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 and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

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 university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. Chartered in 1869 by the Nebraska Legislature as part of the M ...

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

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

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

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

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 hired Masterson to coach

Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...

quarterback Frankie Albert.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 naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

in 1942, and coached Navy teams for

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

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

Masterson died of a heart attack in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

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 Players of American football from Lincoln, Nebraska Coaches of American football from Nebraska Educators from Nebraska Military personnel from Nebraska