The 141st season of University of Minnesota football starts Thursday when the Gophers host North Carolina, so that’s the topic of this week’s Tuesday Trivia.
The answers are below.
If you have any ideas on what you’d like to see as a theme for Tuesday trivia, let me know. Contact me at sportsdr44@hotmail.com.
Questions
1. Who did the Golden Gophers play in their first-ever game on Sept. 29, 1882?
2. Minnesota had the first African American to play football in the Western Conference (later the Big Ten). Who was he?
3. Who was the International Falls native that played for the Gophers from 1927-1929, leading the team to an 18-4-2 and a Big Ten championship in 1927?
4. Minnesota won five national championships from 1934-1941, A former Gopher player was the coach of those teams. Who was he?
5. What is the name of the Gophers mascot?
6. Who is the only Gopher player to win the Heisman Trophy?
7. When did Minnesota win its first bowl game?
8. Which Gopher football coach was considered the first athlete to play American football professionally?
9. Which coach has the most career wins at the U of M?
10. Who has the longest run from scrimmage in Minnesota history?
Answers
1. In their first game Minnesota defeated Hamline 4-0. The Gophers only played two games that year, both vs. Hamline. The Pipers won the second game 2-0.
2. Bobby Marshall enrolled at Minnesota in 1903 after playing high school football at Minneapolis Central. He played end for the Gophers. Marshall got his first start in 1903 and was a regular starter from 1904-1906.
3. Bronko Nagurski. He played both tackle on defense and fullback on offense at Minnesota. His greatest game was against Wisconsin in the season finale in 1928. Wearing a corset to protect cracked vertebrae, he recovered a Badger fumble deep in their territory, then ran the ball six straight times to score the go-ahead touchdown. Later, he intercepted a pass to seal the victory. He went on to play for the Chicago Bears from 1930-1937 and also in 1943. Bronko was also a three-time world champion wrestler.
4. Bernie Bierman played halfback at Minnesota from 1913-1915 and later was head coach of the Gophers from 1932-1941 and 1945-1950. In his 16 coaching seasons, the Gophers won eight conference titles and had five undefeated seasons. They had an overall record of 93-35-6.
5. Goldy Gopher. Goldy made his first appearance in 1940. Up until 1992, the University of Minnesota marching band was in charge of the mascot, and the members of the band rotated wearing the costume. After 1992, control of the mascot was given to the athletic department.
6. Halfback Bruce Smith, a native of Faribault, won the Heisman Trophy in 1941. He played for the back-to-back national champion Gophers in 1940 and 1941.
7. The Gophers defeated UCLA in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, 1962. Sandy Stephens scored two touchdowns and Bill Munsey one. It was Minnesota’s second bowl game, having lost 17-7 to Washington in the 1961 Rose Bowl. However, the Gophers were still national champions for 1960 because voting was conducted before the bowl games.
8. William Walter "Pudge" Heffelfinger was paid to play in 1892 for the Allegheny Athletic Association. He played college football at Yale from 1888-1891. Heffelfinger coached Minnesota to a 7-3 record in 1895.
9. Henry L. Williams with 136. His teams had a record of 136-33-11, a .786 percentage, from 1900-1921.
10. Darrell Thompson ran 98 yards for a touchdown vs. Michigan at the Metrodome in 1987. Thompson, who played five year in the NFL with the Green Bay Packers, has been the analyst on the Gopher Radio Network since 1998.