)
Following his defeat in the mayoral campaign, he once again ran for lieutenant governor. He served continuously under
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
Governor
Daniel J. Evans (1965–1977), Democrat
Dixy Lee Ray
Dixy Lee Ray (September 3, 1914 – January 2, 1994) was an American politician who served as the 17th governor of Washington from 1977 to 1981. Variously described as idiosyncratic and "ridiculously smart," she was the state's first female gover ...
(1977–1981), Republican
John Spellman
John Dennis Spellman (December 29, 1926 – January 16, 2018) was an American politician who served as the 18th governor of Washington from 1981 to 1985 and as the first King County Executive from 1969 to 1981.
Spellman was elected governor in ...
(1981–1985), and for the first term of Democrat
Booth Gardner
William Booth Gardner (August 21, 1936 – March 15, 2013) was an American politician who served as the 19th governor of Washington from 1985 to 1993. He also served as the ambassador of the GATT. A member of the Democratic Party, Gardner previ ...
(1985–1989). In his last race, he won comfortably with 63% of the vote.
Cherberg stepped down in the 1988 race having served as lieutenant governor for nearly one third of Washington state's history at the time; at his death, he was the longest serving lieutenant governor in United States history.
Death
![Washington State Capitol - John A](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/da/Washington_State_Capitol_-_John_A._Cherberg_Building_02.jpg)
Cherberg lived in Seattle until his death from pneumonia at age 81 in 1992.
He was interred at
Calvary Cemetery,
about a mile (1.6 km) northeast of the University of Washington campus. The John A. Cherberg Building, which houses
Washington State Senate
The Washington State Senate is the upper house of the Washington State Legislature. The body consists of 49 members, each representing a district with a population of nearly 160,000. The State Senate meets at the Legislative Building in Olympi ...
offices at the
State Capitol campus, was renamed in his honor.
Head coaching record
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cherberg, John
1910 births
1992 deaths
20th-century American politicians
American athlete-politicians
High school football coaches in Washington (state)
Lieutenant Governors of Washington (state)
Washington Huskies football coaches
Washington Huskies football players
Players of American football from Seattle