MN: Heisman Trophy scores big payoff for local family (Bruce Smith

After 20 bids, another Heisman Trophy was sold. It is believed to be the fifth one to go on the auction block.

The 1941 Heisman Trophy was the only Heisman given to a University of Minnesota football player – Bruce Smith.

The standout running back and team captain moved to Alexandria in the 1960s and was a beverage wholesale dealer. He died of cancer in 1967.

Despite numerous attempts, the Echo Press couldn't reach Gloria Smith for comments. However, in a November 19 Star Tribune article, she said it was time to sell the trophy.

She also emphasized that she's "not destitute." Her four children were behind her on the decision to sell the trophy and said they didn't want their 82-year-old mother worrying about security.

Her daughter, Bonnie Henderson, said in the article, "I feel like our father is behind us in all of this. He'd be honored this could help her."

Her late husband's Heisman Trophy wasn't the only item up for sale; numerous other items also brought in substantial bids.

Smith's University of Minnesota Gopher football jersey, with 21 bids, netted more than $7,000. His letterman's sweater, which had 20 bids, netted close to $4,000. Signed footballs went for more than $2,000. A photo collection with seven photos went for nearly $2,000.

More than $4,700 was paid for the Bruce Smith collection, which consisted of such memorabilia as his high school varsity letter, pencil drawings and cartoons and his 1942 Screen Actors Guild Membership card. There were 13 bids on this collection.

There were also 13 bids on his high school diploma from Faribault High School, which was sold for more than $600.

Smith's World War II Navy fighter pilot jacket, with only one bid, sold for more than $500.

Many other items were sold by Smith's family, including other photos, films and projectors, plaques and a vintage yard marker.

Bernie Bierman, previous coach of the Minnesota Gophers, called Smith "a brilliant runner, a deadly tackler, a devastating blocker, excellent passer and a good kicker."

Gary Cypres, a Los Angeles businessman, bid $336,375.03 to buy the Heisman won in 1941 by Smith. When the auction's house fee is added to the price tag, the total is $395,240.66 – the highest amount paid for any Heisman trophy.

Cypres said in a Star Tribune article that he plans to place the trophy, along with the other Bruce Smith memorabilia he purchased, in a special exhibit within a 27,000-square-foot museum he created.

Born in Faribault, Smith played halfback for the back-to-back mythical national champion Gophers in 1940 and 1941. He received the Heisman two days after the attack on Pearl Harbor. During the war, he served as a U.S. Navy fighter pilot. After the war, he briefly played in the National Football League with the Green Bay Packers (1945-1948) and Los Angeles Rams (1948). He died from cancer in 1967.

In 1972, Smith was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. His number 54 was officially retired by the Gophers in 1977.

This is the only Heisman Trophy won by a Minnesota Gopher football player.

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I didn't know he was a Navy fighter pilot in WW2.

I went to school with some of his kids, played football and ran track with his oldest son. Good people.

http://www.gophersports.com/history/mfball/54BruceSmith.asp

#54 - Bruce Smith

The year was 1910. An undefeated Minnesota squad faced off against undefeated Michigan in a game that would decide the national championship. Lucius Smith played tackle and kicked for the Golden Gophers in the game, which Minnesota ended up losing 6-0. It is not clear how or why, but for some reason Lucius felt responsible. Legend has it that he vowed, then and there, to have a son who would avenge the loss.

Lucius did indeed have a son, Bruce Smith, who seemed to be born to take on such an extraordinary objective. And 30 years after his father’s bold decree, Bruce walked onto Memorial Stadium’s muddied turf to face Michigan in a game that would decide the 1940 national championship.

Late in the first half the Golden Gophers trailed 6-0 — the same score by which they had lost a generation before. Michigan was on the verge of scoring again when the Maroon & Gold’s Bob Paffrath intercepted a pass in the end zone. Then, on the next play, Smith received a handoff on a weak-side reverse. He ran into, around and through seven Michigan defenders before he found enough daylight to stomp through 80 yards of muck for a touchdown. A minute later, Joe Mernik’s point-after kick gave Minnesota a 7-6 advantage. It would prove to be the winning margin, since there was no more scoring to be had on that rainy Saturday afternoon.

Smith played football from 1939-41, a time when gridiron giants walked campus footpaths around the nation. Game-day spectators, like the biblical Zaccheus, climbed trees and telephone poles outside Memorial Stadium hoping to see football miracles. Smith fulfilled their desires, leading the Golden Gophers to two undefeated national championship seasons in 1940 and 1941. Three times during his junior year in ’40 he dazzled fans by scoring game-winning touchdowns when his team was behind.

Smith was a clutch player, a player who could be counted on to sacrifice his body for the good of the team. Against Iowa his senior year in ’41, he was held out because of a knee injury. Minnesota did not gain a yard in the first quarter. Realizing that the national championship was on the line, Smith convinced Coach Bernie Bierman to let him play. He touched the ball only nine times that game, but it was enough to set up Minnesota’s first three touchdowns and lead the Golden Gophers to a 34-13 victory.

For his on-the-field bravery, Smith won widespread recognition and awards. He earned All-Big Ten and All-America honors in 1941. That year he became the first and only Minnesota player to receive college football’s highest honor, the Heisman Trophy. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1972.

But for sports heroes, like everyone else, life goes on long after their playing days are over; and many times, sports figures struggle to be strong people after the cheers of the fans have faded away. Smith, on the other hand, showed even greater strength and earned even higher rewards after he hung up his cleats.

In the spring of 1967, at the age of 47, the All-American was diagnosed with cancer. For months, he suffered without complaining. His weight dwindled from 200 to 90 pounds. Through it all he accompanied the Reverend William Cantwell on his rounds, praying for and talking with youngsters suffering from cancer. Unfamiliar with Smith’s football achievements, Cantwell witnessed his courageous suffering and the positive effect his presence had on the children. His wife Gloria later said, “He forced himself to live three months longer than any medical man predicted because he wanted to spend the summer with his kids.”

On Aug. 26, 1967, Smith succumbed to his disease. The Reverend nominated the football great for sainthood in the Roman Catholic Church, and continued to invoke Smith’s intercession on behalf of young cancer patients long after his death.

In 1977, Bruce Smith’s No. 54 became the first Minnesota number to be officially removed from the roster. He is a shining example to which an athlete, or any man or woman, can aspire, both on the field and in everyday life. Smith was, indeed, a true American hero.

http://www.collegefootball.org/famersearch.php?id=40080

Bruce "Boo" Smith
	Position: Halfback School: Minnesota High School: Faribault, MN (Faribault HS) Years: 1939-1941 Inducted: 1972 Place of Birth: Faribault, MN Date of Birth: 2/8/1920 Place of Death: Alexandria, MN Date of Death: 8/28/1967 Jersey Number: 54 Height: 6-0 Weight: 193
Member Biography
They might have called him "the savior," for "Boo" Smith made a habit of salvaging victory from the depths of apparent defeat, doing it in flashy, long-run fashion and leading Minnesota to national titles in 1940 and 1941. In pacing the Gophers to the first of their back-to-back 8-0-0 campaigns, Smith was a sensation in 1940, scoring come-from-behind touchdowns that doused threats by Nebraska, Ohio State and Michigan. A courageous and inspired performer, Smith saved his best for last. In 1941, as a senior captain of the Minnesota squad, he ran over the competition and won the Heisman Trophy. Smith's post-season play proved to be a continuation of his collegiate excellence. He was the MVP in the 1942 College All Star Game against the NFL's Chicago Bears and, after enlisting as a U.S. Navy fighter pilot, won the Player of the Year honors in Armed Forces competition.

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