Winfred Otto Brockmeyer (September 16, 1907 – March 14, 1980) 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 ...

coach from

Mankato, Minnesota Mankato ( ) is a city in Blue Earth County, Minnesota, Blue Earth, Nicollet County, Minnesota, Nicollet, and Le Sueur County, Minnesota, Le Sueur counties in the state of Minnesota. The population was 44,488 according to the 2020 United States ...

Background

Brockmeyer was born in

on September 16, 1907, the son of Otto and Margaret Brockmeyer. He attended the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

where he played football under two legendary college football coaches, Doc Spears and

Fritz Crisler Herbert Orin "Fritz" Crisler (; January 12, 1899 – August 19, 1982) was an American college football coach who is best known as "the father of two-platoon football," an innovation in which separate units of players were used for offense and d ...

. He played halfback for the Gophers in a backfield that included

Bronko Nagurski Bronislau "Bronko" Nagurski (November 3, 1908 – January 7, 1990) was a Canadian-born professional American football player in the National Football League (NFL), renowned for his strength and size. Nagurski was also a successful professional w ...

. His best college day came in 1928 when he gained 166 yards rushing and but scored all the points in the Gophers' upset of

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

. He ran 46 yards for one touchdown and passed for two more and Minnesota won 18-0.

Accomplishments

After his graduation from Minnesota, he played semi-pro ball with the Minnesota All Stars, but his greatest ability was in coaching, and he quickly gave up his player role to concentrate on coaching. He started at

Fergus Falls, Minnesota Fergus Falls is a city in and the county seat of Otter Tail County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 14,119 at the 2020 census. History The falls from which the city gets part of its name were discovered by Joe Whitford (a Scotti ...

from 1931 to 1933 and

Faribault, Minnesota Faribault ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Rice County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 23,352 at the 2010 census. Faribault is approximately south of Minneapolis–Saint Paul. Interstate 35 and Minnesota State Highways ...

from 1933 to 1937. In 1937, he came to Wausau and found a home. In his 40 years of coaching high school football, his teams had a combined record of 265–43–14. His record at Wausau High was 230–33–9. Over those 34 seasons, his team either won outright or shared in 26 conference championships. "For years he coached basketball, among other sports, and his basketball teams compiled a record of 128 wins against 88 losses, and won the state championship in his first year with the team. But, it was at football that he really excelled, and Wausau High's record in the early to mid-1940s was unequaled for many years. In 1939, Wausau won seven games and lost one. That one was the last game they would lose for years. In 1940, they not only went undefeated, but outscored their opponents 299 to 12, not giving up a single point until the final quarter of the final game of the year. In 1941, they went undefeated again and then again in 1943 and in 1945. They finally lost a game in 1946, with their 46-game winning streak setting a Wisconsin high school record for many years before it was broken in 1987 by Manitowoc Lincoln (48 straight games; 1984-1987) and later by Waunakee (48 games; 2009-2012). Mr. Brockmeyer's winning percentage of games is .845, making him one of the winningest football coaches in the history of the state of Wisconsin. Both Football Hall of Famers

Elroy Hirsch Elroy Leon "Crazylegs" Hirsch (June 17, 1923 – January 28, 2004) was an American professional football player, sport executive and actor. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1967 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 197 ...

and

Jim Otto James Edwin Otto (born January 5, 1938) is an American former professional football player who played as a center for the Oakland Raiders of the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons. He played colle ...

learned the basics of football from Brockmeyer when they played for him at Wausau High School. Brockmeyer is the only man ever to have coached two members of the

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coach ...

in high school. While coaching high school in Minnesota, he also coached another Hall of Fame member,

Bruce Smith Bruce Bernard Smith (born June 18, 1963) is an American former football defensive end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 19 seasons, primarily with the Buffalo Bills. He played college football at Virginia Tech, where he was ...

the only man to win the

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...

(1941) from the

. In the 1954 movie '' Crazylegs'' the story of

, Coach Brockmeyer was played by Hollywood great

Lloyd Nolan Lloyd Benedict Nolan (August 11, 1902 – September 27, 1985) was an American film and television actor. Among his many roles, Nolan is remembered for originating the role of private investigator Michael Shayne in a series of 1940s B movies. Bi ...

. To this day, it is the only Hollywood movie to ever premiere in Wausau. Mr. Brockmeyer was inducted as a charter member into the Wisconsin Football Coaches Hall of Fame in 1980, and in 1984 was inducted into the National Federation of State High School Associations along with 12 other inductees including

Jack Nicklaus Jack William Nicklaus (born January 21, 1940), nicknamed The Golden Bear, is a retired American professional golfer and List of golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest go ...

and

Red Grange Harold Edward "Red" Grange (June 13, 1903 – January 28, 1991), nicknamed "the Galloping Ghost" and "the Wheaton Iceman", was an American football halfback for the University of Illinois, the Chicago Bears, and the short-lived New York Yankees ...

. IN 2004 he was inducted into the National High School Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame. As coach at Wausau High School from 1937 to 1970, Brockmeyer had a 230-33-9 record. He was undefeated in 13 seasons. His teams won 26 conference titles. In the 1940s, he had a 72-2-4 record that included a 46-game winning streak. A scholarship was later inaugurated in his honor.

Personal life

The son of Otto and Margaret Brockmeyer, "Brock" was married on Thanksgiving Day 1932 to Helen Mae Date. They raised three children. On March 14, 1980, Mr. Brockmeyer, 72, was on a golf outing in Florida with UW Athletic Director

and other members of the UW athletic staff when he was stricken with an apparent

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

and died. In a tribute to Wausau, the city which Mr. & Ms. Brockmeyer loved so much, both of them were cremated and had their ashes scattered within the city.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brockmeyer, Win 1907 births 1980 deaths American football halfbacks High school football coaches in Minnesota High school football coaches in Wisconsin Minnesota Golden Gophers football players People from Fergus Falls, Minnesota Sportspeople from Wausau, Wisconsin Players of American football from Minnesota